It's late May, and the school year is on the home stretch. In six or seven weeks, summer holidays start in most cantons, and parents know what that means: half-days, camps, trips, an apartment that feels like it's bursting at the seams.
When I talk to other parents, it's always the same picture: in July, everyone is frantically packing while simultaneously trying to wrestle the kids' room into some kind of order. Neither works. My suggestion, because I'm doing it right now myself: do it now. Before the holidays, not during.
What Happened Between March and May
Kids grow in spurts, and spring is a spurt. Three things that are out of date in most families right now:
Shoes and transitional jackets. Last summer's sneakers very likely don't fit anymore. Spring and shoulder-season jackets are getting put away for summer anyway — the smaller sizes won't come back out, because by autumn the kids are two sizes bigger.
School bags and pencil cases. Anyone moving up a stage (kindergarten → 1st grade, primary → secondary) usually gets a new one anyway. The old one is almost always still fine.
Toys that were a phase. In our house it was magnetic blocks for half a year. Then it was another set. Then it was Lego. The magnetic blocks now live in a box that hasn't been opened since February. Classic giveaway candidate.
Why Now Is the Right Moment
Three reasons the weeks before summer holidays beat July or August:
- Demand is high right now. Other parents are also thinking about summer and seeing what their kids still need. Sandals, shorts, swim gear — those get searched for now, not in August.
- You still have time. Nobody is relaxed in July. Right now you have ten minutes in the evening to pull out a box and photograph three things.
- After the holidays comes back-to-school. If you try to give away a pile of kids' stuff in August, you're competing with every other parent doing exactly the same thing. In June, you basically have the stage to yourself.
How I Actually Do It
I'm not a Marie Kondo type, and with kids it doesn't really work anyway. What works for us:
One hour per child, once. Don't try to do the whole room. One drawer, one box, one closet. Three piles: keep, give away, broken/trash. If a kid is old enough, let them help decide — even if it's slower.
Photograph right after sorting. If the giveaway box sits in the hallway, it'll be there in three weeks. If you list it immediately, it's picked up before you forget. Three photos, location, "self-pickup at the door."
Bundle into lots. Nobody wants to come for a single size-110 T-shirt. But "Bundle summer clothes girl size 110, ~15 pieces" goes within hours. Same with toys, books, shoes.
More details in my longer parents' guide, if this is too short.
What's Specifically Leaving Our House
To make this less abstract, here's the list that's going up on PIKITUP next week:
- Summer clothes size 110 (two bags, good condition)
- Magnetic block set (complete)
- Picture books we can recite by heart (~20)
- One bike helmet, size S (outgrown)
- A pair of Crocs, a pair of sandals
- Arm floats and a swim ring (too small)
Estimated cost new: probably around 400 francs. Estimated value at resale: a weekend at a flea market and maybe 50 francs if it all goes well. Estimated value giving away on PIKITUP: two evenings of brief doorstep meetings, five friendly encounters, everything gone.
The Honest Bit
This isn't about tidying. It's about a family in the neighborhood currently waiting for a bike helmet because their kid lost the old one. Another one searching for summer clothes in size 110, because money is tight or simply because a second child is growing into them. Arm floats are useful all over Switzerland for a few weeks a year — thousands get bought new every year, and thousands end up in basements.
Half an hour in the evening. One box less in the closet. One kid less riding without a helmet because the parents can't swing a new one right now.
That's it. But if you're going to do it, do it now — not in July, when nobody has energy for anything.