Simple Mom "Project Simplify" week 1 challenge - Kid's Stuff

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been hard at work trying to do some decluttering and purging in Pinxit's room. Pre and post move we always go through everything and try to get rid of everything we can. We really hate how much stuff we have.

At least this time we've made a huge dent in things.

Pinxit's closet was packed to the gills with boxes of clothing; hers (outgrown and to grow into), mine, Eman's, boy clothes (you know, for that baby we don't have), baby blankets and bedding, etc. On Monday morning I pulled out something like 10-15 boxes and as a family we all sat down and went through everything. It was really hard on me to go through her baby clothes - there was one and a half large boxes (3x3x1 in size) jam packed of her stuff, and I was able to get rid of half.

girl clothes we kept

girl clothes we donated (before folding)

Eman got rid of almost everything he had in storage and that same day we had a friend come by and take nearly all of it, and all the baby girl clothes we gave to a friend the next day for her sister who is expecting. 7 boxes of stuff in total (4 of them clothing), and we still have 4 to get dropped off.

all the donated clothes

When it came to the rest of her room we didn't have much left to donate, so it was just a bunch of cleaning, organizing, and rearranging.

before

before

before

before

And of course, what we've all been waiting for, the after photos.

after

after

after

after

The easiest way I could organize without spending anything, was to use Ziploc bags to sort and store all of her little toys. The funny thing, the prize for this challenge, are these really cool Lay-n-Go activity mats which have a draw string on them, allowing you to lay out the toys, then scoop them up as a fast way to tidy up toys! I showed these to my husband and he said when we're able to, we're going to buy her a few. The baggies are only a temporary solution, and I know with time they're going to tear apart, so I can't wait till we can get ours.

each house has a baggie inside with its parts

various toys separated by type

large dolls on top

large loose items on the bottom

various toys separated by type

everything in the closet

I used the smaller bins we had to put all her dress-up clothes, and her pretend food in. There was also a tiny bin, which now houses her dolls. Again, with all the loose pieces in a baggie.

under the bed

kitchen toys

dress-up clothes 

dolls

accessories in a baggie

 I didn't really want to get rid of any of her movies, but more importantly I wanted all her books in her bookshelf (in one of the before shots you can see a ton of books in a green milk crate and all around it). The compromise, I went through her books, got rid of anything I didn't enjoy reading, or enjoy the wording or subject matter (for example, books that use the word 'fat' or make fun of anyone, or "Hooper Humperdink...? Not him!" by Dr. Seuss - because I'm sorry, though at the end he finally does include him, I feel it's a horrible book; you can't at the last moment include the child and think it's ok...), I did not read every book though, so there may be more to weed out at a later date now that she's not so obsessed with reading the same 5 books. I also took out exercise books and put them aside for when we start homeschooling. I then put all the movies that were not Disney into the milk crate and tucked them up on her closet shelf - that way she still has them, but they're not cluttering up her space. She now even has a spot for her shoe collection.

bookshelf all redone

All in all, things turned out great. I unpacked and went through every box, unpacked all her wall decor and even put some of it up, and have plans to get rid of one of her large activity toys that she never plays with. Next step will be to paint and get her a big girl bed (as we had to leave her last one in Ottawa for my sister who moved in as soon as we moved out) and bedding, work on some art for her walls, and to finish decorating.