11 Genius Hacks for Busy Moms to Control Kid Clutter

If you feel like clutter from your busy family life is taking over your house, here are ten quick tips that will control kid clutter and help you relax and enjoy your family more at home.

Kids come with a lot of STUFF. Toys, books, clothes, art projects, school papers…it all adds up! While I’m grateful to be blessed with a life of abundance, all these things can also make a mama a bit CRAZY.

Are you feeling the urge to purge after the holidays? I always get the itch to make changes this time of year, BUT you don’t have to deep clean every room and take ten trashbags to the dump.

A few small changes can make a BIG difference in how your home looks…and more importantly…how it FEELS. 

Below, I’m sharing some of the solutions that have worked for our family, but you can adjust and adapt these ideas to your own unique home and family situations. You can also come up with your own solutions to any clutter problems that I don’t address directly. Here’s the process I follow:

1. Identify the problem/pain-point
2. Brainstorm possible solutions
3. Choose the SIMPLEST solution and try it out
4. Evaluate and adjust

Sometimes we think we need elaborate systems and beautiful matching bins to get our houses organized. But, you know what, you DON’T! If you focus on small and simple changes, you’re more likely to actually make the progress you’re hoping to see!

So, if you feel like the kid clutter is taking over and you’re itching to make some changes, here are 11 quick wins that will solve some of the most common clutter problems that come along with having a (wonderful) house full of crazy kids!

Note: Each of the following tips focus on creating a designated “home” within your home for your belongings. Because if something doesn’t have a set “home” you can better believe the default is going to be to drop it on the floor. Focus on finding a “home” for each item that is easy to use, so that you (and your kids) are more likely to actually put things away.

Easy Hacks to Control Kid Clutter

1. Hang backpack hooks: Where do backpacks live in your house? On the wall by my garage door (where we usually enter and exit) I hung simple command hooks at a kid-friendly height. My kids know exactly where to put their backpack each afternoon, and they’re easy to grab on the way out the door in the morning.

2. Add sock baskets: Several years ago, I took all the socks OUT of my kids’ bedrooms and moved them to our mudroom. It’s been SO much better for us to keep them in inexpensive baskets (from the dollar store) on the shelves with our shoes. Getting out the door is so much more efficient when the kids (and I) don’t have to run up and down stairs just to get socks. It also makes it easier for us to sort and put away socks when we do the laundry. Note: If you don’t have a mudroom, try using a bookcase to corral the shoes and socks. That’s what I did in our previous house.

3. Designate a bin for kitchen laundry: My laundry room is on the second floor of my house, far away from the kitchen. So, I added a small bucket (from the dollar store) to my pantry where we can easily toss any kitchen towels, cleaning rags, or stray socks that we find on the main floor of the house. On laundry day, I carry the bin upstairs and wash them all, and we start over. I love having access quickly to toss in laundry without having to go all the way upstairs…because that just wouldn’t happen!

4. Hide paper clutter: Do you have papers on your kitchen counter that you need to keep, but you don’t want them just sitting there forever? Try taping them to the inside of your kitchen cupboard doors! I use this hack for storing my kids’ school lunch menu and for cooking reference sheets and recipes. They are easy to access (just open the cupboard) but they are hidden out of sight the rest of the time!

5. Corral schoolwork and art projects: Kids bring home SO many papers from school. Here’s how I handle it: Have them empty out their backpacks at least once a week (daily if possible, but that’s not always realistic). Go through the papers together. Acknowledge their work, celebrate successes, and ask questions. Train kids to throw away or recycle most papers, but allow them to keep things they are especially proud of. Have a box (or a shelf in a cupboard) where you can collect all of the “keepers”. I add to our stack all year long, and at the end of the school year wer sort and purge the papers one last time and add the things we really want to keep to their memory boxes.

6. Do a daily “10-minute tidy”: Set a timer for 10 minutes each evening for a family clean-up session. Put on some music or make it a game and challenge everyone to see how much they can tidy in that time. If ten minutes is too long for your kids, try starting with ONE song. Ask Alexa to play something upbeat and work together to clean for 3-4 minutes until the song ends. Make sure you clean with your kids, keep everyone moving, and give them specific jobs to do. It’s amazing what can be accomplished in a short burst of focused effort!

7. Establish a donation box: Keep a designated box or bag for items your kids have outgrown or no longer use. Make sure to keep it in an easy-to-access place so that you actually take the time to put things in it, such as next to the garage door or in the front hall closet. When it’s full, donate it to a local charity or pass it on to friends or family.

8. Give each child a “treasure box”: You know all those random little rinky-dink toys that kids get at birthday parties, in kids meals, or from the dentist office? I loathe them, and I would just throw it all away…but my kids love them. As a way to corral these “treasures, I gave each of my kids a shoe box to keep their “treasures”. If it fits in the box, they can keep it. If the box is full and they want to add something, we talk about what treasures they are done enjoying and will throw away to make room for something new. It’s a great compromise!

9. Keep a “put away” basket near stairways: If you live in a two-story house, you know that it can be a pain going up and down stairs all the time. Instead of leaving a random, unsightly pile of clutter by the stairs, use a basket! Place the basket at the bottom of the stairs, and toss in anything that needs to go up. When you go up, take the basket with you and put things away. When you go down, put it back. Or, assign a child this job during your daily family tidy session (see #6).

10. Get everyone a water bottle: Instead of using 5 million cups each day, get each family member their own water bottle and encourage their use daily. Let everyone pick their favorite (unique) color, and add stickers or names to personalize them if you want. Unless we’re having something other than water (which we usually don’t), we only use our water bottles and it saves on so many dishes!

11. Create an “art cart”: If you are constantly dealing with art projects strewn all over your kitchen, try corralling all the art supplies into a simple art cart. We use a 3-tiered rolling cart and keep it stocked with markers, crayons, scissors, glue, and more. It makes it easy for my kids to get out the supplies themselves…and to put them away when they’re done. Learn more about our art cart here.

Final Thought

Remember, a clutter-free home isn’t about perfection but about creating a functional and less-stressful environment for you and your family. These tips are meant to simplify your life, not add to your workload. Implement one or two at a time and see what works best for your family. Embrace the little victories, and don’t forget to involve the kids in maintaining the order—they can be great helpers!

What are your best tips for how to control kid clutter?