Easy Ways To Declutter Your Child’s Bedroom
Cleaning their room is the last thing on a child’s to-do list. And all the clutter drives the parents up the wall. Even worse is the moment when they need to be made to declutter, and suddenly, they have a whole slew of busywork that just prevents them from getting round to it. Instead of barging in their room and cleaning up thing on your own accord, we offer a more subtle approach that might work for both parties. Want to know what it entails? Keep on reading, as we believe you will be happy with the result it brings.
Include the kids
An extremely important thing to remember is to not exclude your kids from the whole process. They should be involved in the de-cluttering, as it is their living space and their belongings. Of course, you won’t throw away the things they love, but you need to go beyond that gesture. Ask them to give you a tour of their room and learn what part of the room is important to them, which items are absolutely necessary and so on. This way, you’ll be giving them a sense of responsibility and adulthood, as they are also participating in this “project”.
Frame artwork
All children love drawing and coloring. Any kind of creative expression on paper is a welcoming hobby, but you also must be prepared for heaps of drawings that will probably hold an emotional value. So to stop them from cluttering in the drawers, or worse, on the floor, suggest a fun activity – make your own picture frames. from paper mache stuck to the edges, or clipped onto a string hanging from the wall. Then, arrange them on the wall based on colors, or theme. Have a fun pastime acting like gallery experts!
Wall hangs
A practical way to get rid of the clutter is to utilize as much wall space as you can. One example we offered was to hang your child’s artwork. But if there is still more space, or if your youngster is not artistically inclined, there are two options. One is to run shelving all over the room; either a long one that will follow the line of the room, or get a wall shelving unit. This solution saves you the trouble of having countless boxes and hampers taking up space on the floor.
Storage
Chances are that you won’t want to toss, give away or sell some of the things you clear out from your child’s room. A good practice is to keep those items as hand-me-downs for friends, family, or perhaps yourself. In that case, shoving everything to the attic or basement to waste away is impractical and goes against the whole de-cluttering philosophy. Luckily, there are some cheap storage solutions that have proven to be a good way of storing items for later. That way, you can be sure your things will be safe and won’t be wasting away exposed to damp or possible house hazards.
Set an example
Last, but not least – be a good example. As a parent, you already know how important this is, but when it comes to decluttering, it is best to teach it as a habit, and not a one-time thing. The child learns a great deal from observing its parents, so make sure you work on yourself first. The last thing your parent-child dynamic needs is to have to explain why it has to clean its room, when yours is just as cluttered.
Last thoughts
Work on your own habits first, and then transfer them to your child. Or better yet, learn those habits together, as children need to learn at a young age that their parents are not infallible. This is bound to bring you closer to each other, and result in a sense of trust after showing the willingness to learn along with your child. Utilize all the free space the room has by placing compact shelving units, hang all the cluttered artwork and turn to outside storage for all those things you won’t be getting rid of any time soon. Most importantly, have fun!
