If you’re preparing to move house, then you must know that there’s a lot of packing in order. However, there’s an important step that comes before packing and that is decluttering. It’s a great idea to take some time and get rid of any unnecessary things that are lying around your home. When you’re moving with kids, you need to go through their things as well and see what’s to stay and what can be thrown away. Well, in case you don’t know how to handle decluttering your child’s bedroom before relocation, there’s no need to worry. We’re here to give you some tips that will help you get this done with ease.
Prepare your child for moving
First things first, you need to make sure your child is aware of the relocation and is ready. Before you start thinking of how to ship your car from California to New York, have a little chat with your kids. Tell them all about the move to prepare them for this big life change. Don’t keep them in the dark.
Let your kid know you’re there for them and answer any questions they may have about the relocation. Once your child is up to speed, you can officially start getting ready for the move. Only now can you start decluttering your child’s bedroom.
Include your child in the decluttering process
One of the best ways to make sure your child isn’t feeling neglected while moving is involving them in the process. They can help you clean if you’re not hiring cleaning services Los Angeles, give you thoughts on the new home, but also help you declutter. When it comes to decluttering their own space, they will probably be more than interested. After all, they should have a say in what they want to keep. So, if you need some help with decluttering your child’s room, just ask them to give you a hand. Plus, if it’s a team effort, it will probably be done quicker!
Go through all the toys
If your child is still at the age when they love playing with toys, then you probably have a lot of work on your hands. If there are millions of toys in your kid’s room, it would be best to get rid of a portion of them. So, it’s time to get to sorting them out.
A good way to start decluttering your child’s bedroom is by sorting the toys into different piles. We recommend making three different categories:
- The toys you’re keeping
- Toys for donation
- The toys you’re throwing away.
Lay all the toys out on the bedroom floor and start putting them into the appropriate piles. Your child can sit next to you and tell you which toys they’d like to keep and which ones they could say farewell to. If they aren’t particularly set on keeping certain toys, it would be nice to donate them to the kids who’d be over the moon to have them. When it comes to toys that are broken or falling apart, it’s best to throw them out.
Downsize their wardrobe
When it comes to clothes, it’s very easy to let them pile on over the years without even noticing. All of a sudden, you find yourself with a closet full of clothes you don’t even wear anymore. Well, unless you’re moving with a baby, it’s probably the same with your kids’ clothes. Other than that, kids outgrow their clothes quite quickly, so there’s probably a lot of stuff the can’t wear anymore.
In order to pack fewer boxes and make space for some more important things, you should downsize your kid’s wardrobe. There are a few different types of clothes you should say goodbye to when decluttering your kid’s room:
- The clothes that don’t fit anymore. There’s no need to pack the clothes your kid simply cannot wear again. Only keep these items if they hold any sentimental value.
- The clothes your child doesn’t like anymore. If your child doesn’t like wearing certain items, there’s no point in keeping them. So, either put them in the ”donate” pile or the ”trash” pile. This means your kid should be involved in the decision making.
- The clothes that are ruined. It’s pretty rare that children’s clothes stay intact for a long time. Oftentimes they either get ripped or stained. If there are those kinds of items in your child’s closet, get rid of them.
Donate or trash?
Now, the question is – what do you do with all the unnecessary things after decluttering your child’s bedroom? Well, you have a few different options.
- Firstly, you could give the toys, clothes and anything else to other children in the family. Maybe your kid has cousins who would love some of these items.
- If there are no children in your surroundings, then donating is a great idea. The kids who end up getting these items will be truly grateful and you’ll surely make them happy. So, go to your local Goodwill or a similar place and make someone’s day.
- Even though there’s nothing wrong with donating used items, you can’t exactly donate the things that are falling apart. So, if the toys, books, clothes or anything else aren’t usable anymore, just throw them in the trash.
Find a balance between ”too harsh” and ”too sentimental”
Lastly, there’s always the question of how strict should you be when decluttering your child’s bedroom. Well, the best thing to do is to find a balance between being too sentimental and too radical. Certain things have sentimental value and that is irreplaceable. So, even if these things aren’t being used, you can still keep them because of all the memories. Just be careful not to keep everything for sentimental reasons.