Reading the title of this blog might send you into fits of laughter or hysterics…
Any life that includes children is going to get messy but we can gain back some control over how messy.
Look at what clothing, toys and trinkets your children love first, make this the priority and get rid of as much of the rest as you can.
** If you are planning on having more children, be wary of how much you store away…they are going to get gifts and have their own personality.
Where does the clutter accumulate mostly -is it your car, living area, kitchen, play room, children’s bedrooms?
Here are some tips to help manage the areas:
All images below are Courtesy of Pinterest!
1. Have containers at key locations (including the car/garage) to collect items into ready to be put away. If the area is somewhere you entertain guests find a storage solution that will fit in with your décor.
2. Decide when and who will put the items away and return the container to its rightful place.
3. Choose storage solutions that suit the contents and the owner.
4. Make sure you have a place for everything so things are easy to put away. If your children are very young, don’t try and micromanage too much.
5. Only fill containers to 70/80% full, if it’s too hard to put away even adults are deterred.
6. Look at the items your family use every day and make sure you have permanent, easily accessible homes for these items.
7. Label as much as you can – if you have young children, consider a mix of pictures and written labels on storage to make it easier for them. Use a dot system on the seam of children’s clothes to easily identify which clothing belongs to which child. One dot represent the eldest and then add an additional dot for each child after that. When you had clothing down to the next child, add a dot.
8. Have items at your child’s level (hooks and railings, so that they can access and put things away).
9. Involve your children in the tidying process – establish habits at an early age and turn it into a game. Put their favourite song on and get them to tidy up as much as possible before the song stops.
10. Create habits to minimise clutter build up and scheduling in time to put things away – set aside 15 minutes per day for a quick clean up.
11. Rotate games and toys, and leave only a few out at a time.
12. Use clothes pegs to display your children’s drawings.
13. Create an activity bag for younger children ready to take when you go out. Remember to restock ready for the next time you are running out the door.
14. Put a shoe stand close to where you enter your home.
Don’t delay, start today
Sara
