The following is by editor Kara Fleck.
So, friends, how is the first week of Project Simplify going for you as Tsh leads us in cleaning up kids’ stuff?
I have to admit that I still have a good amount of cleaning, decluttering, and downsizing work ahead of me. My older two children have been terrific about helping, but my three year old isn’t quite as thrilled about the idea and has told me several times she “likes it messy” the little stinker.
I’m finding that it is working out best for my ten and five year olds and I to clean when the baby and the three year old are napping. We put on some fun music and get to work.
The kids are working on their bedrooms, with a bit of supervision from me, and I’m tackling the play kitchen and the children’s desk in our loft playroom.
Here is my progress so far:
Here are my “before” pictures. Yikes!
The Desk
The Issues
- too many craft supplies out at once, no organization
- trash ending up on the floor
- items on top of the desk that don’t belong there
The Game Plan
- I’ve cleaned away all of the craft supplies, and I’m giving them back to the children as they ask for them this week. The rest I will organize and store in a closet, the idea being that what they use the most they have access to and the rest is tidy and put away elsewhere.
- The desk has all these great cubby holes and drawers that we need to be utilizing (and, once upon a time, we were)
- find a small trash can for this space
- re-hang the chalk board and return other items that don’t belong on the desk to their homes
The Play Kitchen
The Issues
- Again, items on top of the kitchen that don’t belong on this space.
- Play food is every where!
- the kitchen itself is dirty and needs cleaned
The Game Plan
- find homes for all of the objects that have landed on the top that don’t belong there
- organize, and perhaps downsize, the play food and toy dishes
- find some small baskets and containers that can be used to store the play kitchen items, just like in our big kitchen
- remove everything from the kitchen and give it a good scrub down from top to bottom
Okay, that is my progress spring cleaning kids’ stuff so far. Admittedly, it isn’t much. I have plans, but little progress. The kids and I have some work to do over the next few days.
Tune in to this space on Friday and, hopefully, I’ll have some clean and tidy “after” photos to share with you. And, be sure to head over to Simple Mom for some tips and encouragement with Project Simplify.
We’re half way through the week. How are your kids’ spaces looking?
About Kara
i can’t believe this is your “yikes” picture.
Thanks, April, I think
The play kitchen trouble me, perhaps because it resembles our real kitchen at the moment? Now, there is a real “yikes” area.
I would love some ideas on how to “store” some of the more “fragile” toys like remote control cars with attenas. I’m good at limiting my kids to their 2 cubicles, but their bins are usually only half full and then we have lingering toys that are too fragile to toss in to those bins. They usually end up on top and then that is heaped with stuff.
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That is a good question, Angela. Perhaps a shelf in that area, hung high enough to keep fragile things out of reach of those who might harm them, but low enough that your child has access?
I’m interested to see what other readers have to say
Best wishes!
Do you have a “cubby-style” shelf? You could place bins in some, and leave others for the more delicate toys to stand on their own.
Sleeping Mom´s latest post: Yo Gabba Who? My toddler lives under a rock
So I have been through b0th boys rooms( 3 and 11 months). I started with getting rid of trash, broken toys and junk toys( Mc Donald’s/ Sonic).
-Side note- I don’t take my children there, you must know that. Their grandpa occasionaly will take them for a treat.
Then I went on to books. At first when I thought about getting rid of books that sounded crazy, but upon further inspection we had several silly books that the boys aren’t into and that I not educational. I barely got rid of a box of things, I was hoping for more.
Next, I’ll be moving onto clothes. This will be a big deal, but definately necessary. I am dreading going through my own clothes :/
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The kitchen food was one thing I tackled this week, I’ll be posting about my paint bucket storage on Friday.
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These are the cleanest “before” pictures!
We just moved into our house, so project simplify doesn’t fit our agenda right now. Thankfully, we did the full house de-clutter and donate before the move, so I know I need to find homes for everything that made it on the moving truck. However, I do really like this approach to focus on one area at a time, survey the “before,” make a plan, and then dive in. I think it will come in handy over the next few months!
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Yeah, our de-cluttering plans have majorly slowed down this week due to pink eye and an ear infection. Hopefully the end of our week will go more smoothly and we can make some progress.
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We started the play clothes bin today. Lots of purses, some belts, and a couple tiaras are in the give away pile. Last night I did some clothing and outerwear. We will need to tackle toys on the weekend when we have more time.
Keep on truckin’
Leanne
I don’t have kids at home anymore, but I do have a 2 overflowing baskets of toys for the grandkids! I should probably use this challenge as a prompt to organize them!
Bernice @ The Stressed Mom´s latest post: Sometimes you should say Yes