Decluttering Makes Happy Kids

Blake is 8 years old.  He had a typical suburban bedroom with lego and cars and hexbugs and blocks living on the floor because the drawers were filled with other trinkety stuff.  He often hurt himself stepping on little bits, tripping on things, he couldn’t find things and worst of all he heard me nagging him to tidy his room.  This is how we came to the decision to remove all toys, trinkets, action figures, crafts, stuffies, and most books from his room temporarily.  Now his drawers are empty.  The dresser is clear, the floor is visible.

It has been 5 days since the “big clean”.  I’ve been checking in with him every day just to make sure he is OK with this experiment and that I am not causing some source of conflict for him that I will hear about after his therapy sessions when he is an adult.  
Things seem to be going really well for him.  Yesterday, when we were out, he had a look of realization on his face.  I asked him what he was thinking, he said “I just remembered that when I get home, all of my stuff will not be there”.  I asked him if that made him feel sad and he said “No, I like that it is gone.  Thank you for having the idea to do this”.  He also told me that he thinks he doesn’t want any of that stuff anymore.

I am very happy to share with you his response to the 4 questions of this experiment.
1.  How do you feel without all your stuff?

Blake:  I feel good.  I love it.
2.  Are there any items you really miss?

Blake:  No.
3.  What did you do with your free time?

Blake:  I played basketball, ticket to ride, did my homework – reading, went skate boarding.
4.  Did you bring anything into the house (new or from the shed)?

Blake: No.

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