What’s the hardest part about keeping your home organized with kids?

[Anonymous]

I’m curious because I work with a lot of families, and the biggest struggles I see are usually toys multiplying overnight, paper clutter from school, and just not having time to reset spaces. But every household is different. Would love to hear what feels the most overwhelming for you.

- Gillian Economou, Sort it Out

[Anonymous]

Hiring the right housekeeper who will handle it.

[Anonymous]

Having friends over and not wanting to clean up after the friend

[Anonymous]

Lol as soon as I clean something up my children dump it out. There is no home organization that fixes that. Sure fewer toys will mean less to dump

[Anonymous]

Nothing. We had a big enough house. I was a SAHM. DH was a dedicated dad. I had a lot of support and I LOVED being with my kids.

I converted 1/2 our main level (formal dining and formal living room) into a gated kid's area with a Montessori classroom vibe, place to sleep, read, eat, paint, go on slide, book shelves, activity centers, toys and that remained in place for many, many years.

They both had their bedrooms but we also converted a space upstairs into a lounging area which was a big hit for hanging out with friends, sleepovers etc.

Basement had another large and comfy kid's friendly place for the kids. My home was very organized.

I had a cleaner who came twice a week to clean and organize with me. DH handled the kitchen and cooking. I did the laundry and had someone who did the landscaping and gardening tass. We entertained so often that we had to keep the house clean.

AND inspite of all of that - we had one giant hidden hoarder room where we just stashed stuff that we did not want to deal with and it is still a bloody mess. Maybe AI and robots will clean it up one day.

[Anonymous]

It's getting rid of stuff as the kids age. Especially because for kids, letting go of toys or artwork (you cannot keep all the artwork) or even random plastic crap they got at some kid's birthday party 9 months ago that doesn't even work anymore can be emotional.

And parents can get sentimental about that stuff too. I don't, really, but I'm an organizer who has always been good at purging things -- I know how to pull out the sentimental stuff that is worth saving (and how to store/organize it so it's not a burden). But my spouse? The worst. I'll suggest going through our 8 yr old's massive stuffed animal collection and weeding it down to maybe 10-15 that are truly special. She'll balk, but he'll really push back. Every single one is a memory to him. Which I get, but... do we really need to keep each and every cheap made-in-china stuffy acquired playing dumb carnival games forever?

So that's it for me: convincing kids (and spouses) to let go of kids' toys and other items so that you have space for the stuff that is coming as they age. It's so easy to just lose those battles and then your 5th grade stuff gets thrown on top of the 4th grade stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nothing. We had a big enough house. I was a SAHM. DH was a dedicated dad. I had a lot of support and I LOVED being with my kids.

I converted 1/2 our main level (formal dining and formal living room) into a gated kid's area with a Montessori classroom vibe, place to sleep, read, eat, paint, go on slide, book shelves, activity centers, toys and that remained in place for many, many years.

They both had their bedrooms but we also converted a space upstairs into a lounging area which was a big hit for hanging out with friends, sleepovers etc.

Basement had another large and comfy kid's friendly place for the kids. My home was very organized.

I had a cleaner who came twice a week to clean and organize with me. DH handled the kitchen and cooking. I did the laundry and had someone who did the landscaping and gardening tass. We entertained so often that we had to keep the house clean.

AND inspite of all of that - we had one giant hidden hoarder room where we just stashed stuff that we did not want to deal with and it is still a bloody mess. Maybe AI and robots will clean it up one day.

You win for Least Self-aware DCUM Post of the Day. Congrats! And just under the wire, too. Whew.

[Anonymous]

Yea that’s about right. Plus I’m the only one who actually tries anything. The piles are just invisible to everyone else

[Anonymous]

Keeping up with the way kids change. I feel like house constantly needs to be reorganized as the kids mature.

[Anonymous]

Little kids: toys, papers, outgrown clothing, laundry

Big kids/teens: sports equipment and attire, keeping the kitchen stocked/meal planning/snacks, laundry

[Anonymous]

Agree that the trick is to throw things away. Every month or so I grab a bunch of toys and stick them in the garage. If the kids don’t ask for a specific item (which they NEVER have) I throw it all away after 3 months.

Once you clear of most of the toys you’ll find your kids play WAY better. With tons of toys, my kids would just constantly grab stuff, play with it for a couple minutes, then leave it on the floor. Without all the toys, they play with stuff like boxes or their absolute favorite toys for way longer, like 1-2 hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keeping up with the way kids change. I feel like house constantly needs to be reorganized as the kids mature.

Yes! The systems thinking about what drawer configuration suits our current needs - lunchboxes and accessories vs bottles and parts vs whatever comes next.

[Anonymous]

I feel like limiting toys really helps. I don’t feel overwhelmed with the actual toys we have. The most difficult clutter for me to stay on top of is paperwork/art and little Knick knacks from holidays, birthday parties etc. I usually let the stuff sit and once it hasn’t been touched in a month trash it.

[Anonymous]

The legos and all the builds. My kid just can’t let go of them, break them down, etc….

DH had to break some down when he was gone and now we also have bin of pieces.

I can’t wait till he outgrows these.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree that the trick is to throw things away. Every month or so I grab a bunch of toys and stick them in the garage. If the kids don’t ask for a specific item (which they NEVER have) I throw it all away after 3 months.

Once you clear of most of the toys you’ll find your kids play WAY better. With tons of toys, my kids would just constantly grab stuff, play with it for a couple minutes, then leave it on the floor. Without all the toys, they play with stuff like boxes or their absolute favorite toys for way longer, like 1-2 hours.

I'm glad that works for you, but one of my kids ALWAYS asks. She just gets very attached to things and struggles to let go. But she also doesn't have the problem of not focusing on specific toys. She'll play with the same stuff for hours. But she doesn't forget about the other stuff. I am currently in the process of trying to help her say goodbye to her play kitchen (she is 9, she truly does not play with it anymore and it takes up so much space). Right now it's in my bedroom for a "transitional" period, and I think I can finally clear it out this week. We also tried to get rid of it last year, after a long period of her not using it, and she wept for days. So we gave it back and said we'd get rid of it when she was ready. Well, that took a year. Now apply that to everything. It's tough!