The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Secrets to help teens deal with cluttered bedrooms
One of the biggest reasons people hold on to things is due to sentimental value. These can be the hardest things to let go of and are often items that others wouldn't value
Just ask Megon Helfrich. Through her business Clutter Free Living, based in the Truro, N.S. area, Helfrich works with clients to organize, declutter, purge, and deep clean their homes and/ or businesses.
Another common reason for holding onto items, she says, is guilt.
"People are afraid to let things go because their best friend gave it to them, or their aunt that passed away," she says.
"We need to remember that these are just things. If we aren’t using certain items or appreciating them, then there is no reason for them to take up space in our life. It’s better to enjoy our time with our friends and family."
Teenagers are often big culprits of holding onto sentimental items that adults may see as junk.
Based on her experience, Helfrich offers advice on how to work with teens to help them purge, sort and organize their rooms, keeping only what is truly important.
First and foremost, Helfrich says to involve the teenager in the process.
“No matter what age group I work with, whether its five years old or 90 years old, I include them in the process,” she says.
This way, the person gets a real sense of the situation, and it helps them from going backward and purchasing items in excess or multiples when it is not needed.
"They tend to think before they buy," she says.
Helfrich especially loves working with teens and tweens because they have such an open imagination and are usually willing to try anything when it comes to organization.
They also tend to let go easier and not hold onto items because it might come in handy one day, she says.
When it comes to memory items, sentimental items, or collections, Helfrich says to have the youth sort items on a scale of one to four.
■ 1. Epic best time of my life!
■ 2. Never going to forget this
■ 3. We had a great time
■ 4. Blah
Items or collections that typically fall into categories one and two need to be on display since they bring up such happy and exciting feelings. Items in groups three or four can probably be removed and let go of, explains Helfrich. When it comes to displaying these most important items, Helfrich has a few recommendations.
Shelves are great for displaying items like trophies, pictures and mementos from trips or collections.
Shadow boxes are useful for displaying jerseys from a favourite team, pin and coin collections, or a favourite childhood toy.
Bulletin boards can be so a fun way to display pictures of friends, ticket stubs or maybe a hospital bracelet from that time you broke your ankle while scoring the winning goal in the playoffs. This collage board can be dressed up with lights and fun cutouts. Make it your own, she says.
HANG ITEMS ON THE WALL
Helfrich says one client’s son loved sneakers, so he attached the boxes his sneakers came in to the wall and stored one sneaker in the box and the other one on top so they were on display.
“This was very clever and looked super cool on the wall,” she says.
A daughter of a different client had horse racing photos displayed on her wall on strings of lights, she adds.
CREATE A SPECIAL DISPLAY BOARD
Helfrich said she once did a boy’s room who really liked hockey, hunting, and running. So, she had a sign made for him to display all the medals he had earned over the years. It used the word 'Melkiknay' on the top, which is an Indigenous word that means “I am strong,” thus it was very fitting, she says.
Think outside of the box when it comes to displaying your treasured items. Only display the items that really matter so you can truly appreciate them, says Helfrich.
Sometimes, fresh eyes are all that is needed, so never be afraid to ask for outside help or opinions on what to do with your treasured items, she says.
GO ONLINE
Learn more at https://www. facebook.com/clutter-freeliving-113164736747396 https://www.instagram.com/ clutter_free_living/