After having a child, it clicked for me: I had too many things around me that were weighing me down in my everyday life. How does it work with kids and tidying?
Children run and scream, play here and there and over there, take up a lot of energy and bring joy. I knew all this beforehand, but the reality is different. When my child was just under a year old (and of course the time before that too), I had huge problems finding peace and space for myself. And then I discovered the KonMari® method.
So children can really shake things up. But: even very young kids are enthusiastic about throwing the toy back into the toy box. Of course they also say "NO" sometimes. It is also important for them to understand the "system", to have all of their important things within reach. And not to be overwhelmed. Like in our child's kindergarten, for example, we don't always have all the books within easy reach, we can see which ones our child is already picking up, which ones are popular and which ones are still or no longer interesting. If things change we can simply swap them around.
Older kids need to be involved in tidying up and decluttering, be able to decide for themselves what they still want to use and what they are already "too grown up" for. They know what they enjoy and what they don't, especially when it is demonstrated before to them and they see how parents/caregivers pick up their things and intuitively decide what feels good, what they like to wear ... Because there is hardly any mental work involved here, it is also easy for children. So you will rarely have to step in.
When it comes to the getting rid of discarded items there are many options here. Apart from corona pandemic times (another lockdown light was just today announced in Austria), children's flea markets, where children can sell their (well-preserved) unwanted toys and much more themselves, are a good idea. And children's clothes in particular are always in great demand (wow, they do grow fast) and quickly find grateful takers at give-away or swap groups or numerous donation locations.
So if you decide to go for the KonMari® process, for a tidying festival, it won't always be easy (especially with children) but you will very soon feel the benefit for your life together. Your children (from a certain age) will then find all their own things, they will be able to keep things (more or less) tidy themselves and will need a less support than before. This will bring calm to your daily life. For more time to do things together, to play, to relax, to be a family. I would be happy to support you and your loved ones in this.
Then, on most days, all that remains to be done in the evening is to put the toys that are out of place into the boxes, to put worn clothes into the laundry (children can do this themselves from a very young age on) and to choose a book. Sounds like way easier, doesn't it?
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