Kid's Room Clean-Up vs. Parent's Sanity

 

If you are like me, there is a ever present battle being waged against the condition of your child's room. 

 

If you don't have kids then you must think that I'm joking.  I'm not kidding...it's a BATTLE!  Dirty clothes strewn across the floor. Clean clothes strewn across the floor. Toys strategically placed to destroy a parent's feet in the night.  Stuffed animals seem to mock you from all sides.

 

It seems like every day I am hounding my girls to get their room in order.  You would think that putting dirty, smelly socks in the hamper would be a no-brainer...for whatever reason it has been a daily battle for the past 2 years.  I don't get it!  Why on earth would any little girl put up with stench in their room?  I never could when I was little.  I wanted my room to smell like a garden all the time.

 

So, today I decided to go hunting for some help in getting my girls to get their room picked up and kept relatively clean.  Sanity is not something that I can afford to loose any more of.  Frankly, I am also just plain sick and tired of the battle that has been waging on the past couple of years.  Below are some of the suggestions I found.
 

From a psychiatrist's site:

1.  Set a good example.  Apparently if I am complaining about keeping the house clean then I am setting the example that whenever my girls have to clean they should huff, gruff and complain.  I can see that...but sometimes I am going to be a complainer when everyone else leaves things out all over the place expecting Maid Mom to come along and take care of it.

 

2. Make your kids proud of their bedroom space.  Basically have them give the input of how they want their room to look. Let them move things around, paint a wall or shelves, decide how they want their things displayed.

 

3.  Show them exactly what a clean room is.  Make a list that they have to check off along the road to Clean & Tidy Room.

 

4.  Label, label, label. Make labels for whatever you can think of that will show them where things are supposed to be stored.

 

5.  Do exchanges.  Something new comes into the room, something old should go out.  I personally like this idea very much, in fact I try to put it into practice whenever I can.

 

6.  In the beginning... At the start of this endeavor work with your child to get the room into shape.  Do your best not to lose your cool and then once they understand what needs to be done and how to do it, step aside!  Turn on some music to keep them moving and cross your fingers that they will continue to conquer the room on their own.

 

Apparently if you do this then by the time they are preteens it will be understood that it is expected.  And while the disaster may resurface, you might just get a child that will be motivated by said disaster to get down to business and CLEAN!  (I don't know about this, but we can all hope, right?)

 

From one crazed-momma to another....GOOD LUCK!