If you have the time or its during school holidays, enlist the help of your kids for some of these. You may be surprised to find it’s you, not your children who are hanging on to things that no longer hold their interest.
1. Broken toys
Be ruthless. If you haven’t fixed it by now, out it goes!
2. Dried out Textas
This is a great job for your kids to help with as you’ll find they already know which ones to cull. Give them two containers - one for “keep” and one for “chuck”.
3. Socks without a pair
Get rid of the ones you’re sure about and take any dubious loners back to the laundry. If it’s still there in two weeks, bin it!
4. Shabby stuffed animals
This might be a tricky one for your kids to part with. Reason with them that you’re making room for more toys and gifts and suggest they can go on to other kids who need them more.
5. Worn down crayons
Really? Life is too short!
6. Board games with missing pieces
Again a great one for your kids to help with. Reward them at the end and sit down to play their choice of board game.
7. Outdated trinkets
Handmade art, holiday souvenirs, found objects. You may need a holding pattern for these to disappear to temporarily and if they’re not missed, bin them.
8. Books they've outgrown
Definitely one for the kids to help with the cull. Pull every single book out of the shelf and put them in a pile in front of your child. Ask them to make two new piles of “keep” and “chuck”. You might be surprised!
9. Last season's sporting uniforms
Must go! Or if you usually downgrade them to training gear, get rid of last season’s training gear.
10. Shoes that no longer fit
Easy. If they’re still in good condition, hand them down to a friend or cousin.
Grab a tub or washing basket and dump as you go, then tip the whole lot into the bin and don’t look back!
This kind of instant gratification will hopefully spark a good clean up of their room and the rest will follow!
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