EMILY HAAIMA MACKECHNIE for The Parents’ Voice
For anyone who knows me I am considered a neat freak by friends and family. I am far from being a minimalist but I find that a lot of clutter in my home can make me feel slightly anxious. Personally I find the time frame between Christmas and Easter to be when I really get into a purging mood. Whether it’s because . . .
my children have been given a lot of new toys and games as gifts or if it’s some sort of spring cleaning mode I get into, without fail it happens every year. It can be a very satisfying feeling making more room in my home.
I’ve gotten quite good at decluttering our home over the years, I hope that I can give you some hints on where to start.
I always start with the obvious items that can be purged without being missed. These are the items that my children or myself don’t use anymore or very often. These can be clothes that are outgrown, toys that aren’t played with anymore or books that my children are bored with. I find it easiest to do this when my children aren’t nearby. Even if they haven’t used said item in months as soon as they see it being packed up they will immediately want it and assure me they need it. So in my case that is at nap time or after bed.
Some things aren’t as easy to get rid of. For me, it’s the sentimental items. The ones that my children cherished and have now outgrown. I always feel a certain amount of anxiety when I drop these off at a thrift store or donation box or when a buyer picks them up after having sold them. Recently it was our crib. Both of my children used it and it was a reminder that my little ones are growing up and we won’t be having any more babies in our house. I remind myself that this item will have a whole new purpose with another family where it can become a cherished item for them as well, and that helps a little. Also once it is out of my home I forget about it and the anxiety disappears.
Some other things that I try to clear out of our home are things that we have an excessive amount of or duplicates of. Usually in our case this is puzzles, games and books. With all different family members and friends handing down their unused items or buying gifts for us it can become a little too much so every so often we go through our collections and remove a few of each that will be very useful for someone else.
Now, as for what to do with all of the unwanted clutter, you will have many options. The quickest is to drop it off at any one of the available donation boxes or thrift stores in our area. A quick Google search should help with finding one near you. Some of our local churches have thrift shops set up as well as family centres. The money they generate from the donated items go to a good cause so you can feel good knowing you are helping others by doing this.
If you have a large quantity of items you need to purge a yard sale can be more time effective. It’s a great way to clear out a lot of items in a short amount of time. I have never held one myself but I know they can be quite successful if planned out properly. The main key is to advertise well in advance, Facebook yard sale pages, the local newspaper ads and signs can all be useful advertising tools. The route that I use most frequently is selling through Facebook Marketplace and local Facebook yard sale pages.
It is best if there are only a few items at a time because if you have a lot posted all at once it can be overwhelming getting dozens of messages about all the different posts you have.
A large part of tidying your home can be from just organizing what you have without actually removing anything from your home. I like to have several small storage bins in our home that hide away all the little toys that can look horrendous when left all over the place. I have a cube shelf that holds our books and little bins just for that. We have a toy box for all the larger toys to keep the living room looking neat and tidy. A saying that I live by is “A place for everything and everything its place.”
My children know where their toys are supposed to be so they reluctantly help to keep their toys in their place. It saves them time and it keeps the house looking great. I am fortunate that my house actually has sufficient storage space so I have dedicated a hallway closet just for games and educational toys. We had shelves installed so everything is easy to see and find so my children can just have a quick look and tell me which game or puzzle they would like. Not everyone has that as an option though so maybe having a bin or a bookshelf for that can be an option in your home.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to keeping things tidy and organized and I hope you have gotten some inspiration from this and you can get your home exactly how you want it in no time.
