Whether you are raising one child or several, whether they are toddlers, teenagers or anything in between, and whether you are living in a small apartment in a large house, there is one constant every parent has to deal with: the dreaded clutter.
Besides being really, really cute, kids are also a never-ending, perpetual source of clutter. Their bedrooms are full of a myriad of small toys, clothes, books, pieces of paper so precious that you’re forbidden from ever throwing away, rocks, leaves, and so much more. Before the madness takes your entire home over, you need to step up and reclaim your space.
Deal with the issue early on, when it’s easy to manage. Set up house rules that everyone must follow, and you’ll not only be enjoying a clean, neat home, but you’ll also be teaching your children valuable skills they’ll be using their entire lives.
Tackle the Clutter Head-on
There isn’t a short-cut around it. You need to summon the courage and the patience to tackle the mess. Do it together with your child – you’ll avoid endless discussions later about toys you decided to donate and clothes you got rid of.
Get bags for things to donate, things to recycle and things to throw away. Go through all the stuff and decide with your child which toys they really want to keep and which ones you can donate. Throw out useless papers and broken crayons and keep only the items that are in good condition.
Do the same things with clothes and shoes. Children grow fast, so there is always a big chance that their closet contains more than a few items they outgrew. Implement the rule that children can’t get any more toys until they agree to give up on an old one. This will keep the number of toys in your home under control, will save you money, and will teach your child to appreciate all that he or she owns.
It doesn’t matter where you’re living, whether it’s a small apartment in Los Angeles or a decent-sized home in Denver’s suburbs. There never seems to be enough storage space for all your children’s items, and you might need self-storage. Renting a self-storage unit in Los Angeles, for example, will cost you $183 per month for a 10×10 unit. However, you get to save your expensive baby items for the future, and you’ll suddenly have a lot more space at home, so it’s a good compromise.
A Place for Everything
One basic rule for keeping a neat home is to have a designated spot for everything. From the moment your children enter the house, they need to know where to put their shoes, coats, and school and sport bags.
The same principle needs to be followed throughout the entire house. Toys, books, clothes, sport equipment, school papers – find a place for each category of items. Use inexpensive, easy-to-move, everyday objects to create extra storage space, if needed: baskets, crates that you can stack one on top of the other, hanging nets for stuffed animals and so on.
Shelves mounted directly on the walls are a simple, yet effective way to help you organize your child’s bedroom. Make sure your children can reach all the shelves and storage spaces by themselves – otherwise, they won’t be able to practice what you’re preaching.
And Everything in Its Place
Now that you got rid of all the unnecessary bulk and created enough storage space at home, teach your kids to put their things away and turn this into a daily task. Be consistent and enforce the rules every day. Remind your children during their daily routine to clean up after themselves.
Simple gestures like putting their shoes where they belong as soon as coming inside, or picking up their toys every evening, can be taught from an early age, and the benefits are numerous. Your children will grow up with great habits that will make their lives a lot easier as a grown up and, at the same time, you’ll spend a lot less time tidying up your own home.
How to Move a Piano: Moving, Insurance & Storage Guide
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the matter, let’s agree on the simple fact that, unlike other types of relocation conundrums, moving a piano is just a very cool thing to see, let alone accomplish. The labor that makes piano concerts possible and keeps legendary instruments alive, a piano relocation takes meticulous planning, special equipment and a crew that really knows their stuff. That is, unless you’re set on recreating the piano crash of a classic Looney Toons gag.
Hall Closet Organization: 30 Ideas for Simpler Storage
Your hall closet works best when you can grab anything quickly and put it back just as fast. These 30 ideas walk you through planning, deciding where things go, deep shelves, coats and shoes, containers, extra space and upkeep, plus what you can do when your closet still runs out of room.
Holiday Decoration Storage: A Guide for Every Season
Taking down the holiday decorations is never as exciting as putting them up. One minute, your home is looking wonderfully festive, and the next, you’re trying to remember which box the Christmas ornaments came in while wrestling with a string of lights that managed to tie itself into a dozen knots. With every holiday bringing its own collection of decorations, a good holiday decoration storage system helps you keep a growing collection under control.
Where to Get Moving Boxes in Philadelphia
Philadelphia’s historic charm can put your patience to the test on moving day. Between cobblestone streets, narrow rowhouse entrances and the occasional pothole, you don’t want to worry about not having enough boxes on top of it all. Start gathering your moving boxes early and you’ll have one less box to check off on packing day. Luckily, you have plenty of places to get your boxes from.
Art Supply Storage from A to Easel
Paint tubes, brushes, sketchbooks, scraps of paper, beads, half-used rolls of tape and that one very specific pen you swear you just had in your hand. Building up an art supply collection is rarely a neat process, and each new material brings its own storage needs.
Scary Good DIY Halloween Decorations That Won’t Haunt Your Wallet
A few floating candles in the hallway, a family of ghosts by the front door and a suspicious number of bats climbing up the bedroom wall can make October feel a whole lot spookier. While Halloween stores are full of tempting finds, some of the best DIY Halloween decorations can come from things you already have tucked away in drawers, closets or the recycling bin.
Suburban Giants and Urban Risers: Where America’s 100 Largest Metros Fall on the Self Storage Map
Self storage has long been a suburban story. Across America largest 100 metros, 59% of the inventory built over the past decade sits outside city cores, largely preserving the ratio of the total existing inventory.
Sweatshirt Storage Ideas Worth Keeping Up Your Sleeve
Sweatshirts are great until you realize how much room they take up. A few thick hoodies can fill a drawer fast, with lighter crewnecks getting squashed underneath or pushed somewhere you forget about. Good sweatshirt storage can make that pile much easier to manage without requiring a bigger closet.
Living Room Storage Ideas: 28 Ways to Reclaim Your Hosting Space
If a living room is where most of a household’s living happens, good storage should be the top priority for setting up or revamping the place. After all, think of how easier it would be to have people over when tidying up the place is just a matter of putting things in their right place (in a time when fewer and fewer people are entertaining friends at home(opens in new tab)). The trick is making room for all those wayward clothes, blankets, chargers and other small things that end up on (or, inexplicably, in) the sofa. Here are 28 living room storage ideas to get you started and make tidying up a quick affair.