• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Life In Pleasantville

Food, Travel, Life

  • Home
  • Travel
    • Canada
      • Ontario
      • Quebec
    • Caribbean
      • Jamaica
    • Europe
      • France
      • Holland
      • Italy
    • Mexico
    • RVing
    • Tahiti
    • United States
      • California
      • The Florida Keys
      • New York City
  • Food & Drink
  • Life
    • Divorce
    • Humour
    • Parenting
  • TV & Radio
  • Disclosure
  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Travel
    • Canada
      • Ontario
      • Quebec
    • Caribbean
      • Jamaica
    • Europe
      • France
      • Holland
      • Italy
    • Mexico
    • RVing
    • Tahiti
    • United States
      • California
      • The Florida Keys
      • New York City
  • Food & Drink
  • Life
    • Divorce
    • Humour
    • Parenting
  • TV & Radio

5 Steps to Conquering Fear AND Your Kid’s Clutter

Hoarding on Warning Road Sign on Sunset Sky Background.

By //  by Life In Pleasantville 2 Comments

0 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

I don’t care if you have three graduate degrees and a PhD in Metaphysical Philosophy – you can never be prepared for the fear that comes with being a parent. It’s the worst kind of fear, because it’s a special kind of fear that seeps into every corner of your life. The thought that our kids will grow up without understanding the importance of giving back or being charitable citizens? Activate fear response. When your teenager starts dating a guy named “Big Easy” she met at the movies? Fear. That sinking feeling in your stomach when you can’t even open your son’s bedroom door for all the old Lego kits he won’t part with and now you’re pretty sure he’s a “HIT?” (Hoarder in Training)? FEAR.

messy bedroom

IS THIS YOUR CHILD’S DREAM BEDROOM? WE’RE GONNA SHUT THAT $%*# DOWN RIGHT NOW. 

But let not fear win, parents! Here is how to conquer fears of your child never leaving home to be an empathetic, caring person capable of charity who lives in a house NOT full of 5 foot high piles of old magazines, broken radios, and bags of half-started knitting projects. Nope; we are going to teach them to GIVE UNTIL IT HURTS.*

*It’s not going to hurt.

Step One

Plan a trip to Value Village. They’re everywhere – poke around online and find a close location. I’d suggest setting aside a good hour at least; while it takes ZERO time to donate goods to Value Village, this first trip is a mission of discovery and you’ll want your kids to see all the cool stuff other people have been able to part with easily.

Step Two

Go through your own items to donate to Value Village. Clean clothing in good repair, working household appliances, curtains, home furnishings, etc. If you don’t need it and it’s too good for the dumpster, take it somewhere where it will help someone.  

Hoard

Step Three

Once you arrive at Value Village, make a huge demonstration of your donation while you’re still in the car. Point out to your kids how you are pretty much saving the world* by donating your too-small jeans and that picture frame you can’t find a photo for. Talk it up real big – sometimes kids need exaggeration to hear the message.

*You are not saving the world, but you ARE doing a lot of good.

Step Four

Let the kids pick out an item or two at Value Village. Teenagers will spend hours in the clothing section – even finding items with the tags still on! Younger kids will love the books and games. Bonus: Take kids to the electronics section and let them make you feel old when they ask you what “That machine” is.*

*It’s a CD player. And I am 42, and no son, I never had to churn my own butter.

Hoarding on Warning Road Sign on Sunset Sky Background.
Hoarding on Warning Road Sign on Sunset Sky Background.

Step Five

Make the deal that the first purchase is on you, but on the condition they part with something of equal size/weight/value to donate back. You’ll keep clutter under control, they’ll have learned the benefit of giving by seeing the staff and Value Village programs and donation process in action, and no one will grow up to live in a house surrounded by a wall of rusty cars and bags of cat hair.  

hoarding

THIS WILL NOT BE WHERE YOUR FUTURE GRANDCHILDREN LIVE

 

vintage dishes

Thank you to Value Village for sponsoring this post.

Image Source, Image Source 

Share this:

  • Email
  • Tweet

Related

Filed Under: Humour, Living, Parenting, Sponsored Posts, Tips & Advice Tagged With: Charity, kids and hoarding, teaching kids to party with stuff, toy overload, value village

Previous Post: « Five Tips to Avoid Lunch Box Drama
Next Post: The Definitive Oatmeal Cookie »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. peady

    September 17, 2015 at 8:16 am

    This is excellent!

    We have come a long way from every single candy wrapper being “special”, but we have to work on our little H.I.T.s (plural!) on a regular basis.

    With them AND against them. Does that make me a horrible person? I just declared this morning to my husband that it is so much easier to tackle clutter when I am here alone. 😀

    I think we kind of let everything slide a bit during summer. Time for a refresher on what it means to keep a treasure. If it is buried under a pile of paper or left on the floor to get stepped on/broken it is *not* a treasure. Grr!

    Great post!

    Reply
  2. Lynn

    September 23, 2015 at 1:46 pm

    Hilarious, and so true. All systems go for purge!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Connect With Us Online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Categories

Connect with Me on Facebook

Connect with Me on Facebook
  • Disclosure
  • Privacy
  • Contact
0 shares
 

Loading Comments...