36 Tribute to Realtors & Builders
Ponte Vedra Recorder ·September 24, 2015
Even with children, it’s possible to clear the clutter
METRO
Famed comedienne Phyllis Diller
once said, “Cleaning your house while
your kids are still growing is like
shoveling the sidewalk before it stops
snowing.” Many parents realize that
having children means their homes will
be filled with a vast assortment of toys,
clothing and other items that seemingly
spend more time scattered across the
family room floor than in children’s
bedrooms.
Homes where young children lay
their heads at night may not be as tidy
as the photos lining home decorating
magazine spreads. But while lived-in
family homes may never be spotless,
they do not have to be overrun with
clutter, either. It’s possible to find a
happy balance with the right strategy
and by investing in a few organizational products.
• Work one room at a time. Cleaning up cluttered homes can seem like
a monumental effort when looking
at clutter as a whole. But parents can
do themselves a favor by choosing a
starting point and tackling the project
one room at a time. Find the room that
needs the most work or a space where
clutter causes the biggest headaches.
Safe
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the easiest way to ward off accidents,
but then how do you get anything done?
Start by asking your child to join you
in completing the task and give them
assignments they can manage such as
carrying or sorting items. You can also
provide toys or a new game they can
play in your sight. Finally, join them in the
fun. If you can’t make them part of your
Once you clean such rooms, you may
discover extra motivation to move on
to the others.
• Resist the urge to wander. One of
the obstacles many people face when
attempting to declutter a home is the
tendency to remove an item from one
room only to add it to the existing clutter in another room. For example, if a
child’s toy is in the living room, you
may walk that toy up to the bedroom
and get involved in tidying up the bedroom, leaving the mess behind in the
living room. When organizing a home,
stay in a particular room until that
room is clean. Have designated bins or
bags for items that need to be carried
into another room, but only transfer
such containers after a room has been
cleaned.
project, make yourself part of theirs. Play
their game in the backyard, swim with
them in the pool or go exploring for bugs
together.
• Secure the area. If you want to
block off a larger area like a pool or
your back yard, a fence can be the
answer and can make for one, final DIY
project this year. Before you start however, it’s important to contact your city
or homeowner’s association to be sure
fences are allowed and to learn what
type of fence you can install. Then, you
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