I’ve been trying to get the kids involved in helping to declutter the house so I have to get creative sometimes.
Lately, we’ve been playing this little game in the morning before we start our schooling. It’s pretty simple although you do need to provide a little supervision so that the little guys don’t throw away anything important.
I’ve been having each kiddo participate and I give them a number of items and a task to complete with those items. One day I might say I need 5 items to throw away, or another day might be I need 3 items to donate, or 4 items to put away, etc. I might even have them bring me one item per year of their age… I try to change it up to keep it interesting.
They bring the items to the kitchen island and deposit them. Then we complete the task of throwing them in the garbage, putting in the donation bin/bag, or putting them away in their proper places.
This doesn’t take very long to complete but it does make quite a difference… plus if the kids are complaining they are bored I can use this as a way to get them motivated to find something to keep themselves entertained.
You could even offer a ‘reward’ for the first kiddo to bring you the items… or offer them all a reward or snack when they complete their task. When we have 10-12 hands versus just my 2 hands picking up items we are able to clean/declutter a little bit faster… most of the time.
When we make the not-so-fun tasks a little bit more fun then they seem to get completed quicker. Who knows, maybe I could even come up with a Clutter Bingo?
Kirby's Kabin Blog 