KonMari with Kids
February 26, 2021
In this post, I’ll be sharing 5 tips on how you can introduce the KonMari Method to your kids. This is a topic I am so passionate about because everyone likes the benefit of a tidy and organized space. I think for many of us that have struggled with organizing, it’s not because we’re naturally messy or we’re just incapable of doing it. I honestly believe It’s because no one has ever taught us how to organize or how to let go of something or it’s even ok to let something go if the item is not broken. As a kid, my mom took care of everything for the family and it was mostly left up to me to decide when to clean up my own room. I don’t have any memories of getting into trouble for not cleaning up my room but I also don’t remember having a very tidy room. Cleaning up my room was mostly just moving things around and putting them into different boxes and rearranging my various collections on my shelf. My parents would often buy more organizing boxes but we never looked at what we’re actually organizing.
My first tips for introducing the KonMari Method to your kids is to be a good example for your kids. Kids mimic our behaviour and we can’t expect our kids to do something we haven’t done ourselves. - don’t tell your kids to clean up their room if yours isnt. You should always focus on your own belongings first. Once you have experienced the life-changing magic of tidying up yourself, it’s going to be much easier for you to share the benefits and what you have learned with your kids. They will learn so much just by observing you. As Marie Kondo says, the urge to point out someone else’s failure to tidy is usually a sign that you are neglecting to take care of your own space.
So If you find you’re only looking at your kids as the source of the problem, really examine yourself first. I first came across the KonMari Method as a new mom. I was feeling overwhelmed by my space and felt like our home was being taken over by my son’s stuff. The problem wasn’t him though. The problem was me. He was still a baby so it’s not like he’s out there shopping and buying toys for himself. I was the one buying everything from toys to clothes to strollers and everything else hoping to use those items to solve a problem. Also, the reason why his things were taking over our home was because we had too much stuff and we didn’t make room for this new member of the family. I know it’s hard to hear but kids do mimic our behaviour and learn from us. If you put a lot of emphasis on buying new stuff and want something new all the time. Your kids will too. I have a fairly small wardrobe and my son tells me I have too much clothes all the time. I tell him, you have no idea how most people live!
My second tip for introducing the KonMari Method to your kids is to start with clothing. Clothing is going to be the easiest category because kids grow so fast and the most important thing is that the clothes they have actually fits them and are comfortable. My personal rule of thumb is to buy about a week’s worth of clothes. For my son Emerson, this takes up about 1 drawer in his dresser. I try to involve him as much as possible in terms of choosing items that would spark joy for him. When I see clothing that are too small or beyond repair, I set it aside so I can talk to him about why we’re letting it go and we let them go with gratitude by saying thank you to those items together. When we let go of his items, I talk to him about where it’s going. Sometimes we donate it to local shelters. Sometimes it goes to textile recycling. Sometimes it goes to a kids consignment shop. He is happy to let go of items that are no longer serving him and even when something still fits and is practically brand new, I let him know it’s ok to let it go if he has no interest in wearing it. Because it’s more of a waste sitting in your home unused than to let it to go someone that could use it and love it. Having this amount also means laundry is easy to stay on top of and It’s also not an overwhelming amount to fold.
My third tip for introducing the KonMari Method to your kids is to Teach them how to fold their own clothes. Talk to your kids about why it’s important to take care of their belongings and how folding your clothes is like showing your love to those items. You can start teaching kids as early as 3 years old but even if they are younger, you can still let them watch you fold and you can narrate each step as you do it to introduce this idea to them. In my experience, kids do enjoy folding clothes because it’s fun like folding origami with their clothes and they feel a great sense of accomplishment when they can do it. This doesn’t mean my son is always happy to fold his laundry. Sometimes he doesn’t want to do it. But I am honest with him and let him know I also don’t want to fold my clothes. I would also much rather be a couch potato and watch Netflix but if we keep something, we need to take care of it. If we want the benefit of being able to open a drawer and access our clothes, then we have to fold our clothes because there are no magical fairies that will do it for us.
My fourth tip for introducing the KonMari Method to your kids is to respect their decisions. Let your kids decide whether they are keeping something or letting something go. When you respect their decisions, you are helping them learn to be confident about their decisions and choices. You are also building trust because they know you’re not just going to throw away something that belongs to them. You wouldn’t like it if someone threw away something you weren’t ready to let go of either. If they want to keep it, let them, but also teach your kids if they keep it, they have to take care of it. At the same time, if they want to let it go, let them. Sometimes it’s the parents and not the kids that have a tough time letting something go so they convince the kids to keep it. Maybe it’s because it was an expensive item and sometimes it’s because they feel there is sentimental value. At that point, you have to consider who is this item for? The kids? Or the parents?
My final tip for introducing the KonMari Method to your kids is to have patience. Lots and lots of patience. as a KonMari Consultant, I have worked with a lot of families and kids. One of the biggest mistake people make is they expect instant results and give up when kids can’t keep a room tidy. All good habits take time to learn. Like eating healthy, exercise, cleaning your home. I am almost 40 and i am still learning so why do we expect a kid to already be able to do this perfectly? This is why you need to have patience and sometimes you may need to go over some categories more than once. Especially for kids as they grow out of their clothes and toys and everything else over time.
These are my tips for intro to konmari with kids. If your kids are not ready to read the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up yet, Marie Kondo also has a few other books that are suitable for kids depending on their age. Before buying any books, I like to borrow them at the library to see if I like them enough to add it to my own collection so I am sure you can try to find these at your local libraries as well. There is Kiki and Jax for younger kids and The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up for older kids and adults. Lastly, don’t forget to keep joy in mind and good luck!!