As schools wrap up for the summer, are you starting to get a bit anxious at the thought of keeping your children happy for six or even eight weeks? One step you can take is to declutter. It will reduce stress, as well as making your living space more comfortable and more functional.

Reduce visual clutter

Visual clutter, like shelves crowded with ornaments and disorganised storage spaces, can be stressful for some people. If this sounds like you, or one of your children, work on reducing visual clutter. A quick tidy-up in the evening before bed can work wonders for family stress levels. It may be a discouraging task, particularly if the space is messy again five minutes later, but doing a little each day makes it easier and your children might even start copying you.

Store winter items

If you’ve still got out-of-season items in your living space, consider putting them into storage. This will open up space and make your home seem less crowded. Look for items like winter coats, sports gear and school equipment. It makes room for important activities like den-building, dancing and large-scale free-building Lego projects.

Rotate toys

Kids love novelty, but it’s best not to feed that passion by continually shopping and bringing more stuff into your home. Instead, take a few toys out of circulation. Put them away, either in a high cupboard or into storage for a few weeks. This frees up space and makes the toys that are left seem more appealing. Then, in a few weeks you can bring out the stored toys and your children might view them with fresh eyes. There are no guarantees that bringing out stored toys will delight your kids, sorry. But if the toys in storage haven’t been missed, it could be a good time to sell or donate them. Check this blogpost about decluttering toys for more tips.

Put breakables away

If you are constantly saying ‘no’ to active games like balloon football because you are worried about damage to fragile ornaments, consider putting them away while your children are at home.

Change technology habits

There might come a time during the weeks at home when you want to change habits around technology and screens. Boundaries work best if they apply to the entire family, adults as well as children. So if you want everyone to give up their gadgets at bedtime, make sure your phone is in the basket, too. Another way of setting a collective boundary is to turn off the Wi-Fi at mealtimes and after a certain time in the evening. If you want to be really radical, make use of storage to get electrical items out of the house for a few days. They can be covered by your Store and Insure policy for your peace of mind.

Do self-storage units have insurance?

Many self-storage companies will require you to insure your goods as part of your contract with them. And some storage companies offer such coverage. You’re not obliged to take their insurance offering, though, and it may not be competitively priced. You should check if stored domestic goods are covered by your household insurance. And if they are not, contact Store and Insure for a quote. We provide insurance coverage on a day-by-day basis so you can insure you goods for as long as you want: perfect if you’ve decided to put a few bits in storage for the summer holidays.

A final word

We’d like to wish you and your family a magical summer holidays!