Clearing Kids Room Clutter

Weed Constantly. To keep kids’ clutter at bay, I find “weeding” to be one of the most important strategies.

“Weed Constantly” is Strategy #3 in Kathy Waddill’s The Organizing Sourcebook: Nine Strategies for Simplifying Your Life (p. 85). This is one of my favorite organizing books because the ideas are accessible and really make sense.

I was reminded of the importance of weeding while working on my daughter’s room recently. Last week we came home with a few bags of new fall clothes for the start of school, but the dresser, closet and “clothes to grow into” bin were pretty full. Before putting the new things away, I started pulling out tops, skirts and pant from the dresser and asking her “does it still fit?”  There was some trying-on, but mostly we knew what had gotten small over the past few months. Not satisfied with the dresser, I also moved on to the closet – taking out the PJs, sweatshirts, dresses dance leotards, and soccer gear. And don’t forget about the shoes pushed way in the back of the closet, a sure sign that they no longer fit.

I was pretty shocked that even though we had sorted out the “too-small” clothes back in May, there were still a lot that now didn’t fit. I ended up with two bags of clothes, and happily took them to the my favorite local consignment store, The Little Fox Shop.

Since kids grow so quickly, weeding their clothes often is critical to maintaining an organized room. My rule is to get out clothes that don’t fit right away. Even if the clothes sit in your attic, garage or car for a bit before moving on to their next destination, getting them out of your child’s room is key.