There’s something about decluttering your family home that feels refreshing. When you declutter, it’s like you’re clearing away all the junk and noise and taking a step towards a more organized and streamlined life. Plus, it’s a great way to get your kids involved in your personal organizing project.
One way to get started which we find works quite well is by sorting through all the items in just one category in your home – whether it’s clothes, furniture, or toys. Everything should have a designated space, and you should ideally aim to declutter every category in your home. This will help to create a more spacious and organized environment, and it will also make it easier to find what you’re looking for. Next, start tackling your storage spaces.
You might be surprised at how much clutter can accumulate over time in the storage areas of your home. If this is the case, it’s time to take action and clear out the clutter. This might mean moving some items out of the house, but it will ultimately be worth it in terms of improved organizational skills and a more spacious home. Finally, don’t forget to declutter your mind – this is one area where clutter tends to take up residence more often than you might think.
If you’re looking for more tips on how to declutter your family home and get a handle on the chaos then read on my friends.
15 effortless tips to help you declutter your family home
Donate the toys to charity
Once a month ask your children to donate a toy to give to charity. By passing some on to a good cause it also helps make our storage challenges a little easier!
Storage is key!
Have lots of storage boxes, bags and places to hide toys – this has helped us a lot!
Evaluate everything
Follow Marie Kondo’s ‘does it spark you joy’ process. If it doesn’t, it goes to the charity shop or bin. I’ve decluttered about half my house so far since Christmas and it feels amazing. I feel less stressed at home and much happier to spend time here.
Operate a one in one out policy
Implement a new rule in the war against clutter. For every new thing that comes in something else has to leave. You can do this by having two boxes now – one for donating on one for reselling which you can action at the end of each month.
Take it with you
The thing that makes the biggest difference to the management of day-to-day clutter in my experience is not leaving a room without taking something with me that belongs somewhere else.
Teach the kids to tidy
Teach your children to tidy up from a young age. Children should learn that when they’ve finished playing with one toy they need to put it away before getting out something else.
Consider a playroom
Do you have a room or even a corner of a room that you could convert into a playroom with clever storage? This could make all the difference and help you stop thinking you have outgrown your house.
Be organised
Being organised is essential, and IKEA storage units are great for that. Use the big draw boxes to store a range of toys such as Duplo in one, and the train set in another. Don’t mix them up.
Make it one minute
Follow the 1-minute rule – if it takes under a minute to do, then do it now! It’s easier to stay on top of things as you go than do it later when it’s piled up.
Try rotation
Store half the toys and child paraphernalia in a large box in a water-tight garage and then every month rotate the toys that are out to play with. That way only half is actually out reducing clutter AND it’s like new toys each month.
Keep the toys in the kids room only
Keep toys in the kids’ rooms, with a set amount of storage that still feels reasonable. If toys get too much or start to overflow the storagethen it’s time to get rid of or donate some.
Declutter when the kids are out
Have a clean out when they’re out of the house. They’ll wail about you chucking a broken felt tip so having a tidy out when they aren’t in is the best. In our experience, they never even notice afterwards.
Curate their school art
Keep a few art pieces on a wall with string and pegs then change them up when they come home with more (we can’t hold on to every masterpiece) for the really special ones box them up in their memory boxes.
Get snappy
Take photos of artwork instead of keeping every single one!
Get a cleaner
Don’t feel guilty about getting a cleaner. Not only will they help to get your house spick and span, you may find they are also like the tidy fair and worth every penny.
And if all else fails…be out of the house!
If you really can’t handle the idea of clutter building up in your house, our favourite tip is to try to spend all day out the house so the kids don’t get a chance to mess it all up lol!
So there you have it, some super useful hints and tips on how to have a a clutter free home with kids – or at least less clutter! I’m looking forward to implementing some of these to help with my war against clutter….how about you?
Do you have any tips for keeping a clutter free home with children in the mix that you’d like to share? Do leave a comment if so! And if you need help with decluttering, why not find out more about how you can bring in help to help you declutter your home.
What I wouldn’t give for a clutter free house! I love the tips, every one is a real gem! I need a skip for our home!
I try so hard to live clutter free but my three little ones really sabotage this….they will never throw anything away, from holey socks to broken old crafts. Mind you we had a little break through last night in the fact, for the first time, my 10 year old let me clear her small clothes out without a fuss
Thanks so much for featuring me! Now that we have moved house I am definitely trying to declutter and generally be tidier. However we seem to be filing all the space we own so far, and you should see my daughter’s bedroom….where’s the carpet gone? Claire x
At the beginning of the new year, this was my one new year’s resolutions. I managed to de-clutter at the beginning of January and got rid of my daughter’s old toys and clothes she’s outgrown. It’s not even half of the year yet and I feel I have to de-clutter all over again! Sigh.
Totally with you on this! A playroom is a godsend for us – means I can hide everything behind one door. Love the one in one out policy!
I love that once a month you will donate toys to charity. Its a good initiative to give things we don’t need any more to others who might need it more.
Being organised and teaching the kids to tidy up definitely helps.
Great tips and we try and enforce the one in one out policy. Never heard of the ‘stand on’ policy and might try to adopt this too!
I do love the one in one out policy, I do that for my clothes but nothing much else. Great tips
Every time we travel we really take stock of how much stuff we have and don’t need. We do sell unused things throughout the year, which actually helps fund our travels and we also do a big clear out at Christmas and donate a lot of toys to local charity shops.
decluttering is my hobby 🙂 I know, I sound like a weirdo, but I feel so good when I don’t own much. We live in a small flat, so I need to have everything under control. 2/3 of my son’s toys are stored away under the bed, 1/3 available for him to play with. I rotate them twice a month. This way, he is always excited to see new toys coming, everything is organised and we save money, too. The less toys are out, the easier it gets for tiny kids to keep their stuff clean. My son puts away the books and toys when he is done playing with them. When we move to a bigger place, I’ll definitley have some smarter storage and it will be even easier. Can’t wait!
We have turned our dining room into a playroom which has really helped, although the toys still sneak back in
Love these tips! So practical – love the ‘Take it with you’ one, it makes so much sense!!!
#coolmumclub
Love the tips- the ‘take it with you’ one really works, I do it all the time! I also operate a ‘holding place’ which is at the side of the stairs so anything that needs to go upstairs is put there quickly and then I take it up next time I go up. We also use one mug all day for our hot drinks- we only have a slim dishwasher which would be filled up straightaway if we used a new mug for every drink! #coolmumclub
Yes to the one in and one out and I to declutter when the little monkeys are not around, so much easier to manage then X #coolmumclub
Such great ideas here. I’m a big fan of decluttering. Not on a Marie Kondo way, but I do it regularly. #coolmumclub
Funnily enough, I was just looking at one corner of my room thinking we need another trip to Ikea to get some more storage! When our clutter is getting too much I go round the house with a laundry basket and put everything which isn’t where it belongs. If i’m lucky, the kids will then help find their rightful places. #coolmumclub
I need to start decluttering! This is a motivation for me to kick it back in gear! #coolmumclub
I’d like to be able to tell you it gets better as they get older, but it doesn’t. But as they live in their own room and tend to only come out for meals, at least the mess is only in the one place and you can shut the door!
Really good tips. I can’t abide clutter and like to regularly have a sort through clothes, toys, cupboards etc and have a clear out! Thanks for choosing my post too! #coolmumclub xx
Yes to ALL of this! The playroom especially – creating a playroom for Josh was one of our best ideas ever xx #coolmumclub
I have so much clutter, it’s unreal. I definitely need to follow these tips! I keep meaning to look into the Konmari method more, it looks fantastic. #CoolMumClub
Having children equals having clutter…actually I think most families have clutter but I see it as family treasures! Although I do like the one in, one out idea.thats a great one. #coolmumclub
What an amazing load of advice…I’m on a constant battle against mess and probably do loads of these without thinking, but I’m rubbish at moving on the outgrown toys! Must get better at that…
Thanks for being such a #coolmumclub clutter ban inspo!
Storage boxes definitely and making use of vertical space really helps too. #coolmumclub
I used to love clutter seeing it as an expression of my personality but actually I was holding on to stuff to hold onto people all too often and using buying random things as therapy for my depression. Moving overseas made all the difference because then you just have to clear the clutter and be brutal about things #CoolMumClub
Love these ideas. As soon as my youngest two go to nursery I am starting the declutter process. Until then I am shoving stuff in cupboards and hoping they close 😉 #coolmumclub
Some great suggestions there, my house too is a never ending battle of space finding! #Coolmumclub
Some great tips – I agree with the donation to charities! And teaching my children to tidy up after themselves. But thats a little hard with the one year old baby haha! #CoolMumClub
We’ve recently got a cleaner – it is a game changer! She mostly concentrates on kitchen and bathrooms but does pile up any toys in the living room and hoovers around them.I like the idea of getting out more often – it does stay so much tidier when we’re not home! #coolmumclub
Returning from #coolmumclub still with a cluttered home and no time to clean it!
A great post! I class myself the total opposite of a hoarder! once I get going theres generally nothing left! but sometimes even that doesn’t seem enough! before you know it creep in the endless piles of paper work etc! I deffo want to try to live a more minimalist life so these are great tips #coolmumclub
Ah yes, the clutter, it seems to breed and multiply. We always tidy up toys at the end of the day, but it is things like post, newspapers, magazines and shoes in particular that tend to clutter my flat. I like to have 15 minute blitz sessions (maybe two a week) when I just focus on putting everything in its place. I now have an admin cupboard for all my bills and post etc. It is a very messy cupboard at the moment – tidying it is a 6-monthly endeavour – but at least I can shut the door. Pen x #coolmumclub
I’m slightly obsessed with decluttering and storage boxes!! Fab tips! I feel a spring clean coming on 🙂 #coolmumclub
These are great tips! I try to clean and declutter on a Sunday so at least I can enjoy it on a Monday when everyone else is at work and school and I am working at home! It doesn’t take long for it to be a tip again after that! #coolmumclub
That’s one of the reasons I prefer to be out of the house, because the thought of getting round to decluttering again doesn’t appeal. I really need to though #coolmumclub
These are really good tips. I think decluttering is a continuous activity. With the living room being the main place to firefight constantly! After all they don’t call it a ‘living’ room for nothing hey?! #coolmumclub
Definitely agree that storage is key – especially clever storage that looks a bit fancy! #coolmumclub
The only place that’s clutter free in our lives is my shed on my allotment – it’s my space & no-one elses!! #coolmumclub
May the decluttering force be with you all!!!! x