Guide to Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning is not only a good habit for us mamas, but it's also an amazing ritual to instill in your babe. If his/her toy drawer is full, it's time to clean it out. It's time to access, what do you actually need for the sunshine ahead. Feel overwhelmed? We get that, but we also have actionable steps you can take, to make spring cleaning something that you look forward to. 

Step 1: Assess. Pull everything out of your babes closet/shelves so that you can see what you have. How much space do you have and what is important to you? Are you a curator? Are you developmentally focused, are you an organizer, or are you a minimalist? Define what works for you within your space and your style of living and then get ready to edit.

STEP 2: Edit. For example, if you are a curator, figure out what you want to look at and consider getting rid of what you no longer want or finding a new space for it to live within your home. Define how you are curating your things. Whether it be by color, functionality, or use (Reminder: your kid will eventually pickup on your style and model it)

STEP 3: Time for piles. I usually create one pile for keepsakes, one for hand-me-downs, and one for giveaway. If you are doing this with your babe(which we encourage) give them a drawer, bins, or baskets and explain to them that they can not have more than what fits into those designated spaces you have defined (because their just isn’t space!)

STEP 4: Time to reorganize. Keep things simple. Dust and wipe down your babe's closet and shelves before reorganizing any items back into the space. Take note of how your kids get ready in the morning. What are the most practical items to keep together?  Take this opportunity to match things, so they can start to learn organizational techniques. Think utilitarian and obvious. Don’t make it overly pretty, keep it simple. You want them to be able to easily grab things and put them back. Use rubber bands for art supplies instead of creating more complicated systems that they won’t be able to keep up on their own.

STEP 5: Recycle. Identify who your kid train is. Who has a kid slightly younger than yours that you want to pass your clothes down to. Make the train active by constantly giving them your old clothes. I promise this pays it forward. If you don’t have a younger babe in mind or you still have excess, find a local women's shelter or organization that you can drop your things off with before donating to Goodwill. Do your research and know who you are donating your things to. The Goodwill is great,  but if they aren’t able to sell your things, it could be sent overseas which has a larger environmental and economic impact.

Step 6: Time to shop! Now that you've gone through all of your things you know what pieces are actually on constant rotation, what you need more of, or just don't have. For example, if your babe just grew out of their 12-18M waffle sleeper, it's time to replenish without any regrets. We suggest buying at least 3+ of items you love so you always have your faves to grab. This will prevent impulse shopping or opting for something sub-par because the item is now out of stock. Don't be afraid to create a uniform with certain pieces in your kid's wardrobe and wear them on repeat. We rock the same few items over and over at our house.

STEP 7: Get spiritual. Our things are more than that. Give your babe a “special shelf” where they can display their prized rocks and treasures. Encourage them to revisit this shelf each season. Maybe you decide together that you want to return your babes shell collection to the beach and display books instead. Whatever they are obsessed with, encourage them to keep them in site to spark joy.

Remember, It’s spring time, we are ready to decide what is serving us and what is not. Remind your kids that if you want something new, we need to go through our current things. Instill in them the idea of seasons, recycling, and starting anew. Allow it to be a teachable moment, not just taking things to Goodwill. Then when your babe brings you a toy that they want to donate to a friend because it no longer fits in their drawer, you can take pride in knowing that you gave them the tools to declutter their space and mind.