Keeping Your House Clutter Free and Involving the Kids
A family of four leads to one crowded house. Crowded with people and crowded with STUFF. The only way our family keeps our house from looking like an episode of Hoarders is by routinely getting rid of stuff. Our primary way of removing clutter is by donating the clothes the kids grow out of and the clothes Mom and Dad no longer wear to a deserving charity. In Austin, we prefer Safe Place or Casa Marianella. We have the kids gather up the clothes they have outgrown and they help us deliver the clothes to the charities. This is pretty simple and very rewarding.
The other way we fight the clutter is by having an occasional family garage sale. This one takes a bit more work but is a great learning tool for the kids. First of all, it is tough to get rid of toys, even if you do not use them. Saying goodbye to clothes that they simply can't wear anymore is easy. Getting rid of a toy that may not be played with much any longer is still difficult. This teaches kids early to avoid a pack rat mentality. Any thing that has not been played with in the last few months is up for sale, unless it is a seasonal toy of course.
Second, the kids gather and pack all of the things they will sell. They are actively involved in the de-clutter process. After gathering all of the items for sale, they decide on a price and label all of the items. This is an important learning process that introduces supply and demand principles. Once the garage sale starts, they learn about marking items down that aren't selling well. They remember from previous sales the types of items that were popular and can get a higher price.
The kids help set up the garage sale on the morning of the sale. They handle all of the money transactions, with supervision. This is a great exercise in math as well as learning social interactions with adults and kids alike. We usually throw in non-kid items that need to go to add inventory to the sale and let the kids keep all of the profit. At the end of the sale, all of the items of value remaining are donated to charity along with a portion of the profits. Then the real fun begins for the kids....buying more stuff!!!
