Aussie mum shares ultimate rule for avoiding clutter in the home

A tidy home is a happy home, right?

Any decluttering expert or Marie Kondo-convert worth their salt will tell you that the amount of crap you have in your home is intrinsically linked with your wellbeing. An entire industry - books, TV shows, professionals for hire - has sprouted up around the business of decluttering in the past few years, promising to make you happy by ridding you of space-hogging material things. Easier said than done though, especially when you have kids. What parent hasn't looked at their kitchen/ living room/ car and marvelled at the sheer amount of unnecessary stuff they've accumulated since having children? If the thought of a mass clear-out causes you to break out in a rash, you might prefer the solution that one Australian mum has come up with. Shelley Craft, who presents a home transformation show on TV in her native Oz, keeps a strict 'one in, out out policy' at home. "I'm sure I've mentioned my 'one in, one out' rule before," she wrote on 9Honey recently. "In our house, when something new comes in, something has to go out." Convincing your kids that they'll have to give up an old toy when they get a new one might seem unrealistic, but Shelley has made it work by helping her daughters to understand how fortunate they are. "Since holidaying in Fiji, my girls have a first-hand account of children living with less... they now understand the importance of supporting communities less fortunate and it makes the 'one in, one out' a lot more genuine." Could a 'one in, one out' rule really work though? We'd give anything a go to avoid the yearly spring-clean but prizing old possessions from your kids' hands? Good luck.