Yikes! My Kid's Artwork

Something had to be done. Jamie’s artwork was all over the house. His parents felt “just crazy” with it all, yet feared hurting Jamie’s feelings if they got rid of any it.

The whole house had become a gallery (and playroom) because Jamie didn’t have his own “zone.” With a bedroom too small to make and keep art and too far away for his mother to supervise, we had to first create space for Jamie on the first floor.

His mother and I had fun rearranging a large room to make an attractive, cozy living room, and a separate area with a cabinet and a good size table with chairs for Jamie and his friends. Both looked great.

Just eight and bright, Jamie was anxious to be part of the action. He noticed that his mother was happier and the house more comfortable since I showed up.

The following week Jamie and I embarked on one of the first steps of de-cluttering: gathering like-items together. We soon had all the artwork in one place – on his table in his new zone.

I explained, “What we are going to do now is discover what artwork you really love. De-cluttering is all about keeping what you love, and letting go of the rest. By letting go of some, you make room for all that you love. We’ll recycle what you decide to let go, OK?”

His big eyes were full of anticipation. 

Jamie needed to learn that he had everything he needed to make good decisions – decisions without regret.

“Only you can decide what you love. No one can do that for you,” I said. “What’s neat is that your feelings will tell you what to do. So let’s first find your feelings. Ready?”  

I asked, “Jamie, where in your body do you feel love?”

“Mmmm…In my tummy,” he said.

Great. “Where do you feel that you don’t like something?”

After a moment, touching his body, he said, “In my chest.”

“Wonderful - so when you get that feeling in your tummy, you know you love a piece of artwork (not just like a lot), and when you get that feeling in your chest, you know you don’t like it so much, and can let it go, right?”

“Yah, but then I tell myself what to do,” he added. Impressed, I continued, “That’s right, your feelings tell your mind what to do. It’s always good to listen to your feelings.” 

As I held up the artwork one piece at a time, Jamie told me how he felt. Sometimes we had to compare two pieces for him to determine which one he loved the most. When confusion arose, we put the piece in a third “not sure” category, and kept going. I sorted: love, let go, and not sure. Jamie liked his new-found authority.

In just 90 minutes (with a ten minute break), we were almost done. We needed to revisit his “not sure” pile. Jamie quickly decided to let go of all but one piece.

The results: Two grocery bags full of recycling and one small pile of loved artwork, not even an inch deep!

Jamie was delighted. He selected two of his favorite paintings to hang on a bulletin board in his new play area. Jamie could change those any time he wanted, but only one painting could hang on the refrigerator for all to admire. He picked one for the refrigerator.

The house now looked and felt more organized. For safekeeping, we put the rest of Jamie’s artwork in a large, flat portfolio, labeled by year, and chose a good home for it under his bed. As needed, every year or two, Jamie will get a new portfolio. 

To prevent the artwork from taking over again, Jamie and his mother agreed to de-clutter his artwork at the end of each month, and again at year’s end. 

Jamie had what he loved, including his own zone to play in, and his parents were thrilled to have their home back. They no longer had to worry about hurting Jamie’s feelings because he now knew how to practice ClutterClarity, and decide on his own. Clutter-clearing had become a family affair.