Whether we live in Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County or elsewhere, how often as parents have we said those words?   And how often have we been less than satisfied with the clean-up efforts of our offspring?

An article published in the April 3, 2012 edition of the Edmonton Journal offers a few tips that might make the next tidying up incident a little more productive.  “Teaching kids to cut clutter” suggests the way to make kids’ too small rooms a little bigger is to get rid of some of the stuff in them.  Even better would be to never have some of the stuff, such as the junk contents of many birthday party loot bags (who dreams up these things anyway?), enter the rooms in the first place.

The article profiles two moms and writers, Debby Waldman and Rita Feutl, who co-wrote a book for children entitled Room Enough for Daisy based on their personal experiences trying to corral the belongings of their own children.  “Feutl says she hopes it prompts thoughtful parents to ask their kids to think about where the material for these things comes from, where they are put together, who puts them together and what they’re paid, how they’re packaged and how they get to the village, town or city where the kids live.”  The women hope their book will make kids more aware of their stuff and to take responsibility for it, as well as realize that some things are worth keeping more than others, and that less can be more.

A few of the tips from the article for helping kids cut clutter:

• Use the one-in-one-out rule.  When a new item comes into a kid’s room, something else must be removed.  But let your child decide.
• Sorting items and keeping like items together in containers and on shelves may go a long way to solving the problem of a messy room.
• If a child doesn’t appear to be using certain items, gather them up and put them away for 6 months.  If the child doesn’t ask for the items during that time, consider giving the stuff away.
• If kids want something new, have them contribute to the purchase.
• Be specific when you ask kids to clean their room.  Do you want them to clean, as in vacuum and dust, or do you want them to organize, as in pick up those blocks and arrange them in this box?
• Make sorting, arranging and tidying into a time-limited game.

Read the full article for even more good ideas.

If we can teach our kids to be more aware of the difference between wants and needs, and that more and more stuff doesn’t necessarily mean a better life, maybe their generation can do a better job of decluttering the planet!

I always welcome your comments and questions.  Call or text me at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here.