By now, many high school seniors have decided where they will attend college. If they haven’t, it will be decided soon. But before you start gathering the goods for the dorms, their family bedroom is something that should be processed. Countless clients have tried to downsize and move to only have their children not available or not have the time to clean out their bedroom. They may have graduated from college, moved into their own apartment and working full time. The last thing they want to do is process those things of youth.
Before high school finals finalize and graduation passes by, mention to your child that this project is something that needs to be done. 30 minute spurts of time can accomplish quite a bit. You may consider working with them in order to keep them focused. Setting a timer helps with the focus and offers an end to what can be a stressful project. The typical piles of KEEP, TOSS and DONATE need to be established. Do they really want the trophies from their 3rd grade sporting events? Are the paperback books as important anymore and what about the beading kits from the birthdays past? All these things have been found in clients’ children’s rooms.
If there are special mementos they want to keep, by all means, let them keep them. The guideline is that by time they are thirty, they need to take it with them. At that point, they should have completed their education, be established in their career and maybe even have a home of their own. There are of course underlying circumstances that would prevent this, but use it as a guideline.
The items that they want to keep should be boxed up in a box or tub that closes so the boxes can easily be stacked. If you are using plastic tubs, a 55qt. size is about the biggest you want to use. Anything larger gets too heavy and difficult to manage. Mark the box with their name and general items enclosed. This gives them a gauge on the amount of stuff they are keeping. They will thank you later when you move into your retirement condo and their things have already been presorted.
