Trash Bag Cleaning

Toys, toys & more toys! If you go into your child's room what do you see? Can you see the floor? Do they have a toy box that is over flowing? Do you cringe at thinking of looking under the bed? Or do you just avoid going in there?

You are not alone! I remember one time when I first started feeling over run by my child's toys. My oldest was about 2 or so. Our small living room looked more like a toy store. One Halloween a child peeked in and said, "Wow! How many kids you have?" I felt embarrassed telling her that I had just one child! But I didn't feel as bad when I'd go over to another mom's home finding they had plastic bins full of toys too!

Our home now has 3 children and I've been at my wits end trying to control the toys that keep finding their way into our home. Our basement is already filled to the brim with junk we don't use & MOST OF IT IS TOYS!

I have devoted the month of December to de-cluttering our home. I have felt like I am fighting a useless battle with our messy house. I once told my husband that I felt like I was shoveling snow in a blizzard.

I first got the idea of this "Trash bag" cleaning method from a TV show. A man was helping a pack rat clean out her junk room. He said to see all of your junk you must first EMPTY OUT THE ROOM COMPLETELY. So he took everything out & put it on the driveway. Now there is no way I would do that. So I came up with my own method that would work with my family.

I first planned to tackle my son's room. He is 6 and has way too many toys. His room is pretty small. It is not even a bedroom but more like an office so the room has no closet.

The first step was to clean up the living room. This was where we'd bring all the stuff once his room was empty. Next I grabbed a box of trash bags and then I gave each of my children one. We went to my son's room and we packed trash bag after trash bag of EVERYTHING in his room. Once a trash bag was full we'd put it in the living room then start another bag. All that was left in there was his bed, his empty toy box, his dresser and shelf. It looked like we had just moved in. My little boy was impressed at how clean his room was and told me that it looked bigger too!