Back-to-school clutter-busting

The closet was bursting with sparkly princess dresses and pink feather boas. Care Bears and Cabbage Patch Kids and Barbies spilled from a doll bed in the corner of the room and onto the floor. Patches of beige Berber carpet peeked out from under tiny socks and sweaters and stuffed animals.

Danielle Dennis says she and her husband had every intention of getting daughter Madison’s room in order, but it never happened, and the toys and trinkets kept accumulating.

“I just didn’t even know where to start, but I just knew I had to start somewhere and that was through consulting somebody who knew what they were doing,” she says.

A friend suggested that Dennis get in touch with Brianna Tarves, a professional organizer and owner of Creative Clutter Solutions in St. Albert.

With September just around the corner, many parents are frantically trying to get the family organized for the new school year.

Tarves says creating a routine and involving the kids in the process are two keys to getting, and keeping, your family organized.

“Kids thrive on routine,” Tarves says. “So really trying to set up a routine that works for your family and just trying to keep that consistent throughout the year is one of the big things to keep in mind for any age.”

That routine can begin as soon as the kids walk in the door after school. Tarves has a super strategy to avoid lost homework and misplaced permission slips. She suggests creating a drop zone or paper station for children.

“It can be as simple as just a hook for their backpack and maybe an in and an out spot,” Tarves says. “So basically they come home from school and immediately they can just empty that backpack, and any homework that they need to do goes in, any notes of parent information that need to come to you, you know exactly where it’s going to be.”

Children are more likely to keep to a school year routine or maintain a tidy room if they have some input in the process from the beginning. Tarves recommends, “allowing them to help you pick colours, or painting little things, decorating their pen containers or setting up their desk how they want it. Really allowing them to take pride of ownership in their space and getting excited for the process.”

Four-year-old Madison had a hand in her bedroom makeover. They kept the princess bedroom furniture that she loved, but rearranged it to better function within the room.

Tarves was putting a fresh coat of paint on Madison’s room while she put the mom and daughter to work in the living room sorting through the contents of the bedroom. She could hear the two talking in the living room as they went through all of the items from the little girl’s bedroom when Madison said, “Mommy, I can’t believe I had all this stuff!”

A child’s bedroom should get a deep cleaning every couple of months according to Tarves, and back-to-school is the perfect opportunity to purge closets and drawers.

She suggests parents say to their children, “while we’ve got all this new stuff coming in, let’s take 20 minutes and let’s go through your closet and find out what doesn’t fit” or “let’s pack away some of that summer stuff” or “what can we donate to someone who maybe doesn’t have as much as we have.”

But what about the clothing and toys and other items that will stay? Tarves suggests keeping everything in closed storage, especially if their homework area is going to be inside their bedroom. Displaying a wide array of toys on open shelving or in other visible spots can be a distraction for children trying to study.

“Out of sight, out of mind,” Tarves says.

Reducing distraction and creating a peaceful space for her daughter was the main reason the Dennis’ decided to overhaul Madison’s room.

“We really believe that clutter and disorganization can cause scatterbrain for kids,” Dennis says. “And so if their room is clean, organized and clutter-free, things have a spot. They’re able to do their homework in there or they’re able to do arts and crafts in there, have their quiet time, and they’re able to just feel at peace in their own room.”

Dennis said that Madison has kept her room tidy since the transformation in March. Even at four years old, she knows the system and is good at putting things back in their proper place. Mom Danielle now has a system too.

“If things get out of control, I actually go back and look at the pictures that (Tarves) had taken the very last day when everything was done. I’m like okay that’s what we need to go back to,” says Dennis. “And I even have a picture posted for Madison so we say, okay if things start getting messy or out of place, this is where it needs to go, so she has a reference too.”

Tarves says she enjoys seeing reactions like little Madison’s at the end of a project.

“Once we were done she was just in awe, and she just walked around her room, and it was just the cutest thing,” Tarves says.

For Dennis, making the decision to let anyone see the state of her daughter’s room was a tough one, but she knew it was the only way she could get help with Madison’s room.

“You just kind of have to like let your pride go, let your embarrassment go and just say okay this is how it is, and I look forward to when it’s all done,” says Dennis. “And the squeals that came from Madison were worth every moment.”