As I've told you before, my children are viewing this simplicity experiment as something kindof stupid since their lives are about as simple as it gets. You can imagine then, how much support I am getting on the January Clutter Busting that is happening.
I thought that I was a fairly brilliant mother when I had my husband build cubbys for my kids at our front door so that they could keep all of their shoes, coats, sports equipment and general crap in them and for the most part it works. The issue is that they are all now beginning to turn into large human beings and their crap is getting bigger and is seemingly multiplying despite my best efforts.
This brings me to the subject of their bedrooms....HOLY CRAP. I have been downscaling what we buy for the kids for a while now in an effort to simplify and keep the clutter down and Christmas this year was no exception. They got a couple of big things and that was it. They were also happy. However, in their rooms, I am astounded to find unbelievable amounts of things that have somehow survived the regular purging that I do.
This becomes the issue because getting them to help is a horror show because really, we can't throw out their stuff because it's all so important! Even the half filled lip gloss from 5 years ago is something that my daughter just LOVES! The other issue with getting rid of kid stuff is that even a purger like me gets caught in the trap of sentimentalism. Old McDonald's toys I have no problem throwing out but the bunny that went to kindergarten and still has orange paint on her from craft time....even a hardass like me can't bring myself to do it.
I've come to the conclusion that when working with decluttering kids rooms, you are better off using a flame thrower from a distance than getting them to help or delving deeply into the memories. Maybe I should just leave their rooms alone unless something smells and they can deal with it when they move out!
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