Parents feel so proud when their child presents them with
the first thing they ever made at school. But then your kid brings a new art project or
craft home week after week after week (multiple times a week if your kid is in
preschool). Before you know it, a mountain of “adorable” art projects has overtaken your home. Why not convince your child it’s time to feed their favorite
mythical creature, The Dumpster Gnome?
Mom and TikTok creator Shan Chef shared her brilliant hack in this video clip, where she asks her son if she can give his latest
masterpiece to the Dumpster Gnome. He responds, “Yes.” When she asks him what the Gnome does with it, he proudly responds ,“Mommy throws
it in the garbage and then he decorates his house with it!”
Mom is happy because the house is decluttered, the kid is
happy because they’ve given their friendly neighborhood gnome something cute
for their dumpster home.
This is freedom, you see. You can’t save everything, yet
some kids are truly disappointed if you just toss their hard work. It may seem mean, but it's no different than the Tooth Fairy. This gets
them on the Marie Kondo train early: They get to admire what they’ve done,
show it off a little and pass it on to a friend. We stan, Shan.
The tip has been so successful that Shan announced she’s writing a book about the Dumpster Gnome so everyone can learn this mythic story.
Fortunately for us, Shan's helpful tips don't stop there. For kids who want to get their own milk but are still too small to navigate a whole jug, she suggests putting coffee syrup pumps on to for easier self service!
And for snackers, this toddler-accessible "Snack Rack" is really just a repurposed shoe rack filled with all-day snacks at their level (like apple sauce pouches) and lunchbox food at Mom-level for easier packing.
We hope Shan's helpful tips keep coming. In the meantime, it looks like her son's teacher has declared war on The Dumpster Gnome with oversized projects.
We'll be on the edge of our seats to see if The Dumpster Gnome can win this round or not...