Yup. It’s a losing battle. If it doesn’t leave the house, they. will. find. it. We’ve been spending this week doing a maintenance declutter on the home, top to bottom, since we’re out of the baby year with our number four. We let a lot go when we have a baby around, of course. Today on the blog, I’m sharing with you three key steps to maintaining decluttering sanity with kids.

Intentional decluttering while putting things back

Every time you put things back. Clothes. Toys. Books. Anything you find on the floor. Instead of robotically putting it back, think about if it’s still needed or loved and then declutter it if that’s needed right then and there. Here is another blog on spring cleaning for maintenance decluttering that may help you out too.

Have a home for everything

Have a home for everything so that you know how much you have of everything. Lego. Stuffies. etc. What’s a home? According to Marie Kondo, it’s just a resting place for your stuff. For instance, our utensils go in a certain drawer, house keys have a spot, art papers have a drawer, and so on. You can read more about her method in her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

Involve the kids

Help them to recognize things they no longer need or love (it’s a long term process here as we’ve found lol). But, including the kids routinely will help them to learn the skills of decluttering too over time. Not perfectly of course. We have one child who enjoys collecting electricians. That’s his joy. But to help him make decisions on what is best to keep is still taught.

PS one of my mail list freebies was for a simple guide to maintenance decluttering with kids! I expanded on these three steps above and have seven more for you too. Just send me an email at simplehomemom@gmail.com if you’d like that guide for free and I’ll send it off to you!

Hi, I’m Kelly! I’m a mother of four children - three boys, one toddler girl - and our family lives on the beautiful east coast of Canada. I’m a past elementary teacher, turned stay at home, work at home mom eight years ago after I had my second child. I’ve found that the busier I’ve become and as my children age, that it’s become even more important to figure out what is most important to me and us as a family. Living a simpler lifestyle has helped us in so many ways in our home life - from better routines to faster tidying up times. It has been through my children that I have been inspired to learn how to effectively manage my time and to simplify in all areas of my home and life. I enjoy helping busy moms simplify home life by teaching flexible planning methods and skills. Enjoyed this blog and think it would be helpful to others? I'd love if you shared it. Thank you!