Spending more time inside lately? Noticing some areas in your home that need a little TLC? Now is the perfect time to get out those cleaning supplies and give your home a solid top to bottom spring cleaning.  Here are some ideas to get you started:

Inside:

• Start from the ceiling and work your way down
• Dust ceiling fans and light fixtures
• Wash walls, door casings and baseboards (hint: old toothbrushes are a great way to scrub small edges and tight corners)
• Wash windows, window coverings and wipe down screens (don’t forget window runners)
• Wipe down all electrical plugs, light switches and door knobs
• Clean air vents and covers
• Scrub floors
• Pull out appliances and clean inside, outside, behind and underneath
• Still have energy?  Remove items from closets and cupboards and wash down space (sort items into “keep” and “give away piles”)
• Think you’re done? Get down low and take a look from a child’s perspective (whoa, didn’t see that dirt before!)

Outside (even when isolating, there are things that can be done around your house):

• Clean up after your pet (it’s easier when it’s frozen)
• Shake out entry mats and sweep patios and porches
• Clean out the garage
• Wipe down or power wash siding (weather permitting)
• Clean light fixtures
• Wash windows and doors
• Trim trees, bushes and shrubs (while it’s still cold to prevent diseases)
• Turn on hose bibs when chance for freezing is over and pull out hoses
• Don’t forget to take a look at your gutters (safely!)
• Prepare gardens for planting (buying seeds and starting indoors is a real mood picker upper)
• Wipe down patio furniture (then sit down and soak up some vitamin D)

With the kids home from school, involving them in this spring ritual is a great opportunity to teach some life skills and work together as a family. Have fun and stay healthy!

Brrr, the big chill is soon upon us.  Time to get your yard ready for hibernation.  Here are 5 things to do to prepare your yard for the snow:

·        Mow and water the lawn, grasscycle

Water – grass may be growing more slowly, but it is putting energy into building the root system and still needs regular waterings

Mow – continue to mow so that water and sunlight can reach the plant

Grasscycle – leave grass clippings on the lawn to help your lawn become stronger and healthier

·        Fill in bald spots, control the weeds and fertilize

Fill in bare spots now with a grass patch repair kit, fertilize with some weed and feed to kill the weeds and give much needed nutrients to the grass over the winter.

·        Prune, mulch and transplant perennials

Prune back perennials to protect their extremities from extreme weather.  Place mulch around the roots to help insulate them.  If you need to transplant, do it now to give the root systems time to develop before the ground freezes.

·        Clean up annuals

Once your annuals stop producing leaves or flowers, they can be pulled from your garden and flower beds.  Plants are easier to pull out before the long winter has wilted them, plus it will make your yard look much neater.

·        Rake the fallen leaves

Leaves left on the grass during snow can suffocate it in the spring when snow melts.  They can also cause mold and fungal infections in your yard.  Rake them up as soon as they fall and compost them or dispose of them with your other yard waste.

 By doing this every fall, you can look forward to a gorgeous yard and less work in the spring.  Now go and enjoy a pumpkin spice latte, you deserve it!

Tulips and daffodils are making themselves known, popping up out of the dirt, a sure sign that spring is here. It’s time to get your house looking and feeling clean, inside and out. Here is a checklist of things that need doing:

Outside:
• Put seasonal items away in storage (snow shovels, Christmas decorations, etc.)
• Pick up stray garbage
• Clean up after your pet
• Shake out entry mat
• Sweep the walks and deck/patio
• Rake the grass when it is dry
• Turn on hose bibs when the chance of freezing is over
• Put out hoses
• Power wash siding
• Wash windows and doors
• Clean outdoor light fixtures
• Clean outdoor furniture
• Trim trees, bushes, shrubs
• Prepare garden and flower beds for planting

Inside:
• Start at the top and work your way down
• Clean ceiling fans and light fixtures
• Dust ceiling corners
• Wash or dust walls and baseboards
• Clean air vents
• Wash windows
• Wipe all light switches and electrical plug covers and door knobs
• Dust all surfaces
• Clean all window coverings
• Polish furniture
• Clean floors
• Pull out appliances and clean underneath them

Is your Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County or Edmonton area home making you sick? If you find yourself experiencing a variety of symptoms such as itchy, watery eyes, a cough that won’t go away, constant sneezing, chronic sore throat, frequent headaches, shortness of breath or asthma, the culprit may be the air in your home.

Indoor air pollution can be caused by a long list of things, including:

• Smoke, especially tobacco products used indoors
• Other burning items, such as candles, incense, wood-burning fireplace, gas stove
• Heating or cooling systems.
• Off-gassing from building materials (new carpets, new cabinets made of pressed wood, etc.) and other industrial chemicals, such as radon, formaldehyde, fire-retardants, and the like
• Household chemicals of various types (cleaning supplies, paint, air fresheners, etc.)
• Personal products such as hair spray, scented soaps, etc.
• High humidity
• Poor circulation of fresh air
• Mould, mildew and dust mites

Winter, when our houses are closed up tight, makes the situation worse. Luckily, there are many things we can do to improve the quality of the air and our health without resorting to camping in the open air in the backyard

1.  No smoking in the house!

2.  Keep your house clean.

• Vacuum often.
  Choose a vacuum cleaner with strong suction, rotating brushes and a HEPA filter to get rid of all sorts of nasty things. Clean your floors and also walls, carpet edges, draperies or blinds, and upholstered furniture at least once a week. Vacuum mattresses every couple of months.
• Damp mop the floors after vacuuming.
  Use a microfiber cloth and plain water to pick up dust that the vacuum did not capture. Furniture, baseboards, interior doors and cabinets can also be cleaned of dust using just a damp microfiber cloth.
• Put a large floor mat at every door and have people remove their shoes to keep outside dirt and chemicals from coming in.
• Consider getting rid of the carpet in your home (a haven for dirt and dust mites). Replace it with natural materials like solid wood, bamboo or cork. Avoid vinyl floor coverings due to their carcinogenic properties.
• Launder bed coverings and pillows frequently, especially if you have pets in your home.
• Clean often or replace filters in your furnace, humidifiers and portable air conditioners. Also clean bathroom and kitchen vents.

3. Store household chemicals, such as paint, solvents, glues and pesticides, outside the home.

Items such as these emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are harmful to people and the environment. There’s a reason containers for these products come with the warning to use only in a well-ventilated area.

4.  Banish artificial fragrances from your home.

Pine, lemon and flowery scents in cleaners, laundry products and plug-in air fresheners may smell pleasant, but those things are loaded with nasty chemicals that can make you sick. Gases emitted by these products contain VOCs and petroleum derivatives that have been determined to be hazardous and toxic. Instead, look for fragrance-free products. Use natural cleaning products, such as baking soda and vinegar. Stop using aerosol sprays such as deodorants, hair sprays, furniture polish, and air fresheners. Use sliced lemons or vanilla extract dabbed on light bulbs or your furnace filter for a lovely natural smell.

5.  Stop household mould.

Mould occurs in areas prone to high moisture such as kitchens and bathrooms. Use exhaust fans and a dehumidifier to keep the humidity down and the air moving. Keep a healthy level of humidity in your home of 30-50%. Repair any plumbing leaks. If you spot mould on surfaces, treat it and remove it while it’s small and manageable. This article from The Family Handyman tells you how.

6.  Invest in an air purifier.

High-quality air purifiers remove dust, dust mites, pet dander, pollen, smoke and other allergens, as well as cooking odors. Some may even remove VOCs. Read what Consumer Reports has to say about these machines.

7.  Increase ventilation in your home.

Fling open all the windows? Sure, if the outside air is fresh – or if it’s not the middle of an Alberta winter! During Alberta’s other seasons, consider using “trickle ventilation”, a special window screen with extra filters that allows fresh air in while filtering out pollutants from both outside and inside the home. Use air conditioning in the summer, if you have it in your home, to move the air and remove mold-causing moisture. Run ceiling fans all year-round for more air-moving experience. Make sure that fuel-burning furnaces, fireplaces, heaters, range tops and the like are vented to the outside well away from windows and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) intakes.

8.  Improve air quality with house plants.

Best air-filtering plants, according to a study done by NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America:

• English ivy (Hedera helix)
• Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
• Golden pothos or Devil’s ivy (Scindapsus aures or Epipremnum aureum)
• Peace lily (Spathiphyllum ‘Mauna Loa’)
• Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema modestum)
• Bamboo palm or reed palm (Chamaedorea sefritzii)
• Snake plant or mother-in-law’s tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata‘Laurentii’)
• Heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron oxycardium, syn.Philodendron cordatum)
• Selloum philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum, syn.Philodendron selloum)
• Elephant ear philodendron (Philodendron domesticum)
• Red-edged dracaena or Song of India (Dracaena marginata)
• Cornstalk dracaena (Dracaena fragans ‘Massangeana’)
• Janet Craig dracaena (Dracaena deremensis ‘Janet Craig’)
• Warneck dracaena (Dracaena deremensis ‘Warneckii’)
• Weeping fig (Ficus benjamina)
• Gerbera daisy or Barberton daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)
• Pot mum or florist’s chrysanthemum (Chrysantheium morifolium)
• Rubber plant (Ficus elastica)

Bonus:  These plants are among the easiest house plants to grow, even for those without a green thumb!

9.  Test for radon.

This cancer-causing radioactive gas is colorless and odorless. It is produced through the natural decay of uranium found in soil. It gets into homes moving up from the ground through cracks in the home’s foundation. Granite countertops might also be a problem. Read Health Canada’s article on testing for radon.

Do you have other ideas to improve home air quality? Call or text me at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here.

You know what spring means – spring cleaning time is here! Are you preparing your home to sell and looking for ways to do a top notch job of spring cleaning? If you have Spruce Grove real estate, Stony Plain real estate, Parkland County real estate, or Edmonton real estate, a spring cleaning is a vital piece of the home selling puzzle. The same applies to Parkland County acreages and Edmonton acreages. If you’re preparing to sell your home, these spring cleaning tips will ensure that your buyers find it in sparkling condition.

Shine That Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is trendy and beautiful in the kitchen, but as any owner of stainless steel appliances knows, it can be a pain to keep clean. Shiny stainless steel instantly makes a kitchen more attractive, so when you are spring cleaning, take the time to clean and shine all of your appliances. Scrub the appliances gently with some cleaning solution and a soft cloth – but never use an abrasive solution or cloth, as they may scratch the appliances. Once all the grease and grime is removed, go over the area with a dry cloth. As a homemade alternative to expensive stainless steel sprays, use a dab of baby oil on a paper towel to shine up any surfaces. Don’t use too much – you do not want the area to be greasy. Just a little bit of oil will work wonders in getting those fingerprints out.

Wash the Walls

As they are often neglected, walls should be washed at least once a year to wipe away dust and grime that can accumulate. This is especially important if you live near a busy road or in a developing area where there is still a lot of construction. A simple cleaning solution and water mix combined with a soft rag should be enough to freshen up the walls. If you still have trouble with some spots, try a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser sponge.

Clean Your Carpet

You would be amazed at how dirty your carpet can become since the last time it has been cleaned. Although it can be hard to tell, the difference will be notable if you give the carpet a cleaning. This is especially true if you live on an acreage where the outdoors are a big part of your lifestyle, as dust can find its way into your house without you even noticing. You don’t have to pay for professional carpet cleaning to get your carpets looking nice. Instead, rent a carpet cleaning machine. You can find one such machine at most supermarkets, where they are usually available to rent for under $100. Once you see the colour of the water coming from your carpet when you wash it, you’ll believe that the rental was worth every penny.

Use Micro Fibre Cloths

If you’re using anything other than micro fibre cloths right now, stop what you’re doing and go get a micro fibre cloth to try. They might take a bit of getting used to, but they are very effective, and they will pick up dust and grime you didn’t even realize you were missing. They also dry quite quickly, making them ideal for use in cleaning your home.

Make Your Welcome Mat Welcoming

Your welcome doormat is the very first impression people get of your home, so make sure it will leave a great impression! Shake out the doormat so any debris that has accumulated on it over the winter is gone. If it still isn’t looking too inviting, break out a short bristled scrub brush and some water and suds to really get the grime out. With a little elbow grease, you’ll have it looking as good as new.

Spring is a great time to clean your house top to bottom, remembering both the big and small things that make a home look clean and bright. This is a particularly important thing to do if you are preparing to sell your home.

If you’re hoping to get your house ready to sell and are looking for a new place to move, or someone to help you sell your current home, I’m ready and willing to help you buy or sell your next home. Call or text me at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here.

You’ve bought a property in Parkland County, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, or the Edmonton area, and you’ve spent hours cleaning your old home for the next resident. Now, cleaning your new home is usually the last thing you want to do when moving in, but as always, no matter how clean and perfect your new home is left waiting for you, there’s always that nagging feeling of needing to redo some of it yourself. But don’t waste your time with harsh chemicals in your new home; here are four fantastic all natural cleaning agents that will leave your new home sparkling clean, disinfected, and smelling fresh.

Baking Soda – the Natural Deodorizer

Known as one of the most versatile cleaners on the planet, baking soda is perfect for scrubbing surfaces (as it is non-abrasive), and it can be mixed with lemon and vinegar (to form a paste) for tougher stains. Perfect for deodorizing the carpet, baking soda can be spread evenly on the carpet and left for a couple of hours before it’s vacuumed up. No scrubbing necessary!

Tea Tree Oil – a Powerful Antiseptic

This product can be found just as easily as baking soda at your local pharmacy, and a few drops of tea tree oil can go a long way. Boil some water and let it cool to a warm temperature. In a bucket (for your floors) or a spray bottle, combine the water with a handful of drops (or more for larger surfaces) of tea tree oil, and mop your floors or wipe down any surfaces with it. Tea Tree Oil kills bacteria better than any household cleaner on the market, is safe to use as an all purpose cleaner, and it’s even known to help fight fungal infections such as acne. An added bonus to this wonderful product? It will leave your surfaces with a brilliant shine.

Vinegar – Cheap and Effective

While the scent may not be the most pleasant, vinegar has been used as an all-natural cleaning product for centuries. In fact, some historians claim that vinegar was used by a group of thieves in the time of plague – they would bathe in it to ward off the illness and then rob the homes of the deceased. Vinegar has many of the same uses as CLR:  cleaning your sinks, coffee pots, showerheads, and any place that may gather calcium, mould, and scum. It’s also perfect for leaving a streak-free shine on your windows – simply combine part vinegar and part water in a spray bottle and wipe the surface with a paper towel.

Lemon – Degrease and Sanitize

From polishing your silverware, to sanitizing your cutting board or microwave, lemon does it all – but be careful with some surfaces, as it’s more potent than you think! Lemon will do anything from degreasing your pots and pans (and even your grill) to brightening your whites in the laundry. Lemon will not only clean, but also eliminate bad odours as it lifts surface bacteria.

Keep yourself and your family healthy in your home by cutting down on harsh, expensive chemical cleaning products and try some of the dozens of uses these natural cleaning products have to offer!

I always look forward to hearing from you and answering any questions or hearing comments you may have regarding your home and our community. Call or text me at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here directly at Spruce Grove Real Estate.

Is there a dog or cat living in your Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County or Edmonton area home?  According to a 2008 Ipsos-Reid survey as reported in the Canadian Veterinary Journal, roughly 56% of Canadian households have a dog or a cat as a pet.

Animals make their presence known in your home, and not in a good way, through scratches on walls, floors and furniture, stains on carpets, dander and allergens in the air, and various unsavory odors.  But there are ways to keep your house in good shape and all residents happy with a few smart and relatively inexpensive adjustments.  The most important advice is to choose the right materials and work with your animal’s natural instincts and needs.

Keep it clean!  Home and pet, that is.

• First, vacuum often.  It’s a basic fact of life that dogs and cats shed.  Invest in a decent vacuum cleaner, preferably with HEPA filter, and plan on going over carpets and upholstery about twice a week or more.
• Reduce the amount of clutter in your rooms.  Each object you remove from a room means one less object that gets covered in dust, dander and pet hair.
• An item that is well worth the cost is a HEPA furnace filter which removes huge quantities of dust, dander and allergens from the air.
• Use enzyme cleaners such as Nature’s Miracle Stain and Odour Remover when dealing with pet messes.
• You might also want to purchase some special furniture covers designed with pets in mind.  (See these Pet Protector Covers available from Sears Canada).  Easier to wash these than to shampoo the furniture.
• Keep your pet clean and well-groomed.  This means regular brushing, nail-clipping, bathing and the like.  If you can remove some of the hair and the oil and dirt it holds before it ends up on your floors and furniture, your house will be cleaner.  Trimmed nails are less likely to scratch floors or snag upholstery. 
  

It’s the nature of the beast!  Work with your pets’ natural inclinations to mold their behavior to what’s acceptable.  Your dog, for example, wants to please you so will tell you when he wants out and will also adapt readily to his own bed or crate.  Supply a clean litter box and a scratching post for your cat and watch her take to them.  If you find your animal jumping on the couch to look out the window, consider moving that couch away from the window and possibly installing a platform that bolts to the window sill to accommodate your pet’s preference.

Choose the right fabrics.  If you have pets, you already know to stay away from silk and velvet.  If you’re shopping for new furniture, consider something like Crypton or UltraSuede, which are wonderfully stain-resistant and durable.  Leather will scratch, but it is easy to clean and long-lasting.  Forget the dry-clean-only bedding and opt for washable everything because you know your pet will end up on your bed at some point.

Get rid of fabric altogether, where you can.  Replace draperies with wood blinds, for example.

Choose the right flooring.  Carpet and pets are a bad combination.  Carpet soaks up “accidents”, absorbs odors, and traps hair and dander – yuck!  If possible, consider replacing wall-to-wall carpeting in your home with any of the variety of hard-surface flooring on the market today, and bonus! these choices are very fashionable at the moment.  The best option for a pet-proof home is ceramic tile because it’s pretty much impervious to anything your pet can do!  Other easy to clean and durable alternatives include painted concrete, brick, high-end linoleum, or hardwood (but be aware that big dogs can scratch wood).

Neutrals work best.  Dramatic color schemes will show dirt, hair, and wear and tear more than colors such as gray, taupe and cream.  Luckily, neutrals are in style now for everything from paint on the walls to furniture, carpets and counter tops.  If you’re planning to re-paint, remember to choose a washable satin finish, and look for low or no-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints.  Both you and your pet will benefit from not breathing toxic fumes.

Consider some of these specialty products and home renovations:

• Disguised litter box, partially covered and resembling furniture.  Keep the odor down by placing in a well-ventilated area if you can, and by cleaning it frequently.  The litter box might even be located in a separate room, such as a garage or utility space, with access through a secret cat door hidden inside a cabinet.
• Built-in bench with removable cover next to an outside door:  Provides convenient seating for people to put on and remove shoes, and the inside provides storage for pet toys, balls, leashes, etc.
• Indoor pet retreat or special mudroom could be a corner or even a whole room located by an outside back door.  Automatic feeders and drinking fountains and even doggy showers are often features of these spaces.  Some have lockable exterior access doors designed for your pet to go inside and out.  Most have specialty storage for all pet-related items such as food, chew toys, towels, etc.
• Heated floors.  Good for animals and people!
• Cat ramps are a series of shelves resembling stairs running up a wall to just below the ceiling where they meet a longer shelf where cats can run or recline.
• Portable pet stairs to help small animals access furniture.
• A doggy overlook is a square opening on the second floor allowing your dog to stick his head through to keep watch on his owners below.
• Outdoor dog and cat runs.
• For more ideas like these, see my Pinterest board “Pets and Your Home”.

What special things do you do in your home to accommodate your pets while keeping your home clean and stylish?  I’d love to hear from you.  Call or text me at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here.

How dry is your Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County or Edmonton area basement?  With one of the wettest summers on record upon us, you might be one of those unfortunate homeowners dealing with a flooded basement.  Whether you’re in the process of cleaning up, or you’ve been spared so far and want to stay that way, check out the following for some good advice:

Preventing the Problem

“Steps you can take to prevent basement flooding”, published in the Saturday, July 21, 2012 edition of the Edmonton Journal.

“The Homeowner’s Guide to Flood Prevention”, produced by the City of Edmonton.

“Before Flooding”, concise and comprehensive factsheet from Alberta Municipal Affairs, Emergency Management Alberta.

“Avoiding Basement Flooding”, factsheet from CMHC.

“Protect Your Home From Basement Flooding”, from the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction  (includes a handy score sheet to determine your risk for flooding).  View their video “Reduce basement flooding”.

Check out also “City of Spruce Grove Homeowner’s Guide to Lot Grading”  and Spruce Grove’s “Residential Lot Grading and Maintenance” information sheet and regulations.

What to Do After a Flood

“Cleaning your home after a flood”, Alberta Health Services.

“Flood Disaster: What to do before, during and after flooding”, excellent and detailed booklet from Alberta Municipal Affairs, Emergency Management Alberta.

“After the Flood:  A Homeowner’s Checklist”, factsheet from CMHC.

“Cleaning Up Your House After a Flood”, CMHC free download.

“A Guide to Fixing Your Damp Basement”, available from CMHC for $9.95.

“Cleaning Up After the Flood: a guide for homeowners”, Saskatchewan Ministry of Health.

City of Spruce Grove Disaster Recovery Program 

See also my blog article entitled “Spring Run-off”, posted April 10, 2012.

Comments or questions about this article?  Call or text me at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here.

With summer nearly here, most of us are looking forward to spending time on the decks and patios of our Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County and Edmonton area homes.  That means patio doors will be working overtime as family members go in and out many times through the day.

Have you noticed a build-up of dirt in the tracks of those patio doors, as well as those of sliding windows?  Basic vacuuming doesn’t do a very good job of removing all the dirt, does it?  So, what is the best way to make those tracks sparkle again, and incidentally make the doors and windows easier to slide?

Start by removing the loose dirt with the crevice tool of your vacuum cleaner, or brush it out with a stiff-bristled brush.  Then, work on removing the sticky residue with a cloth dampened with mineral spirits.  The cloth can be stretched over a putty knife to help you reach into the depths and corners of the tracks.  Yes, I know; this is fiddly, time-consuming work!  But the end result will be worth it, I promise.

Once the tracks are like-new clean, spray them with silicone spray to help the doors and windows slide better.  Don’t use a petroleum product like WD-40 as this will attract dirt and cause that greasy build-up you just worked so hard to get rid of.  All of the products mentioned above (stiff-bristled brush, mineral spirits, silicone spray) are readily available at stores like Canadian Tire.

Do you have household cleaning or maintenance tips to share?  I’d be happy to feature them in future blog articles.  Phone or text me at 780-910-9669, email me at btwynam@telusplanet.net, or contact me here.

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.