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. Aber: schon recht kleine Kinder sind mit Begeisterung dabei, das Spielzeug in hohem Bogen wieder in die Spielzeugkiste zu werfen. Klar heißt es auch mal “Nein.” Auch ist es für sie wichtig, das “System” zu verstehen, ihre wichtigen Sachen greifbar zu haben. Und auch nicht überfordert zu sein. Wie im Kindergarten unseres Kindes haben wir zB auch nicht immer alle Bücher sichtbar in Griffhöhe, wir sehen zu welchen unser Kind schon greift, welche gerade beliebt sind, und welche noch oder wieder uninteressant sind. Dann können wir einfach austauschen.
Older kids müssen beim Aufräumen und Ausmisten unbedingt dabei sein, selbst entscheiden können, was sie noch verwenden möchten, und wofür sie schon “zu groß” sind. Sie wissen was ihnen Freude macht und was nicht, vor allem wenn es ihnen vorgezeigt wird und sie sehen wie Eltern/Bezugspersonen ihre Sachen in die Hand nehmen und intuitiv entscheiden, was sich gut anfühlt, was gerne getragen wird … Denn hier ist kaum Kopfarbeit dabei, das geht auch Kindern leicht von der Hand. So wirst du nur selten eingreifen müssen.
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?
