Make them responsible for their own space…but help them, otherwise it can be overwhelming and seem like a chore. Put things in child-friendly boxes, especially useful if stackable.Įncourage the child to put things back where they should be Label spaces and have a spot for everything, displaying what the kids have so it can be quickly found and more likely used, it's then easier to see what you have, and it keeps things tidy. Introduce the rule, one thing in, one thing out… Now it's tidy, how do you maintain the bliss? If they’re haven’t missed them during that time they’re likely safe to get rid of. One tip is to hide away things you’re thinking of purging for a few months before you get rid of them. When getting rid of items, it’s good to remember here that kids can have very strong emotional attachments to the simplest of things, so to keep the process fun we feel it's better they’re not driven to tears and hysteria! Tell toddlers they can help Mommy or Daddy with 'this really important job'. Kids love jobs, these let them feel important and useful. 'who will finish first me picking up Lego or you picking up Playmobil' etc.Ĭhildren can be incentivised with some of the proceeds of consignment, for example we let our son keep the credit he gets for his toys, but we use the credit from clothes. Make cleaning into games to make it fun, such as role play and having them dress up while cleaning, cleaning up to music then having to freeze if the music stops, set mini challenges e.g.
Make up your own, or you could play those time-served classic tracks. 'The Tidy Up Song' by Dave Moran or try 'The Clean Up Song" by The Singing Walrus! Sing songs - quality is less of a thing than enthusiasm. It's better to limit their options to just a few (some suggest no more than 2) and have them choose one of these.Īsking a young child to go tidy their room on their own or have them select what brings them joy is perhaps too big a task to expect them to manage alone.
Of course it will depend on the child’s age, and giving kids some input and choice is a key part of their development, that said, most child psychologists stress the importance of not overwhelming children with too many choices, too soon. If a child really won’t wear something, then keeping it is probably pointless but equally the child may want to hold on to things that they still really love - even though they no longer fit, are seasonally inappropriate and look like they've been to hell and back. Here's where as parents we need to coax them into letting certain things go! That said, to expect children of such an age to make these decisions, based on this emotional response, would be.well.naive at best! While we’re hesitant to challenge the words of a guru, we tend to disagree with Marie a little on this point! It’s certainly true that a child knows what sparks joy to them in the moment (but as parents we know that this may change minutes later dependant on their mood). Children as young as 3 years old can decide what gives them joy, and the key principle is that each person should be making the decisions for themselves." Whose joy is most important…yours as the parent, or the child’s? We feel the long term joy of the whole family matters most, but how do you get there?Īccording to Marie Kondo "Y ou and your family should only save items that spark joy. Of course the more quality consignment we get, the better the choice for you as customer, so it’s a win-win.Ĭhildren’s closets (not unlike our own) can seem full, but what proportion actually 'brings joy'? There is a bigger and more challenging question here also. They now seek out things they know their children will enjoy (and perhaps even wear!). So it’s not surprising then, that after purging back what they no longer need, it seems customers are also using this newfound clarity to re-stock their child’s closet with more carefully chosen items. The answer is in finding the correct balance, and in ensuring everything in their closet ‘brings joy’. Far from simplifying the process, having too few clothes can making dressing children with things that work together a near impossible task. For example if you have too few shirts you’ll be washing constantly.
While the process of cutting back and decluttering is useful, not having enough items in a child’s wardrobe can be equally stressful. While less is more, not enough can also bring stress.
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