Clear your Home and Free your Mind! Spring Clean Out: Games for the Family

Its spring time, the birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, and the squirrels are chasing each other right into the street. Not sure why, but I think it has something to do with hormones. We are all getting the spring time jitters; spring is a great time to do a Spring Clean Out. Your home is an extension of your mind. If your home is full of clutter, then what do you think your mind is filled with? Yep, you got it! It’s not likely it would be filled with organized thoughts and serenity.

The more organized your home is, the more organized your mind will be. So, I challenge you this spring to have a Family Spring Clean Out. No, that doesn’t mean kick out your kids; I’m talking about the other “stuff”. Get your wife, husband, and children involved. Go through your beautiful homes and find anything that you haven’t used in 6 months and give it away to a charity. When you do this with your children you are teaching them the importance of removing cluttering from their lives. It teaches them not only organizational skills but also introduces them to giving unneeded toys and clothes to children that would really enjoy them.

So often we can become blind to the clutter around us, we just get used to it. Believe me, the time that I most notice the clutter around my house is when company comes over, especially the In-Laws! Not the best time to realize you’re a hoarder. Do I really need to save every extra button that comes with my new clothes, when I know that if a button were to fall off my clothing, they would just sit around for years waiting to have a button put on them? This added to even more clutter. Do I really need 4 packages of post-it’s because they were a $1 each. That’s 20 pads of post-its; do I even realize how many years and notes it will take to use those up? So far I’ve used less than 2 pads and it’s been over 6 months. At this rate I will still be using these post-its in 2015; will they even be sticky then?
Why in the world did I by them in the first place? I must have been very worried that there was going to be a run on post–it’s. Do you have things around your home, that you ask, “Why in the world did I buy this in the first place? I didn’t need this!” Who knows, but just get rid of it. Although, as I am writing this I can’t bear to think of parting with my post-it’s, I know my limitations, and so will you.

What does your home look like? What does the play room/ family room look like? What do your children’s rooms look like? And don’t forget those junk drawers and closets where everything gets stuffed right before guests are coming over. How many toys do your children have that always get over looked, are missing pieces, or are just plane broken? Do your children really need all of that stuff? Is there something missing from your life? Is your “stuff” a substitute for something missing in your life? Apparently, I am missing something in my life that I think a million post-it’s will fill. I’m still searching for what that might be. This extra clutter isn’t the “stuff” that matters, be it post-it’s or another substitute. Time spent is what matters. Rules, boundaries, and consistency are what matters, not all that stuff. Your children will hardly remember the toys they had growing up, they’ll remember the times you had fun or did something new and exciting as a family. Those are the memories that money and post-it’s can’t buy. Think back to your childhood, what memories do you have? Are they objects or events? I’m willing to bet that the majority of your memories are not based on stuff. They rarely are.

Room needs to be made, not only in our homes, but in our lives. When space is made new great things can come into that space. You never know what’s waiting out there to come into your life. Make the space for something amazing to come in. Let it in.

Here are some games I’ve created to help make Spring Clean Out Day a little more fun for you and your kids.

#1 Beat the clock, Race! See who can make the biggest pile of stuff to give away in 2 hours?

#2 If it’s broke, we don’t need it, race! See who can find 5 things that are broken in your home that need to be thrown away.

#3 The alphabet and color game! See who can find something that starts with a certain letter or color to give away?

#4 Reward your family after the Spring Clean Out is done. Tell everyone before hand that if everybody helps there will be a big surprise after you are all done. (If a surprise doesn’t keep their interest you can tell them before hand what the reward is.) Then take all of your family somewhere really fun that everyone will enjoy. Remember, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Kid’s favorite memories are great times spent with the people they love and look up to, their families!

I wanted to also include a great tip for keeping your newly organized home looking great! Set a rule called “If it’s on the floor or out of place it goes in a garbage bag, either to donate or trash. You can give the kids a warning, “You’ve got 5 minutes and then I’m coming in with THE BAG!” If you are consistent and follow through with the rules you set, your children will follow them. This will teach your children to be responsible for their own stuff, which is a very important lesson to learn. I used this garbage bag rules on children before and I was happily surprised with how well it worked. I had never seen the house so clean. The rule reduced me raising my voice to get the children to keep the house neat and organized. What a relief, a more relaxed, peaceful and organized household. Give it a try! Try to make it fun for everyone. It might even make your family bond a little stronger. That’s worth the effort and it’s something that not even the strongest post-it can do!