10 tips to de-clutter your family home

Clear out that garage and turn it into cash

 Last week was our 15-year wedding anniversary and it is amazing how much “stuff” you can accumulate over this time. Prior to having children, we lived a very minimalist life; our first house was described by the estate agent as “Show Home Standard”. Now, with two children, it is often more resembling “Toy Shop Standard”

In these last few months, we have started to develop some strategies to deal with all this “stuff” and to teach the children to live a less commercial life.

If you are interested in de-cluttering your life with children, please see below our top 10 tips to help you on your way:

1. Lead by example

If you really want your children to declutter their lives and appreciate experiences more than possessions, you need to lead by example. Do you really need the latest digital TV? Will you ever use the record collection gathering dust in the garage? De-cluttering your life is a difficult thing to do, we all have emotional ties and memories linked to our possessions so do not even start this journey with children until you are ready to let go, yourselves.

2. Donate to charity

The first step to leading a more minimal life is to start to let go of things. Start by visiting charity shops with your children, explain to them the purpose of the shop and the charity it is supporting. Get over any stigmas you may have and buy a few little bits (but not too much). Talk about the environmental impact of buying new items and how much better it is to buy someone else’s unwanted items. Once your children are familiar with the process ask them to donate something; this may be a small teddy or unwanted gift. Let them take the item to the store and let then buy something “new” whilst you are there. Build this routine over a few weeks and increase the donations with each visit. Never force them to donate anything they are not comfortable with or take things without them knowing. After a few weeks take home a cardboard box, explain to the children that if you can fill the box with unwanted stuff you can visit the charity shop again and each bring home something new. Our children now look forward to the visit and we often combine it with ice cream or a trip to the park. We never bring back more than we take.

Parting with our CD collection was a very difficult decision

3. Set a goal

It is important when de-cluttering your life to have a goal, something you are aiming for as well as a clutter-free home. Would the children like to visit a theme park or book a family holiday? Use this as the incentive, print out a picture of the goal and stick it to the fridge. Work out how much you will need to fund this and how much you all need to raise. Then get together to think of what you can sell to raise some or all the cash together.

4. Clear out that loft, attic or garage space

How many of us have a space that we use to store things we no longer need? These items all have a monetary value and can be easily sold to help de-clutter and fulfil your goal. We suggest Facebook Marketplace or eBay as the easiest place to sell unwanted things. Some people would suggest a car boot sale but standing around all day watching people argue about paying 20p for an item that is clearly worth much more is not my idea of fun. Clean the item, take good photos with a clear concise description and do not set the value too high. Most items sell within days if not hours.

5. Understand their feelings
Children may feel more strongly about some items than you can imagine so it is important not to push too hard. Some items evoke strong memories for children and adults alike, taking possessions away that they are not ready to part with can cause them to have hoarding tendencies later. One good technique is to have a holding area for unwanted stuff. Ask the children to choose some items that they no longer play with as much. I suggest that these are boxed up and moved into a holding space to create more room for new things. An ideal time to do this is before Christmas or birthdays. Once the items are in this holding area they should be boxed and only removed if missed. After a set period let the children know that these items have not been played with and can now be taken to the charity shop or sold.

6. Say “NO” to other people’s offers

There is nothing worse than spending an entire weekend sorting through a pile of old toys to then have some more donated on Monday. Friends mean well when they hand down old toys or clothes, but this doesn’t mean you have to accept them all. Be wary of those who pass you a large bag of stuff unchecked. I suggest you sift through the bag before it is handed over and politely decline anything you don’t want or need at this time.

Rotate the toys to create more space in your home

7. Rotate their toys
Children love toys but often only play with certain things at certain times, by keeping some toys packed away and some out they get the joy of new (to them) toys every few weeks and you get less clutter around and fewer things to pick up.

8. Buy less "Stuff"
This is the most difficult to achieve. Living in a world of consumerism it is easy to get caught up buying the latest toys and gadgets. Children will be bombarded with adverts for the latest dolls or games and before you know it, they are all on the Christmas list and then spread over your floor. We have taken some serious steps to buy less stuff, but it is definitely not easy. Last year for Christmas the children got a keyboard each to learn piano and this has really been put to good use. We also bought them fishing rods and things we could use on days out but that didn’t stop them spending their birthday money on LOL dolls and Roblox toys. To this, I say take it easy, buy second hand where possible, buy things that will last and consider each purchase carefully before committing.

9. One in one out
Once you have your house how you like it, with less clutter and more space it is important to keep it this way. One way to do this is the One in One out technique. Each time something new is purchased something old must be sold or donated. Think about making charity donations on the way to the shops before you go out and buy the latest fashions.

10. Take small steps and don’t overdo things

It is important for children that you take things slow. Do not decide to have a clear out over the weekend and throw away half their toys. No one with children should expect to have a clutter-free home all the time. Allow the children to play and make a mess but encourage them to clear it up afterward. Give them plenty of storage boxes and shelves with doors so the mess can be hidden from few. Take your time, have patience and don’t overdo it.

Don't overdo things, I'd love this to be our child's bedroom but it is unlikely

Slovenia – A 7-day itinerary (with kids)

 If you have read our previous post (Slovenia Part One), you will see that we used some unusual methods to finally decide on our trip to Slovenia.

 We had planned our route, collected our hire car and arrived at our hotel. This blog will detail the rest of the trip, the itinerary, our highlights and the places we missed.

 If you are looking for a one week itinerary for a family holiday in Slovenia read on:


Day 1 Voglje - Lake Bled – Lake Bohinj
 Our first full day in Slovenia and after waking at the crack of dawn we headed off to our first destination; Lake Bled. The lake was a 30 min drive from our hotel, and we arrived early to avoid the crowds. Parking was easy, just past the lake at Villa Bled, and we were soon swimming in the turquoise waters chasing the trout that live there. After a great lunch in Restaurant Sova, a boat trip to Bled Island and a well-deserved ice cream, we headed to our apartment at Lake Bohinj.

Our apartment at Lake Bohinj

 We had chosen the quieter location of Lake Bohinj as our base for the next 3 days and we were not disappointed.


What we missed: Ljubljana, the view on the Bled Ojstrica hike, the Vintgar Gorge

Day 2 Lake Bohinj – Mosnica Gorge

 Our apartment Holin was on the approach road at Ribcev Laz and with wonderful mountain views and a short walk to Lake Bohinj, it was a great spot. The morning was spent on the lake and with its restaurants, cafes, and bars it’s a very pleasant place to be. We hired a Stand-Up Paddleboard from Alpinsport and took turns exploring the eastern side of the lake.


 In the afternoon we decided to take a walk to Mostnica Gorge, not the best decision in the midday sun but I am so glad we made the effort. The gorge is 2km in length and was carved by the Mostnica stream. The waters are icy cold but that didn’t stop many locals, and our brave children, from taken a dip at every opportunity. This was one of the highlights of our trip and should not be missed.


What we missed: Waterfall Savica

Mostnica Gorge

Day 3 Lake Bohinj – Mount Vogel – Aquapark Bohinj

Looking back through our photos it appears that we not only took the cable car to Mount Vogel on day 3 but we then spent the afternoon swimming at Aquapark Bohinj. No wonder the children were tired and grumpy. Mount Vogel was a difficult trip with the children, despite there being a park at the top and restaurants to eat in, the area is vast and most of the views involve a lot of walking. M was having none of it and with Emily deciding to stay at the bottom I came back down as quickly as possible.


 Aquapark Bohinj was much better received and the children loved the splash park, waterslides, and climbing wall. We recommend it, but you should check entry prices before you arrive, I remember it being expensive.

The cable car to Mount Vogel

Day 4 Bohinjska Bistrica – Most Na Soci – Kobarid – Bovec

 Day 4 and it was time to say goodbye to our air-conditioned apartment and head off to our next destination. Before booking, we had been told about the lovely Soca Valley area and the amazing Vrsic pass road that takes you over the mountains to get there. Problem is Emily is not very good with heights and mountain passes are not really her thing. A solution was found at the Most Na Soci auto train. The train runs for 15 miles from Bohinjska Bistrica to Most Na Soci avoiding the mountain pass and transporting you and your vehicle through the mountains. Tickets are bought on the day and the whole experience is amazing.

 We arrived early to ensure our place and joined the small queue to line up for the train. There is a small pub next door and you can leave your car whilst you head off for a drink. After around 30 mins it was time to board and we maneuvered our car into position on the carriage.

 The journey takes you to some amazing countryside, through tunnels, past waterfalls, and small villages. Before we knew it, we had arrived at Most Na Soci and it was time to disembark. 


We drove the short distance to Kobarid and parked at Napoleon's Bridge with a great view of the river. A short walk took us into town with its restaurants and the WWI Kobarid Museum.


 A few hours later we arrived, tired and excited at our next accommodation in Bovec.


What we missed: Tomlin Gorges, Slap Kozjak waterfall

The Autotrain at Most Na Soci

Day 5 Bovec – The Narnia Beach – Bovec Waterfall

 Adrenaline Check Eco Place is described as Europe’s first self-sustainable open-air hostel. The resort has its own water source, solar power plant, biological wastewater treatment plant & hot water vacuum solar collectors. All facilities are made from recycled or locally grown wood. As we had left it a little late to book, we missed out on one of the many Deluxe Lean-to tents and instead had booked a 4-man tent supplied with mattresses and sleeping bags. It was situated away from the main field amongst the other campers, but it was only a short walk. The main area has a charming children’s play area, volleyball, a BBQ and a communal seating area with hammocks, electricity, and refrigeration. It is a great place to make new friends and you can book many excursions from the site including horse riding, kayaking, and canyoning.

After exploring the site, we set off to find the Narnia beach, the beach is a short walk away and is the location used for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian movie in 2007. Today it is a place for kayaking, swimming and sunbathing.

 Another location that is a short walk from the campsite is Bovec Waterfall, however, in the afternoon we went the water had pretty much dried up and the waterfall was less than impressive


What we missed: Slap Virje waterfall

Day 6 Bovec – Rafting and Horse riding

 It was our last full day and we had an excursion booked. The girls fancied a lazy day on-site so we boys headed off white water rafting. The instructors pick you up from the campsite and drive you the 20 mins upstream to the river Isonzo. Here you join dozens of other adventurers for some basic safety instructions before donning your wetsuit and hurtling downstream. Our instructor was great, as we had been paired with a Slovenian family, he had to shout instructions in both languages. The experience is interrupted with various stop-offs to jump off huge rocks or use the raft as a slide to bounce into the waters. It is something we will remember forever.

Sliding off our raft into the river

 When we got back to the campsite we had a few hours to relax, cook some food and chat with our new friends before we headed off for our second excursion of the day. We had made a last-minute phone call and managed to get all four of us booked in for an evenings horse ride at Posestvo Blata. We drove 10 mins to the stables and got kitted out for our ride. The people were so friendly; allowing us to groom the horses and telling us about their lives. At age 5 our daughter M had a pony of her own which she loved. We took the horses out for a short walk through woodland and down to the river where we were allowed to take them for a paddle. The whole evening was great, and it really summed up our time in Slovenia


What we missed: Outdoor museum at Ravelnik, Fort Hermann


Day 7 Bovec – Kranjska Gora – Ljubljana Joze Pucnick airport

 Our final day in Slovenia is a bit of a blur, we set off early and headed north to avoid the alpine pass. We used Google maps to get up back to the airport and I believe we may have crossed the border into Austria a few times. The driving was amazing, and we stopped off at various lakes and nature reserves for a swim on route. Looking back at our photos we defiantly visited Zelenci nature reserve in Kranjska Gora but all the other locations we stopped at are unknown.

An amazing sunset at Lake Bohinj

Summary

So, after spending 7 days in Slovenia would we go back again? Hell yes.

 Slovenia is a place we have fallen in love with, the people are so friendly and with mountain views and lakes around every corner, we want to return and explore more.

Vanlife - What's it all about anyway?

 Back in May 2019, we attended a small independent festival known as Camp Quirky. The festival is described as the only festival in the UK focused specifically on handmade campervans and all things vanlife.

 Being new to campervan ownership (see our previous post) we thought this would be the perfect place to explore the culture that is known as #vanlife. We returned with more questions than answers, so decided to find out more by interviewing 3 families who are living "The Vanlife Dream".

1. Thank you for sparing the time. Please introduce yourselves

Rainbows on the Road:
 We are Laura, Carly and Agnes AKA Rainbows on the Road, or The Rainbows as many people refer to us as. Currently, we are in the Orkney Islands on a special mission to find the location of a photograph Carly’s Dad took the day before he unexpectedly passed away here on a fishing trip nine years ago.

Yellow Van Diesel:
 We are Yellow Van Diesel, a family of 4 plus the dog, who travelled around west Europe for 10 months in our VW T5 (plus trailer!). It has been a challenge and an adventure! Now we are back in the house, we’re looking to upgrade to a larger van and keep going on shorter trips and adventures.

The Ormsby family:
 We are the Ormsby family from Sydney, Australia and we are travelling around the world on a family gap year. We hired ‘Saul’ the Quirky Camper for two months and travelled around the UK and Ireland.

2. Camp Quirky was certainly an eye-opener to this alternative way of living. What does #Vanlife mean to you?

Rainbows OTR:
 Vanlife means having a deep appreciation of vans, living simply and appreciating nature and our environment. Seeing beautiful or interesting places and meeting likeminded people.

Yellow Van Diesel:
 Vanlife can be so much... for us it meant the freedom to roam, move on from place to place. Staying when you like it, moving on if not. It's meant living a lot more in nature, and in tune with nature. Our personal setup meant we lived with the sun, going to bed rather early in the winter months!

The Ormsby family:
 For our family, it was an opportunity to explore the UK & and get to off the beaten track places. We travelled over 3000 miles and I don’t think we would have explored as broadly if we flew in and out.

3. Tell us a bit about your current life, how do you live now? How long have you lived like this? How do you finance your travels? What type of vehicle do you own?

Rainbows OTR:
 We moved into our van on October 1st, 2018, exactly one year to the day from when we bought the van. We are currently travelling up to the Orkney Islands in our Ford Transit Luton.

 Laura works remotely part-time as a programmer- this funds our travels and the sale of our house paid for the van.

Yellow Van Diesel:
 Our lives prior to living in the van was a rather standard one. Dad goes out to work while mum stays at home with the kids. We’d be strapped for cash sometimes, borrow money to fix up a car, we would buy new white goods on the Argos card to be paid off later… We bought the VW campervan with some inheritance money to go on outings and holidays in the UK more. It was also my daily driver as we couldn’t afford to run 3 cars. The idea to go travelling came on gradually when I found a few accounts on Instagram. I never considered it for us, then I found the Instagram Raised on The Road, a French family who were planning a set 2-year trip before returning “home” - and so the idea was born! I hadn't considered that you could do this as a temporary lifestyle, with views to return to house life afterward. To finance our own trip, we would rent out our house and live off the rent.

The Ormsby family:
 I’m taking a gap year and travelling around the world with my husband and girls aged 10 & 5. We hired ‘Saul’ from Quirky Campers. We live in Sydney, Australia and we started our adventure in South America, through the USA, UK&I, Europe, Asia and back home in time for Christmas. We are homeschooling our oldest daughter.

 We’ve funded our trip with savings and rented our house out while we are away. It’s surprisingly affordable when your mortgage is more than covered and we don’t have to pay $1000 per week for childcare and high cost of living in Sydney.

4. How easy was it to take your children out of school and how are they finding life on the road?

Rainbows OTR:
 Pretty straight forward for us, her school was very supportive – even the Head Teacher came to have a quick peek inside our van and said he thought what we were doing was inspiring. Agnes seems to love this life (we ask her a lot!), this slower pace of life suits who she is.

Yellow Van Diesel:
 Our two (aged 2 and 5 at the time) were never in school, to begin with, so that was not an issue we encountered. Our 2-year-old was not very aware of what we were doing, to be honest, but our eldest knew we were going on a long trip to see places and meet people. He was concerned about not seeing his friends for such a long time, but we figured we’d make it work through messages and postcards. I think they’ve enjoyed life on the road for the most part. They’ve pretty much just asked for parks, pools, and beaches! They really had the best time when we stayed on a site in Portugal for a month, they really got to know the place and people and would go off on their own to see whichever children were camped out too at the time!

The Ormsby family:
 We chose this time in our lives for minimal disruption to school. We are very lucky in Australia that distance education and homeschooling is well established. My daughter must complete about 10-12 hours of work per week and most of it is submitted through an App with a scanner, video recorder, and audio. All of Chloe’s classmates are all over the world and there are only teachers present at the Sydney Distance Education School.

 We are keeping up with the curriculum, but they are learning so much more about history, geography, agriculture, and culture than any child could learn in a classroom.

5. Do you follow any type of curriculum or schedule for schooling?

Rainbows OTR:
 We don’t follow a curriculum and only have a loose schedule such as reading daily. Currently, she is working towards a Wild Tribe Award run by Durrell Zoo, she does regular maths work using the Khan Academy app and has recently chosen to learn sign language.

Yellow Van Diesel:
 We’ve pretty much always been on board with what is called “unschooling”, which is where you simply facilitate your children’s interests and learning. We see life as a school because we are all always learning and there are learning opportunities everywhere. So, when we left to live on the road, it became “road schooling”, talking about the places and people we met, reading books, climbing trees. We find it very freeing to trust in the innate ability that children are always learning, you just must be there to help them out, finding books or organising outings on the subject of their interest!

The Ormsby family:
 The curriculum is in line with the Australian School standard.

6. What difficulties do you face on the road and what do you think it takes to overcome them?

Rainbows OTR:
 Van breakdowns are very challenging, we’ve experienced two both of which resulted in us having extended stays on the garage forecourt. Being static for so long can have a big impact on us and makes simple things like shopping and laundry more of a challenge. We focus on the future and where we’ll go when we’re ‘free’ and we also spent many nights talking about where we’ve been; discussing our favorite and worst places.

Yellow Van Diesel:
 I think this really depends on the personal situation. We were acutely aware of safety because of the children. Where we might have spent the night in a lay-by if we’d been a couple, we couldn’t do this as a family. So, finding park-ups hasn’t been the easiest, and it definitely got harder for us in the UK where there are no such thing as “Aires” providing for motorhomes. Europe is well set up for those!

 Another thing that struck us rather later in our journey, is when the van breaks down, you become homeless. We were lucky to be able to stay with family, but those were equally tricky days having to adjust to someone else’s routine! We would not have had the budget to stay in paid accommodation.

The Ormsby family:
 Lack of space is probably the biggest one and getting our 5y.o behavioral problems sorted out. We’ve certainly bonded so much more as a family. We introduced a weekly reward board that has jobs and expected behaviors set out for the kids. Each day we had the star award ceremony. This has worked a treat with our youngest and both the girls can now wash and wipe up (when they want to earn stars). There have been some screaming matches in the confined space in the mornings, but we’ve quickly bounced back. We also spent a lot of time discussing our next stop and if we free camp or caravan park.

 Both my husband and I work long full-time hours at home, so we’ve really been able to unwind and appreciate nature again.

6. What do you miss about being a house dweller and would you ever return?

Rainbows OTR:
 Probably the only thing we really miss is knowing you won’t run out of water and showers. We don’t ever want to return to a house if we can help it!

Yellow Van Diesel:
 We did miss a lot and have returned in the end! It was always part of the plan as we wanted to expand our family. Living as 4 people and one large dog in a VW T5 has been extremely challenging. We missed space the most. Four of us sat there at dinner is cramped. When bedtime rolled around, there was no more floor space. The dog slept on the front seat folded down, which would join up to the bed with our only worktop surface. I missed having a fixed bed, we missed having a fixed dinette. Don’t even get me started on if it was raining and we had to do all of the above!

The Ormsby family:
 A real toilet! Haha. We had a portaloo and tried to keep it to ‘number ones. The other thing is being able to have some downtime and watch a bit of TV. I’ve missed out watching the netball and Rugby League.

 We have a large 5-bedroom house at home, but we’ve learned to get rid of the stuff and that we really don’t need that size house to be happy.

 We have our heart set on trading our family car for a VW T5 when we get home to Australia. So that we can continue adventuring on weekends.

7. Where do you see yourselves 5-10 years from now? What are your plans for the future?

Rainbows OTR:
 Hopefully having some land in Portugal or Spain or somewhere we fall in love with. We’ll keep our van either on the land as a static dwelling or continue to travel in it.

Yellow Van Diesel:
 As mentioned above, future plans are to expand our family first. We have a little one due in November, so we are focused on getting back to the “grind” and bringing the little one earthside. After that, we will be looking at selling the T5 in favour of something the size of a minibus and convert that for our growing family! We have visions of fixed double bunk beds, a small wet room, a little kitchen with an oven, and that little dinette so we have somewhere to sit after the kids have gone to bed! We don’t have plans for such an extended trip again but hope to do lots of short trips and maybe a few month-long ones!

The Ormsby family:
 My mum and dad are retired and spent a lot of my inheritance on a fabulous van (good on them) I’d like to find some land and have horses and be surrounded by nature again. My husband and I will be looking at some more time in a campervan when we retire or come out and do 3 months around Europe with the girls another year.

8. Which #vanlife bloggers/vloggers do you follow and why?

Rainbows OTR:
 Oh, so many! We do love fellow Luton owners (who doesn’t get excited to meet a van like their own!?) and some of our favourites are @wanderrustuk, @the_big_yellow_van, @haroldthehousetruck, @eternallytransit, @vanlifeyuki and @the_kraken_adventures.

We also love following other families like @babybusadventures, @wearethoseweirdos, @5_go_wild, @thedixietribe, and @wild_wandering_tribe.

Then, of course, we do love seeing van dogs and van cats so we love @life_beyond_bricks, @thomas_and_marv, @fulltimingfelines and @adventuresofsyl

Yellow Van Diesel:
 (This is solely Emilie’s answer as Antony does not do social media!) To be quite honest, I follow a lot of people… Usually, those are either European families or van builds. Both a great for inspiration! Throw in a few American Skoolies and that’s pretty much it! I like accounts that keep it real, showing the good and the bad. It can be very hard when accounts look like they always have great park-ups, always have a great time… You can’t help but compare your own journey, but it’s important to remember not everyone shares the bad sides of their journey!

The Ormsby family:
 We jumped on the Facebook groups for general tips. I found that some groups are friendly and one, in particular, is full of whinging English people who complain about most things. My first travel bloggers who inspired me were The Bucket List Family. They are a young American couple who are positive, environmentally conscious and great storytellers. They really helped me to start the conversation with my employer, Ernst & Young, who granted me a gap year from work to adventure around the world.

9. What advice would you give to a potential van dweller or traveller with children?

Rainbows OTR:
 Do it!! We love this life, it’s not always easy and not always pretty scenery but it is always our choice.

Yellow Van Diesel:
 Our advice is to go for it! The world is out there to be discovered! If we hadn’t done it, there would always be that “what if”. Just make sure you do it in a van bigger than a T5!!

The Ormsby family:
 All kids are motivated by different things, but what worked for ours was to give challenges and recognition. Give your kids some jobs that they are responsible for in the van and start a visual reward board. You’ll soon find that they can’t wait to help prepare dinner, wash up, make beds, clean floors, etc. Ours also decided their rewards and how many stars they needed to earn an ice-cream, time on the iPad or gift.

 We also made a commitment to leave any site better than we found it. So, we would pick up plastic from the beach or garbage from the car parks.

 My final comment is good luck, you won’t regret it and your kids will learn so much more about the world by exploring.

 Thanks to everyone that took the time to answer these questions, if you would like more information on vanlife, unschooling or travelling with children please check out the below links:

Fourroam.com

Planning a family gap year

#Vanlife - Is it possible in the UK

So you own a campervan

Our first Ad-Van-ture

Other sites

Quirky Campers

 If you are interested in hearing more from our 3 families please check them out on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Our campervan Ron at Camp Quirky