5 good reasons to declutter your home after summer vacation

The transition from lazy days filled with free time to a more structured schedule of learning needn't be difficult for you or your children. Believe it or not, decluttering your home can help make the change from summer vacation to being in school an energizing experience. Here are five good reasons why.

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As a new school year approaches, a good way to help your child feel mentally prepared for the challenge is to dedicate a weekend to "decluttering" stuff in and around your home. The goal of this task?

• To give the summer a clear ending
• Free up clean space for new school items
• To help start the year off with a positive tone

An uncluttered home frees up your child's mind from having to deal with "too much stuff."

• It also teaches pre-emptive organization skills, which can help your child develop better study habits.

By the end of summertime, your child has probably accumulated stacks of sports equipment, summer craft projects, vacation souvenirs and various random found objects. By working together through each pile, talk to your child about all their summer experiences.

• If your son or daughter is attached to certain mementoes, you can designate a box or small tote as a summer "time capsule." Other family members can, if they wish, add their own special souvenirs to it.
• Make a clear and attractive label for this box and store it in a closet or attic. This leaves your child's room relatively clear of excess objects and ensures the time capsule is easy to find if they want to revisit their summer memories.

Family participation gives the chore of cleaning a room less of a sense of drudgery. It can also remove some of the loneliness that makes children reluctant to tidy up.

• To encourage team work, you can assign a younger sibling to be a laundry-carrier or a trash-taker-outer. What's more, while one parent makes the beds the other can help a child vacuum or empty out drawers.

Even if school shopping is not your (or your child's) favourite activity, shopping for new clothing and school supplies should be the reward which naturally follows clearing out a bedroom.

• Start fresh in the morning on the day after your cleanup activity to put a positive spin on it.
• When the new set of binders, pencils, calculator and so on are brought home, encourage your child to organize them using their newly cleaned space.

For extra organization practice, give each of your children has his or her own desk.

• Thrift stores, unfinished furniture outlets and sites online often provide inexpensive options.

To create a sense of anticipation for the beginning of the school year, quietly pay attention to the interests your child expresses while choosing school supplies or even new clothes.

• If there's a particular notebook, eraser or piece of technology that's particularly liked (and which is within your budget), buy it secretly and present it later as a wrapped gift. The same goes for an item of clothing such as a pair of fun and funky socks.

Remember, children don't need pricey gifts to make them happy. Often the most inexpensive items are the things that delight them most.

Wrapping up summer by decluttering your home is a great way to encourage your child to start the school year with a positive outlook. That's because uncluttered work spaces foster better concentration. Moreover, working together as a family to prepare for school emphasizes the importance of education in your household. Together, they are vital for your child's academic success.