Episode 018: Kids Decluttering Advice

[00:00:00] Diana Rene: Welcome to another episode of The Decluttered Mom Podcast. Today, I am really excited because I have one of the best and most special guests I could possibly have on this podcast. And that is my eight-year-old who is here to give you and your kids some tips as you are decluttering and organizing your home.

[00:00:23] Diana Rene: So we are just going to jump right into it. And I think she's excited and maybe a little nervous, and that's okay. 

[00:00:33] Diana Rene: You're listening to The Decluttered Mom Podcast. A podcast built specifically for busy moms by a busy mom. I'm your host, Diana Renee, and in 2017, I had my second daughter, and it felt like I was literally drowning in my home. Okay, not literally. But I felt like I couldn't breathe with all of the stuff surrounding me. Over the next ten months, I got rid of approximately 70% of our household belongings, and I have never looked back. I kind of feel like I hacked the mom system, and I'm here to share all the tips, tricks, and encouragement. 

[00:01:11] Diana Rene: Let's listen to today's show.

[00:01:16] Diana Rene: If you don't follow me on Instagram, you may not know that I do not share my kids' identities anywhere. So we call her Miss Eight because she's eight years old, and that's how I will refer to her in this episode also. 

[00:01:31] Diana Rene: All right. We're gonna jump right in. 

[00:01:33] Miss 8: Hi 

[00:01:33] Diana Rene: All right. Do you wanna share anything about yourself? Maybe you can say something that you really enjoy doing. 

[00:01:41] Miss 8: I really enjoy, um, cooking and arts and crafts. 

[00:01:47] Diana Rene: Yeah. 

[00:01:47] Miss 8: Also, science. 

[00:01:49] Diana Rene: And you're really good at both. Aren't you? 

[00:01:51] Miss 8: Yeah. 

[00:01:51] Diana Rene: What did you cook for us for dinner last night? 

[00:01:54] Miss 8: Um, we cooked steak and salmon, and yeah, 

[00:02:00] Diana Rene: It was yummy. Okay. So she came up with five different tips that are useful for your kids or for you even, and she is going to go over those.

[00:02:12] Diana Rene: We're gonna go one at a time here. I can grab it for you. 

[00:02:17] Miss 8: Thanks! 

[00:02:17] Diana Rene: Okay. So what would you say is your number one tip on the list for when you're decluttering or organizing? 

[00:02:25] Miss 8: Well, first one is organizing, and I, um, do this thing I call it under-bed bins. So there are these really long bins that are really easy to open, and they're really, they're a nice storage idea.

[00:02:45] Miss 8: You just, you can store things in there. Make it all organized and then put the cap on and slide it under your bed. And it, um, gives you a lot more room for everything. So you don't have to take up like drawers and other things like that. 

[00:03:00] Diana Rene: That's true. What kinds of things do you keep in your bins under your bed?

[00:03:05] Miss 8: I keep like, um, I keep a bunch of papers and like, um, I even keep like shoes that I don't wear that often. Um, 

[00:03:20] Diana Rene: Don't you have a bin that has like a lot of your photographs and 

[00:03:24] Miss 8: yeah. 

[00:03:24] Diana Rene: Journals and things that you don't look at every day, but you wanna keep still. 

[00:03:28] Miss 8: Yeah. 

[00:03:29] Diana Rene: Yeah. 

[00:03:29] Miss 8: Um, and we even, this is a really helpful idea too, for the under-bed bins. We have a special bin where it has like all of our board games. 

[00:03:41] Diana Rene: Mm-hmm 

[00:03:41] Miss 8: so, like all of our card games, all of our board games, everything. That we play, like to play together. 

[00:03:48] Diana Rene: Yeah. And how do we organize? Like, what do the games go into? 

[00:03:53] Miss 8: Well, we have like these humongous ziplock bags, they are huge, and we put the games in there. Cause I feel like the boxes take up a lot more space than the bags. 

[00:04:06] Diana Rene: I agree. 

[00:04:07] Miss 8: Cause if you have like extra space in the bag, you can just fold up the rest of the bag and slide it in. So it's really helpful. 

[00:04:13] Diana Rene: Cool. Well, that is a wonderful first tip. 

[00:04:16] Miss 8: Thank you. So I like it too. 

[00:04:19] Diana Rene: Okay. Let's jump into tip number two, 

[00:04:22] Miss 8: Storage cubbies. I love these things. They are so helpful for organizing. So they're like little cubbies. You might have heard about these. Um, they're very popular. Um, so they're like these kind of like little cubbies, and they have a handle you can, you can like, they're kind of like drawers. 

[00:04:44] Diana Rene: Yeah. I think they're called cubes.

[00:04:46] Miss 8: Yeah. Storage cubes. 

[00:04:47] Diana Rene: Yeah. 

[00:04:48] Miss 8: And you put them in shelves. 

[00:04:51] Diana Rene: Right. And when you're using those, you can use them to organize. Right. So you can put, like, I know you have one that has all of your crystals in it. 

[00:05:02] Miss 8: Yeah. Cause I have a huge crystal collection. 

[00:05:05] Diana Rene: Yeah. 

[00:05:05] Miss 8: I'm not sure if you knew this about me, but I love crystals.

[00:05:08] Diana Rene: Yeah. Well, and that's kind of the cool thing with decluttering, right? Is you can still have collections of things that you really enjoy 

[00:05:16] Miss 8: and you can still organize it 

[00:05:18] Diana Rene: Right.

[00:05:18] Miss 8: At the same time. Like. Um, special boxes that I put all my crystals in that are really helpful too. 

[00:05:24] Diana Rene: Yeah. Okay. Let's jump into tip number three.

[00:05:29] Miss 8: So this isn't really organizing or decluttering. I just really wanted to mention it cuz it is so helpful for if your kids go to school. 

[00:05:41] Diana Rene: Mm-hmm 

[00:05:42] Miss 8: We call it a checklist. 

[00:05:45] Miss 8: Thank you. 

[00:05:46] Diana Rene: A school checklist. 

[00:05:47] Miss 8: I forgot what it's called. So I just wrote school checklist. So. The school checklist is you can print this or even, like, write it out.

[00:06:00] Diana Rene: Mm-hmm 

[00:06:01] Miss 8: um, and it has all the things that you absolutely need to bring to school. So like backpack, water, bottle, lunch box. Um, so that is super helpful. We just, you can like, hang it up and like, if you have a, um, I'm trying to think what you call it. Um, 

[00:06:25] Diana Rene: Mudroom. 

[00:06:26] Miss 8: Yes. If you have a mudroom, it's really helpful. I'm sure it's really helpful to like put it there. 

[00:06:32] Miss 8: Yeah. Cause you would put all your shoes in there. Right. But in our house, we don't have a mudroom. Right. So we just hang it by the front door. Yeah. And even that's really helpful. Um, and. If you write it on a piece of paper, what my mom really likes to do is she lets us, um, color it, like decorate it and everything. So that's really fun. Or you can just print it out and make it look really cool. 

[00:07:04] Diana Rene: Yeah. And so when we're getting ready to leave in the morning, what do we do with that checklist? 

[00:07:10] Miss 8: My mom, just, um, she looks at the checklist, and she says like, for example, backpack, lunchbox, water bottle. We say, if we have those, we say, check, check, check.

[00:07:23] Miss 8: And if not, we just hurry, and we'll grab those mm-hmm 

[00:07:26] Diana Rene: And that helps us not forget, right? 

[00:07:28] Miss 8: Yes. It's really helpful. 

[00:07:30] Diana Rene: Yeah. Okay. Tip number four. 

[00:07:34] Miss 8: So. This is, I would say, one of the most important ones. So if you're trying to teach your kids how to declutter, I would recommend before you try to teach them, you should learn how to declutter.

[00:07:53] Miss 8: Cuz I feel like it would be harder if you just say, okay, kids time to declutter, and you don't even know how to declutter, and they just are like, what's that mean? What do I do? so I would recommend that you learn how to, um, declutter before your kids, because if you, um, learn how to declutter and then you like know everything.

[00:08:19] Miss 8: And then you teach, and then your kids see you doing it, then they'll understand more how to do it for themselves. And decluttering is a very important tool, cuz it makes it makes your space feel bigger. Mm-hmm and. It just makes you feel more happy in that space. Like when everything's all over the place, it's super messy, your toys are everywhere, and stuff and books.

[00:08:47] Miss 8: It's just out of control, and it feels like the room is super small. You can get hurt really easily, and it can make you actually feel really stressed out. 

[00:09:02] Diana Rene: Yeah. 

[00:09:03] Miss 8: So I would recommend declutter and organize. Cause then it feels so nice.

[00:09:08] Diana Rene: It does, doesn't it? 

[00:09:10] Miss 8: Yes. 

[00:09:10] Diana Rene: I totally agree. Okay. Can I just say you're doing an amazing job?

[00:09:14] Miss 8: Thank you. 

[00:09:17] Diana Rene: okay. So last tip. The fifth tip. 

[00:09:20] Miss 8: Yes. 

[00:09:20] Diana Rene: What is that one?

[00:09:22] Miss 8: Have you played with it? So if you're a kid and you can do this with yourself, if you're a mom, um, you can. You don't have to play with it. It exist if you like read it or do something with it or something. Yeah. Or if 

[00:09:41] Diana Rene: they're looking at their kids' toys, right?

[00:09:43] Diana Rene: Yes. If the kid has played with it 

[00:09:45] Miss 8: So you have to think, have I played with it in a while? So I would say if you haven't played with it in at least a month and a half, I would say to make another another kid happy and donate it to them. 

[00:10:08] Diana Rene: Mm-hmm 

[00:10:09] Miss 8: and you can just, um, donate it to your local donation 

[00:10:14] Diana Rene: mm-hmm 

[00:10:15] Miss 8: place. Um, so, and other people, it'll make other people really happy, um, who don't have any toys or anything. So if you've played with it, Um, before a month and a half passed, I would say if you still like it, then you could keep it. Or you could think I'm over this toy. It's a bit boring now. Then you can probably donate it.

[00:10:48] Diana Rene: Right. Okay. So if there was a kid out there listening, who was like, you know, I want to declutter my room or my playroom, but it's really hard because I feel like I like all my stuff, even if I don't play with it. What would you say to them? 

[00:11:05] Miss 8: Well, um, I mean, if it's really special to you, then you're able to keep it right.

[00:11:16] Miss 8: But if you haven't played with it in a while, then I would make another, another kid really happy, and I would donate it. 

[00:11:27] Diana Rene: Mm-hmm 

[00:11:27] Miss 8: and, and me and my mom have this little trick where like if we don't know if we like it or not if we're like, I like this, but I, I really love this, but I wanna make a other kid happy and I really like this toy, but I also wanna make another kid really happy.

[00:11:47] Diana Rene: Mm-hmm 

[00:11:47] Miss 8: cause I don't, I don't like it. I don't love it. I like it though. 

[00:11:52] Diana Rene: Right 

[00:11:52] Miss 8: so, um, I would, me and my mom usually say like you have one week mm-hmm and if you don't play with it before one week ends mm-hmm , then I would donate it. And when I say that, I don't mean, like, Oh no, I need to play with this right now. Do. Do, playing with it. I wanna say do that. I would play with it if you really wanna actually. 

[00:12:23] Diana Rene: Yeah.

[00:12:23] Miss 8: Cause if you haven't played with it in a week, that's a sign that you're not really into that toy anymore. 

[00:12:31] Diana Rene: Right? And kind of going back to what you were saying about how it feels better being in spaces that are decluttered. Do you think that helps you, too, when you're trying to figure out whether or not to let go of something? 

[00:12:44] Miss 8: Yeah. Cuz you know that like I want this space to feel good. 

[00:12:51] Diana Rene: Yeah. 

[00:12:51] Miss 8: Cause I don't want, and you can like um, And you don't and what I mean by make it look nicer is like organize it. Even if like there's a hidden space, like how I mentioned the under-bed bins. 

[00:13:15] Diana Rene: Mm-hmm 

[00:13:15] Miss 8: And if you have drawers in the storage cubes, don't just stuff, stuff into there. 

[00:13:21] Diana Rene: Yeah. 

[00:13:22] Miss 8: Cause it would look, I guess, nice on the outside, but it wouldn't feel good. 

[00:13:28] Diana Rene: Yeah.

[00:13:29] Miss 8: Like you would walk into there knowing, Ugh. I have stuff all over the place. 

[00:13:37] Diana Rene: And it probably is harder to find the things that you really, really enjoy playing with.

[00:13:42] Miss 8: Yeah. Cause you just stuff your things in there. And then you're like, oh, I wanna play with that toy right now. I'm gonna go grab it. And then you look in the last place you saw. It's not there. And then you have to dig through all your bins, and then it just gets messy again. So organize your bins. 

[00:13:59] Diana Rene: Yeah. And do you think it's really helpful to have a home for everything? 

[00:14:03] Miss 8: Yeah. 

[00:14:03] Diana Rene: Yeah. 

[00:14:04] Miss 8: We like planning, um, homes for it and like, if it's, not like you could still do this, but if it's like not a storage cube and it's like an under-bed bin, and there's something special you're gonna put into it. Or like a plastic bin that, that you're gonna, that's gonna be a special home. I would put a label on it. 

[00:14:28] Diana Rene: Mm-hmm 

[00:14:28] Miss 8: that would say what it is so you remember, and you don't have to print or like use a label machine to make it. You can just like. Um, have a white sticker. 

[00:14:39] Diana Rene: mm-hmm 

[00:14:39] Miss 8: and write what it is on it, and maybe like decorate it or something.

[00:14:43] Miss 8: And if you don't have a white sticker, then just use a small, then cut out a small white piece of paper, then write on it and maybe decorate it and then just tape that on. 

[00:14:53] Diana Rene: Right. You don't have to have lots of expensive, fancy equipment to organize, right? 

[00:14:59] Miss 8: Yeah. All you really need is your hands. 

[00:15:02] Diana Rene: Yeah. That's true. 

[00:15:05] Diana Rene: Awesome. Well, those are some amazing tips. 

[00:15:08] Miss 8: Thank you

[00:15:08] Diana Rene: And I am so proud of you for coming on here 

[00:15:11] Miss 8: Thank you 

[00:15:11] Diana Rene: And going through these. Do you have anything else you wanna say? 

[00:15:16] Miss 8: Um, let me think. 

[00:15:21] Diana Rene: It's okay if you don't.

[00:15:25] Miss 8: I don't. 

[00:15:26] Diana Rene: No? OK. 

[00:15:28] Miss 8: I don't think so, at least. 

[00:15:29] Diana Rene: Awesome. Well, I don't know about you guys but I think she did an amazing job. This is her first podcast. 

[00:15:36] Miss 8: Thank you 

[00:15:37] Diana Rene: ever, right? 

[00:15:38] Miss 8: Yes. It's my first time, like making a video that I'm actually that like a bunch of other people were gonna hear. 

[00:15:47] Diana Rene: Right. Very cool. If you guys have any questions, as always, just send me a DM on Instagram, and I would love if this was helpful to you or to your kids today.

[00:15:58] Diana Rene: Yes, I hope so too. Yeah. Share it with a friend or post it on your stories on Instagram and tag me and let me know. What you enjoyed or what you learned from this episode? 

[00:16:09] Diana Rene: Thanks for hanging out and listening to The Decluttered Mom Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean the world if you could write a review or share this episode with a friend or your Instagram stories, and if you're on Instagram, be sure to follow me at the dot decluttered dot mom and send me a DM to say hi.

[00:16:28] Diana Rene: I'd love to hear what you thought about today's episode. I hope you'll come back next week and hang out with us again. 

[00:16:36] Miss 8: Bye.