Before I start acting all smart about decluttering a kid’s room, let me just state that kids’ rooms are a HUGE struggle in our home. Bedrooms in general are my nemesis.
But . . . even though I’ve yet to find a system that keeps me from sweating when an unexpected visitor skips into one of the kids’ rooms for a quick Barbie scenario or wrestling match, we have made progress.
Enough progress that a quick pick-up makes the room at least play-in-able, if not unembarrassing to mama.
Ultimately, any progress we have made has been due to decluttering. Decluttering a child’s room presents the unique challenge of dealing with someone else’s emotional attachment to things you don’t care about. And that someone isn’t exactly emotionally mature.
Y’know, because he/she is . . . a child.
This is one of the reasons why I like to use these decluttering sessions as an opportunity to teach my kids decluttering strategies. (Strategies I’ve learned the hard way.) For example, I ask them my two decluttering questions.
Letting the strategies be the guide instead of mommy being the guide helps us work through the emotional issues. It doesn’t solve every problem, but it helps.
(Lots of links coming up, just click on the underlined word!)
Decluttering Strategies That Work Well with Kids
Do the Easy Stuff First
Do the easy stuff first. This means you begin with trashing the trash. Remove the broken toys and outgrown dress-up clothes and the room will look less overwhelming.
Basically, you start with the non-emotional tasks. This is always my advice when people ask about helping someone else declutter. In decluttering, I do NOT believe it is best to tackle the difficult stuff first. Big, emotional decisions don’t need to be made when you’re fresh, they need to be made after you’ve gained momentum. Start with the stuff that needs to be done but causes no angst.
Make the bed. Purge the sock drawer so it will actually close. These simple things will make a visible difference that will get your child excited about a prettier room. Really.
Just Declutter
Less is more.
I know. So obvious, right? But when you simply declutter a space, that space is instantly more usable and inviting. Almost as if it’s organized.
Organizing is problem-solving. Decluttering is not. Without the pressure of trying to create a perfect system, you’ll make ever-so-much more progress!
The Container Concept
I’ve written a lot about this life-changing concept because it has changed my life. It took me a LONG time to grasp, though, so I don’t bother waxing eloquent with the kids about how the root word of Container is Contain.
I just put it into practice.
We keep as many books as the bookshelf will hold. We designate a Barbie Bucket and anyone who can’t fit gets to go in the Donate Box.
This helps the child prioritize his/her favorites. If an additional book is unearthed after the bookshelf is full, a less favorite book must go to the Donate Box in order to make room.
Kids’ Room Decluttering Projects
Decluttering the Boys’ Room (with video)
Decluttering the Boys’ Bookshelf (This includes a video of me working WITH my boys to declutter their bookshelf, a natural container)
Drastic Measures (This guest post involved a mother removing EVERYthing from her kids’ rooms.)
Things a Mother Might Say When Helping Her Sons Declutter
Three Ideas for Taming the Stuff Monster in Kids’ Rooms
When You Fear Your Kids May Grow Up to Be On Hoarders
I JUST Decluttered. That’s It. (Boys’ room. Includes Video)
Decluttering. Genghis Khan Style.
My Little Girl’s Room is Organized . . . Am I On a Roll Here?
The Drastic Experiment – Boxing Up All But ONE Week’s Worth of Clothes
See all posts in my Kids’ Rooms Category
And if you’re looking for a real-life kid’s room nightmare story . . . here it is: Sometimes Survival Techniques Just Don’t Cut It (Heebie-jeebie alert on that one!)
My newest book, Decluttering at the Speed of Life is now available wherever books are sold!
New here? Well Howdy-do?! (That’s Texan for “How do you do?”) Be sure to check out my decluttering page, my free printable checklists, my e-books, my podcasts my explanation of why I don’t worry about being normal, and more about what you’ll find here at A Slob Comes Clean!
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--Nony
What do we do when the kiddos freak out over gifts from certain people? My 9 yr old remembers every dollar toy, stuffed animal, and happy meal toy she got from/with her Memaw. The only reason this is a big deal is b/c we have twice moved really far away. And she says she needs these things when she misses Memaw to make her feel better. We’ve even tried to get Memaw in on it…telling her it’s okay to let some things go. Doesn’t work. She has flipped out over this stuff.
This is sooo hard. My kids have come a looonnnng way in their willingness to get rid of stuff. I believe it is because our family now has a Culture of Decluttering that we didn’t have before. They’ve seen me declutter my own stuff and work through my own emotional attachments. As my view of stuff has changed, theirs has too. But I know that doesn’t help you in this moment. I would stick to the container concept and then offer to pack away what doesn’t fit so she can see what it’s like to live in a more livable room.
We have had a similar situation with our kids. We take pictures of the kids holding their “treasure” when they receive it, and save the pictures in a digital album, printing the most important. Then when it’s time to donate, the pictures help keep the memories fresh. We also use this method with their artwork from school. We take the picture and toss the item. Makes for easy storage. Good luck!
Good idea…she’s already limited to what she can bring to bed (after peeking up at her bunk I could see she was mostly sleeping in a pile of memories instead of sheets)…A container to store might not destroy her emotionally (which she believes is my goal as a parent).
I love the idea of living in a “Culture of De-cluttering.” I badly wish that I would have taken more time to teach my older children this concept (I tried, but probably not hard enough!) before they left home, but I do still have time with the younger ones! Well done, mama!!
I’m starting today – in the Master Bedroom – AAAHHHH!!!! – it’s a scary place. Always is just after Christmas. This is my Christmas present to my husband, to cleanout/declutter and set your system in place in our room. Thanks for setting up this party of accountability and motivation this month!
Brilliant stuff!! This seems to be the hardest place to get under control!! I have 2 boys, ages 6 & 7. We’ve learned to wear shoes in there because of stray Legos on the floor. Yes, we learned it the “hard way!” LOL! I’m retweeting and Pinning this because so many people need this advice. Will be doing a series on this on my blog in the New Year for each room in the house. Thank you!! Great ideas to get me started!
You make decluttering so easy for someone like me! I read this, and then realized I should probably declutter my kids dressers since they got a bunch of new, super cute clothes for Christmas. I dumped out the drawers and repeated the mantra “If it can’t be contained it can’t be kept” and all three of my kids are thrilled to have drawers that open and close easily. Thank you for all you do Nony in helping poor slobs like me 🙂
Oh, I LOVE hearing this, Nichole!! And isn’t it so great when they get excited about more livable spaces!!??
When I’m decluttering our kid’s room/playroom, I try to involve them, and let them decide what stays and what goes. I always tell them that we have to get rid of at least half of their toys. I will hold up two toys, and they have to decide what goes.
With my oldest (7yr old) we told him and even showed him that there are some kids who are less fortunate. Some families don’t have as much as other families. It helped motivate him to give to others. Each year around Christmas (sometimes even twice a year) we go through all of the toys and choose gently used toys that the boys have out grown or just don’t play with as much anymore. We have a special donation box and they choose what toys they want to donate. This is a bit harder with my 2 yr old as he doesn’t understand yet, but I plan to teach him the same way. I have tried to teach my boys it is better to give than to receive, and that we should always give to others in need. I also try to teach them that you can’t organize clutter!
I just took 6 trash bags from my room with these tips.Thank you so much! 🙂
I had two stuffed animals in desperate need of surgery sitting on my DVD case for the last month and a half. I hate to hand sew so I’ve been putting them off for ages. I finally deposited them and their shredded body parts into the trash and placed it outside for daddy to take to the dumpster. It took 4 hours for my daughter to notice and a total of 30 seconds for her to stop asking about them. I was on the phone and that kinda helped me avoid the questions and convince her to find something else to nit pick at like the over flowing bag of clothe we pulled out of her room.
With my 5 year old, we present 4-5 items from a large pile WE want to rid. Then we have her pick out her 2-3 favs. We do this until the pile is done. Then we do it again until we the parents are satisfied and my daughter likes that she has control over what stays and what goes. We also do the “one in one out”: You get a new toy, shirt, pants, etc; donate one.
For years my husband and I have argued about my messiness. He likes it spotless I do to but struggle and it is never spotless, most of the time downright messy. He has called me a slob and even revealed last week that there was a point before we married he questioned if he really wanted to bc of it. He has just showed me how to listen to podcast (how did I not know about podcast before? ) I have found yours and listened to it every morning taking my daughter to school. I have now accepted that yes I tend to be a slob, but I am working on that. I had planned to work on my daughters room who tends to be the same way today. I found this and it was perfect. Thank you so much! Very Inspiring and I feel now I can tackle the job before me easier.
Wowed!! My daughter’s room looks cleaner already, but what can we do with all of those sentimental (and large!!) stuffed animals? There are just way too many to count and I have no idea what to do with them!!!
Here’s a post: https://www.aslobcomesclean.com/2015/05/more-ideas-for-containing-stuffed-animals/
I am preparing myself to conquer decluttering the kids rooms once they start back to school next week. I LOVE the container concept. I’ll be using that, for sure! What are your thoughts on decluttering with the kids around or doing it when they’re not around. I know it’s quicker, easier, and more effective with them away; BUT, I wonder if I’m keeping them from learning how to do this at a younger age than I learned…
I am decluttering the kids’ room today. Meant to do it before christmas, but the new toys and clothes adding to the existing clutter are making it more imperitive than ever. Before pics have been taken. Wish me luck.
How do you decide when it is actually time to get a bigger container instead ? I struggle with this myself – It seems almost impossible to know when it is my daughter’s stuff