cleaning kids' rooms | pad patter 6.19.17

[keepscrappin]

i know, i know... they're supposed to clean their own rooms, but when your hubby wants to make one of the kid's rooms into his home office you have to help. He doesn't do well with the kid messes and so it's easier for me to help them, than to have him just start throwing it all away. Less tears for both him and the kids that way. Plus, it's always a good idea to get in there and help the kids clean so the room really gets cleaned. Hubby helped moved the heavy stuff, but I spent the day keeping DD on task and throwing things away when she wasn't looking.... hehe

We moved DD to the bigger room and hubby's office and kids' homework room to the smaller room. I couldn't believe how much junk and trash DD had lurking in her room. I knew she was shoving stuff in the closet and in the corner, but I didn't know how much pure trash she had in there too. Between the two rooms, we literally cleaned out 5, yes; count em 5, kitchen trash bags full of old school papers, candy wrappers, dried out markers and broken pencils, etc. We also cleaned out 2 trash bags full of old clothes, coats and jackets. And the topper was that we found 2 grocery bags full of candy from Halloween and Valentine's Day that we had to throw away too. She had eaten all the good candy, but hadn't tossed the rest. Instead, she had hung them on a hanger in her closet.... oh boy!

It seems like she might have a hoarding tendency, so I'm kinda scared she'll fill the bigger room with all her junk. I had to have the keeping your room clean and throwing the trash away and not stuffing it in a bin or drawer talk with her. She said she'll keep this room clean, but I know I'll have to do some reminding and probably help clean every couple of months so it doesn't get out of control again.

We got her some shelves for her Lego Friends and other toys and I think that'll help her stay better organized. Also the bigger room will give her room to play with her stuff, so I'm hoping she'll want to keep it clean so she can spread out to play.

So how about you? Are your kids hoarders? Do you have to help your kids clean their rooms occasionally? Or do you just shut the door and look the other way and figure someday when they all move out, it'll get cleaned?

 

[londoncuppa]

So how about you? Are your kids hoarders? Do you have to help your kids clean their rooms occasionally? Or do you just shut the door and look the other way and figure someday when they all move out, it'll get cleaned?

I had to laugh at your post. I think every single mom can relate. I'M actually the hoarder and hate throwing things away.

I do both cleaning scenarios. I help clean when there's a "reason" to (I know that sounds wrong). Otherwise, I figure they'll eventually find where all the bodies are buried when he grows up and moves out. My daughters only leave messes at home when they're visiting or home from college.

 

[jenn mccabe]

Yes, like Margaret said ... I think we can ALL relate to this post.
This is me when I walk into my kids rooms ... ... They are teens now - so I give them their privacy and really we have them do deep clean/purges about 2x a year. Otherwise I look the other way. I always think of @ForeverJoy 's kit when I go anywhere near their rooms these days! Life is too short to stress. One day they will be gone and I will long for those messy rooms again.

When they were younger - like you, I definitely helped them when the goal was to purge. It was too much for them/too overwhelming. I would also totally throw things away when they weren't looking. (Or hide things in a big trash bag for a month or two - and when they never noticed it was gone - figured it was safe to throw out). They both have hoarding tendencies. And it probably comes from me. I just cleaned my closet and and a few other closets in the house and our storage area in the basement- 19 bags of donated clothes/goods to goodwill. It was ridiculous!

Enjoy the "clean, purged" feeling while it lasts! And ... I hope she does enjoy the added play space.

 

[rdjrneace]

I am curious how old your daughter is -- your description sounds just like my 11 year old granddaughter.

 

[tkradtke]

I don't clean the kids' rooms, nor do we make them clean their own rooms. HOWEVER, there is incentive to clean them. They're both teens now and are out and about spending money without us. About a year ago, we got both of them debit cards and made them responsible for their own spending. They each get $20 a week, no questions asked.... it's automatic. They can earn $40 more each for doing their chores, with one of those being cleaning their rooms (this is all or nothing... no picking and choosing). This sounds like a lot of money, but we've made them responsible for any spending they do... Starbucks, movie tickets, lunches out, etc. We had been handing out random amounts of cash anytime they *needed* money previously. For a while, we were probably even with what we were giving out before, but now we come out ahead. Alex has a job now and has stopped doing his chores for the extra $40 (he is still required to help out around the house, he just doesn't do the extras). Thankfully his room is never very bad. Clara stopped doing her chores for a while because she is way overpaid as a babysitter and didn't have time to spend much money. Her room is a disaster. Now that it's summer and her expenses have increased, she deep cleaned her room yesterday so she could get her extra $40. She plans on getting her $40 each week now so she wanted a good base to start with.

That said, Clara's disaster area does disappoint me, but I'm fine with shutting the door and walking away. My husband on the other hand, can't handle it. It makes him crazy.

 

[amien1]

My 9 yr old daughter is very similar- only with lots of papers. She makes lists for everything & labels & tags and Lord knows what else for whatever game they are playing- but then never throws them away! Usually this time of year (summer so no school- but a rainy or day we're inside for awhile!) we go through all her drawers in her nightstand (where she tends to 'collect' things) and clean out rooms. She's pretty OCD, but also a hoarder- or just doesn't like to get rid of something if she 'might' play with it eventually. The one motivator has been them choosing what to sell at our garage sale & keeping the $$. She made like $27 at our last sale!

As far as advice- I'd say do a monthly 'checkin' where you guys quickly go through stuff together & purge what's trash & what's not played with anymore! Good luck! Darn kiddos!

 

[keepscrappin]

I am curious how old your daughter is -- your description sounds just like my 11 year old granddaughter.

hehe... she's 11. Going into 6th grade this fall!

 

[keepscrappin]

I don't clean the kids' rooms, nor do we make them clean their own rooms. HOWEVER, there is incentive to clean them. They're both teens now and are out and about spending money without us. About a year ago, we got both of them debit cards and made them responsible for their own spending. They each get $20 a week, no questions asked.... it's automatic. They can earn $40 more each for doing their chores, with one of those being cleaning their rooms (this is all or nothing... no picking and choosing). This sounds like a lot of money, but we've made them responsible for any spending they do... Starbucks, movie tickets, lunches out, etc. We had been handing out random amounts of cash anytime they *needed* money previously. For a while, we were probably even with what we were giving out before, but now we come out ahead. Alex has a job now and has stopped doing his chores for the extra $40 (he is still required to help out around the house, he just doesn't do the extras). Thankfully his room is never very bad. Clara stopped doing her chores for a while because she is way overpaid as a babysitter and didn't have time to spend much money. Her room is a disaster. Now that it's summer and her expenses have increased, she deep cleaned her room yesterday so she could get her extra $40. She plans on getting her $40 each week now so she wanted a good base to start with.

That said, Clara's disaster area does disappoint me, but I'm fine with shutting the door and walking away. My husband on the other hand, can't handle it. It makes him crazy.

Love that Clara's needing money so she's finally cleaning her room and doing the extras. My teenage daughter has a job, so I can't get her to do any extra chores except when she wants to stay out later. Then, it's an extra half hour on her curfew for each toilet she scrubs or job mom picks. The one in her bathroom doesn't count because it's her responsibility to keep that one clean, but I love it when she cleans the other three.

 

[keepscrappin]

My 9 yr old daughter is very similar- only with lots of papers. She makes lists for everything & labels & tags and Lord knows what else for whatever game they are playing- but then never throws them away! Usually this time of year (summer so no school- but a rainy or day we're inside for awhile!) we go through all her drawers in her nightstand (where she tends to 'collect' things) and clean out rooms. She's pretty OCD, but also a hoarder- or just doesn't like to get rid of something if she 'might' play with it eventually. The one motivator has been them choosing what to sell at our garage sale & keeping the $$. She made like $27 at our last sale!

As far as advice- I'd say do a monthly 'checkin' where you guys quickly go through stuff together & purge what's trash & what's not played with anymore! Good luck! Darn kiddos!

My DD 11, the one with the hoarding problem loves to draw and make lists too. She's quite the little artist and can draw most anything just by looking at an image. She had all kinds of things drawn and cut out, but they were everywhere. She had a whole drawer full of little fish she'd drawn and cut out with little names and grouped into families in her desk that I threw away. I got busted though, because she asked for them later that day. Luckily, the trash bags had already gone out so I told her she could draw them again when she got bored. I was surprised that she was ok with it. I think she figured it would be easier to draw them again instead of going dumpster diving. I also told her if she would keep her room clean and her bed made, I'd let her pick out a new bedspread. She wants a more teenager/tween print rather than the cutesy birds she has now.

 

[gonewiththewind]

Yes, I've always helped my children clean their rooms. They need to learn how to care for their possessions, and they need to learn how to do that. Some children lean more toward the clean side than others, though. LOL

As Olivia grew into her teen years, she was able to keep a handle on her room. She hated it that I always wanted her bed made and her room picked up. Now that she is living with other people (3 roommates), she now understands why it's important to learn how to pick up after yourself and take care of your own things.

Daniel is almost 12 and while he won't do it on his own volition, will clean his room and desk in the den without me helping. Sometimes his dad will help with the LEGO organization. He does love to build LEGOs, so often there are boxes of LEGOs and LEGOs spilled on the floor while he is creating. He also loves to draw so there are tons of papers. I got him a plastic covered bin for holding his drawings. He can keep that much and no more. LOL When he is ready to toss them, I take photos of them before he lets them go.

Right now, his bed is unmade and he has some LEGO boxes on the floor that his dad has been cleaning and sorting (they were second hand so we had to Lysol bathe them LOL) as well as an overnight bag from Friday night he still has not unpacked. LOL He will have to clean it up because he's vacuuming for $3 for me. He's already vacuumed the hard wood floors, but now he has to do the bedrooms and the den.

 

[KarenW]

We all have hording tendencies I'm afraid. When we knocked down our old house to rebuild, the builder said just leave any junk in one of the rooms and it will all go when the demolition crew will get rid of it. We ended up filling one large room up with just broken useless stuff - both embarrassing and cathartic.

We are much better in our new house, it helps enormously that our kids are all over the toy stage, cuts down on a lot of stuff. And I still have a heap of paper scrapping stuff I need to get rid of, craft supplies are my downfall...

 

[bestcee]

I just move every year or so. It's easier to clean that way.

 

[Karen]

I don't think my boys (who still voluntarily share a room at 11 and 13) have hoarding tendencies, but they'd rather shove stuff in their closet than actually put it away or throw it away. I allow a certain level of mess for a little while, but their room is right across the hall from our main bathroom that all visitors use, I can't stand thinking about people looking in there to see clothes and book all over the floor. Now that it's summer they have daily chores again and they each have one day of the week that they have to clean the room... so it stays pretty good all summer.

 

[keepscrappin]

I just move every year or so. It's easier to clean that way.

I keep telling hubby we should just pretend that we're moving and get rid of a bunch of stuff, so that when we actually do move it'll be easier. We're pretty good inside. Just the girls rooms and the craft room get messy. But the garage needs a total enema. We have stuff on shelves and in bins, but most of it is old decorations, college books and things we really don't need. I don't know why we keep it. I think since it's outta sight, it's outta mind.

 

[bestcee]

Well, @keepscrappin the truth is somewhere in between. I don't think my son is a hoarder, but he loves his 'treasures'. He loves to cut papers down to itty bitty shapes, think smaller than fingernails, and then wants to keep them! Argh. We also have Lego everywhere in his room. I like to encourage his creativity, so I let him build and build and leave pieces out while he is working on things, even if it takes a few days. Of course, that means to me it looks like a mess! But to him, it's organized chaos.
When he reaches the point where he seems overwhelmed by his things, and can't clean on his own, I know it's time to help him deep clean. We get rid of toys, and bring it back down to manageable. And every month, usually every 3 weeks, I go in and help him put Lego away and start again.

 

[bbymks5]

I can totally relate!! It was the same scenario in our house when we moved in April...I wanted to run away! I couldn't believe how much STUFF we all had, but the girls room was by far the scariest LOL!! But I totally agree about having to go in and help...there's just things they don't do because they don't think of it.

I think girls have a tendency to hang onto more things than boys do. Girls seem to play with toys longer, they have more clothes, shoes etc; then you get into makeup and hair things and just STUFF!!

I'm really trying hard since we moved NO new toys until they donate more. I am not allowing myself to buy anymore physical scrapbook paper unless I have a very specific project I want to make and I don't already have paper to use.

 

[Kiana]

ROFL this is funny.

I actually think my DD (13yr) might have some hoarding tendencies. However, I do NOT. And we clean their rooms, junk and all every spring and every fall before Christmas. I make them either give away or trash things all the time. So we're pretty covered here. Lol

 

[Scrapping with Liz]

All of my kids do a pretty good job of keeping their rooms clean. It's taken years of training, but my oldest 2 I never have to tell them to make their beds or straighten their room. The other kids need a little prompting and help sometimes. My 9 year old is THE WORST though. She's definitely the hoarder. I have to frequently make her go through her room thoroughly. I know that with time she'll get it....it's just taking longer than my other kids.

 

[LeeAndra]

The 3yo's bedroom only has one small bin of toys because I know he can't keep it picked up otherwise.

The 7yo keeps her Legos in her room & some craft supplies, and I make her pick it up every Saturday morning during the school year & when we get around to it in the summer. I do not help her except with dusting/vacuuming and suggestions for how to organize (for some reason, she chooses a different way to organize every other month or so). She's not a hoarder but she is easily distracted so sometimes trash will accumulate because she was interrupted in the midst of getting rid of it the first time or gets interrupted in the middle of tidying things up. She would love it if I kept every single art project she's ever made but I (secretly) throw away 90% of them.

We keep the bulk of their toys in the basement. I usually pick a time when the 3yo is not around and the 7yo & I tagteam it. This happens a couple of times a month. I don't want to deal with it more often than that.