the great cubby clean-up

The Great Cubby Clean-Up: 4 Weeks and 4 Easy Steps to a Fresh Start for Your Family

Laura Fenton
Laura Fenton
Laura Fenton is the author of The Little Book of Living Small and the weekly Living Small newsletter. She writes about home design and sustainability, and is a regular contributor to Apartment Therapy. Her work has been published in Better Homes & Gardens, Eater, New York…read more
published Sep 1, 2025
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Welcome to the Great Cubby Clean-Up! Feeling overwhelmed at all the toys and trinkets in your house? We’ve got a plan to help you get your home (and your kids’ rooms, and the playroom) back into shape!

Cubby called on some of our favorite organizing experts, who also happen to be moms and dads themselves, to get their best advice for how to tackle the mess. Because we’re all busy, we’ve broken the daunting task of organizing your kids’ stuff into bite-sized tasks that you can do in an hour or two each week. You don’t have to do it all at once and it doesn’t have to be perfect: Find pockets of time to make a dent and keep going. The goal is to make a noticeable and positive change in your home (not a Pinterest-perfect playroom).

By the beginning of next month, you’ll have decluttered, organized, and set up systems that will (hopefully) keep your family tidy all year long. Each week you can expect a few tips to get you started, and specific homework assignments to tackle before the next week. Here’s the weekly breakdown:

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