Parents with kids, let’s talk room cleanup and organization

[YadaYadaYada]

Curious what other parents do about keeping their child’s bedroom in order. Now that our older one is 14, I try to encourage him to clean his room but it is a struggle! Like his favorite place to hide stuff is behind the door, there is always a small collection of things there.

He tends to be a pack rat but I try to make him go through his things from time to time. He has hundreds of Matchbox cars he still plays with, arranging them on the floor like an obstacle course! When I tell him to vacuum his room he gets bent out of shape because he has to pick them all up!

With our younger son who is 6 it’s a little easier. He can let things go pretty easily. When I go in his room I ask if something is keep or go and he makes the call. I did the same thing with the older one because I feel like it’s important for them to learn how to make decisions. Also I wouldn’t want to toss something that is important them.

Just got done with the younger ones room today, we got rid of a lot of toys he grew out of. I won’t dare show you the teenager’s room.


Do your kids keep their rooms clean? Do you go in from time to time to declutter and do you let them decide what stay or goes?

 

[FL_runner]

I just finished dumping out, reorganizing and purging a portion of all the playroom toys during toddler naptime

I definitely help my kiddos keep their rooms tidy- my 8y/o keeps some clutter but we attack it and clean up the toys at least once a week.

I don’t mind If the toys stay out for a few days, but I have to vacuum at least once a week and absolutely NO FOOD upstairs!

 

[LilAlex]

We were not super hung up on that -- their room was their space. But they could not let it metastasize around the house. Most schoolwork, etc., was done outside their rooms, for unclear reasons -- spread out across the dining room table. There were limits there...

They all had a lot of sleepovers and that helped them keep things from getting too embarrassing. Plus, they needed enough floor space in their tiny rooms for a folding foam pad and/or sleeping bags for guests. Now that they are young adults, when they visit they mostly need a bigger bed for guests and we have accommodated that.

I agree: unless someone is sick, there are no meals in bedrooms. Adults included.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@FL_runner, I agree about the food, it’s tough because the teenager can be absent-minded. Like I found a lollipop wrapper on his dresser and I’m like whyyyyyyy. A playroom sounds great, wish we had the space for one. Toddlers are tough because they have a lot of stuff.

@LilAlex, I agree about their room being their space, certain things though just irk me. Like clothes hanging out of the dresser or drawers half open....ugh! Also yes to keeping it contained and not all over the house. At least with a room you can close the door!

 

[FL_runner]

@YadaYadaYada We have room for our table in the large kitchen area, so we decided to make the dining room a playroom. Fortunately most of the toys can be put in there and kept from spreading through the house!

My older one does have her desk in her room and all the schoolwork/homework is the source of a lot of clutter. I don’t want to accidentally recycle papers she will need later.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Curious what other parents do about keeping their child’s bedroom in order. Now that our older one is 14, I try to encourage him to clean his room but it is a struggle! Like his favorite place to hide stuff is behind the door, there is always a small collection of things there.

He tends to be a pack rat but I try to make him go through his things from time to time. He has hundreds of Matchbox cars he still plays with, arranging them on the floor like an obstacle course! When I tell him to vacuum his room he gets bent out of shape because he has to pick them all up!

With our younger son who is 6 it’s a little easier. He can let things go pretty easily. When I go in his room I ask if something is keep or go and he makes the call. I did the same thing with the older one because I feel like it’s important for them to learn how to make decisions. Also I wouldn’t want to toss something that is important them.

Just got done with the younger ones room today, we got rid of a lot of toys he grew out of. I won’t dare show you the teenager’s room.


Do your kids keep their rooms clean? Do you go in from time to time to declutter and do you let them decide what stay or goes?

Font touch my stuff mum !!!


I should post a picture of behind my bedroom door
But my mother will send down a lightening bolt from heaven in embarrassment

The door is always open but if i ever think to look behind it, its like tumbleweeds back there

We have wood floors
i sweep, i don't hoover

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Crumbs in bed
Defiantly no food in bedroom









I don't know where those chocolate wrappers under the bed came from
chocolate doesn't count

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@Daisys and Diamonds lol! You are a hoot. I would be thankful if I only found tumbleweeds behind his door. Usually it’s a glass of water, stick of deodorant, pencil, q-tip and a partridge in a pear tree

 

[Piper70]

No food in bedrooms! We live in a rural area and would get mice. Ewww
I used to go in and help them go through every drawer, closet, toy box and under the bed twice a year. Other than that, they did a decent job of cleaning. Not “Mom clean” but good enough.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@Piper70, that’s a good schedule...twice a year to get them setup so they can try to maintain it. Speaking of mice, my neighbor had had them in her kitchen and her 21 year old son has a habit of leaving food and plates in his room. One day he left a tub of cream cheese with the knife!! No wonder they have mice, blech!

 

[elizat]

Ugh. This is hard.

14 year old boy in house. I'm the stepparent.

I clean his room out. We have a cleaning company every two weeks.

But, I'm the one that goes through and gets rid of excess paper, garbage, packaging, picks his laundry up and does it all, changes linens, etc.

I ask him to put aside clothes that are damaged or don't fit for throw away or donation. He doesn't do it, so I do it and sort every few months.

I go through his toys, books, etc twice a year. If it's aged out and not sentimental, it gets donated.

I try to get him to help by encouraging declutter. It does not work.

Food thing. Problem here too. He's not allowed anything but I routinely find candy wrappers, water bottles, bread crusts and the like. The best way I have stopped that is watching him like a hawk and stopping it before he takes it in. He just throws it all on the floor when he's done.

When I go in to get laundry, I flag everything that needs picking up. He does about 15 percent if I'm lucky.

It's hugely frustrating. I really believe this is a behavior pattern that has to be to taught early and that some people are just slobby and don't care.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@elizat, if it makes you feel any better we have routinely encouraged and helped our older son and it sounds like he is only marginally better. I don’t want to generalize and say boys.....so I’ll just say teenagers, this is an age thing I believe. I hope anyways!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

@Piper70, that’s a good schedule...twice a year to get them setup so they can try to maintain it. Speaking of mice, my neighbor had had them in her kitchen and her 21 year old son has a habit of leaving food and plates in his room. One day he left a tub of cream cheese with the knife!! No wonder they have mice, blech!

Boys can be so gross !

I remember after i had finished school and was well and trully working finding a gladwraped sandwhich under my bed from a school lunch mum would have got up early to make
It was like a science experiment, lots of different colours

my sister narked on me

my dad just said you've got to throw them out if your not going to eat, not bring them back home

There was nothing wrong with mum's samwhiches, my freinds just didn't eat lunch and dad was to busy to eat lunch

 

[Matata]

When my stepson was 16, he and his mom were not getting along in a big way and he asked to move in with us. I had 3 rules -- never lie to me, don't leave stuff laying around in common areas or I would throw it out no matter what it was, his room was his to do as he pleased until either the smell permeated the rest of the place or wildlife moved in at which point I would toss out all his belongings. He only tested the rules one time.

 

[kenny]

I'd ask nicely ... once or twice.
If that didn't work, I'd TELL ... once or twice.
If that didn't work, I'd YELL ... once or twice.

If that didn't work, I thoroughly clean the room for the kid.

...

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@Matata...until the wildlife moved in lol! Our lovely teenager likes to leave his dirty clothes behind the bathroom door after he showers. We have told him to remember to pick them up. Last week when he left them in there we took them and hung them on the front of the house, including the underwear! He has remembered since

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I am tempted to do exactly this @kenny, it would
Solve the problem for sure.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

As someone who has always been the child and never the patent this thread is so funny

(Sorry all you long suffering mums and moms)

 

[ringbling17]

I have four kids, three of them currently living in the house ages 15, 12 and 10. My two older ones are girls and have their own bedrooms but share a jack and jill bathroom. My youngest uses the hallway bathroom. I have to say other than vacuuming for them, my kids keep their rooms pretty good. They clean their rooms themselves, they dust their furniture once a week and everyone is assigned another area in the house to dust/clean. For example my son is responsible for his room, the front stairs, the hallway bathroom and the study. They make their beds and clean up their bathrooms. I do have to remind them to clean their bathrooms, but usually I just ask once and they do it.

They aren't allowed to eat in their rooms normally, but my 15 year old occasionally does bc that's where she studies and does zoom for school. She normally gets rid of her plates right away, but if she doesn't I just remind her and she brings it down.

I don't really need to declutter bc they don't have too much stuff in their rooms, only my son has toys now that I think about it. My girls have books and stuffed animals, but nothing they lay around their rooms or put on the floor.

Each one has a clear plastic bag in their closet for clothes that don't fit throughout the year and twice a year (spring and fall), I go through their clothes and if they no longer fit, they go into the bag. If they pull out an article of clothing that is too small throughout the year, it goes in the bag. Once the bag is full we bring it down to the basement and when we have a few bags we donate them.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@ringbling17, whatever magic you have needs to be bottled!

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I have a 5yo and a baby, their shared room is very small. Not enough room for toys in it. It's pretty much just for sleeping. There is a play area in the living room. Since it's in a shared space it all gets cleaned up before bed daily. The 5yo is pretty good about cleaning up, he knows if I have to do it it gets "cleaned up" into a trash bag. When we house clean we all do it together, he's my "apprentice". His favorite things are the spin mop and scrubbing the toilets/scrubbing in general. He does not like the vacuum, too loud.

 

[Austina]

My son used to leave stuff everywhere. After telling him repeatedly to put it away, I used to wait for him to go out, go and pick it up and put it all on his bed. When he got home, he’d have to move it before he could get in to bed. Same with his clothes, if he didn’t put them in the laundry basket, they didn’t get washed, so when he needed something and would say “Mum, where’s my ......................?” My answer would be “exactly where you left it”. Same when I’d wash and iron his things, I’d take them up to his room for him to put away. If he didn’t or they were on the floor, that’s where they stay. Until of course, he needed to wear something that had already been ironed and was now a crumpled mess. Then it’s be “Mum, this .......... needs ironing” to which I’d reply “it’s already been ironed once, if it needs ironing again, you know where the iron is”

My son is a neat freak now, can’t stand to have a mess in his own home

 

[House Cat]

I’ve given up on my 15 year old and his room. His therapist told me that if he wants to have friends over in that mess, that’s on him. My house is clean.

 

[pearlsngems]

I've been pretty laissez-faire about my daughter's bedroom. It's a very small room small so it's always been a challenge to keep it clean and organized, and that task has been hers since she was school age. Food isn't banned, but if she makes crumbs they are hers to clean up!

 

[seaurchin]

When my kids were at home, I felt like their "housekeeping" should fit in with mine. I was kind of up and down with it myself, sometimes keeping up on things and other times not so much. I think one of the worst things in a home is too much tension and stress and cleaning, to me, is nothing we needed to fight over. And, it would have been weird if I was overly strict with how they kept their bedrooms when my own bedroom was a mess, for example. So for the most part, I was pretty laid back about it.

When they were really little though, I did keep everything very clean and neat, because I was home all day anyway and more so for safety. I worried they could swallow something or hurt themselves if things were just left laying around without care. They'd help clean their rooms by picking up their toys or helping with whatever I was doing.

By the time they were teens, I pretty much left them alone unless their rooms became utterly gross.

But if a parent was very neat and tidy themselves, I think it's fair game to require the same of their kids. It doesn't hurt them to learn that self-discipline and after all it is the parents' house.

Now they have their own places and they keep them pretty nice so I guess it all worked out okay here.

 

[FL_runner]

I have four kids, three of them currently living in the house ages 15, 12 and 10. My two older ones are girls and have their own bedrooms but share a jack and jill bathroom. My youngest uses the hallway bathroom. I have to say other than vacuuming for them, my kids keep their rooms pretty good. They clean their rooms themselves, they dust their furniture once a week and everyone is assigned another area in the house to dust/clean. For example my son is responsible for his room, the front stairs, the hallway bathroom and the study. They make their beds and clean up their bathrooms. I do have to remind them to clean their bathrooms, but usually I just ask once and they do it.

They aren't allowed to eat in their rooms normally, but my 15 year old occasionally does bc that's where she studies and does zoom for school. She normally gets rid of her plates right away, but if she doesn't I just remind her and she brings it down.

I don't really need to declutter bc they don't have too much stuff in their rooms, only my son has toys now that I think about it. My girls have books and stuffed animals, but nothing they lay around their rooms or put on the floor.

Each one has a clear plastic bag in their closet for clothes that don't fit throughout the year and twice a year (spring and fall), I go through their clothes and if they no longer fit, they go into the bag. If they pull out an article of clothing that is too small throughout the year, it goes in the bag. Once the bag is full we bring it down to the basement and when we have a few bags we donate them.

I keep a bag in each closet too, including mine! I end up taking donations to drop off at least a few times a year.

 

[ringbling17]

I keep a bag in each closet too, including mine! I end up taking donations to drop off at least a few times a year.

I think it’s a great idea. I use those clear recycling bags Bc they are big, hold a lot of stuff and you can see what’s inside. If something accidentally gets thrown in there it’s very easy to see and take it out.
It actually makes it very easy for us bc we used to put the unused clothes right back into the drawer and then we would “find” them again and keep repeating it over and over.
Now, socks are too small, in the bag they go, etc. etc. My kids are at that age where they seem to be growing so fast and all the clothes from last year DON’T fit!

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@Asscherhalo_lover, having kids with a lot of stuff is so much harder in a small space. It takes a consistent effort to keep up with the toy creep before it takes over. Your five year old sounds like a great helper!

@Austina our som has a queen size bed so if I piled his clothes on it he would just shove them to one side and make enough room for himself. Sigh, I can only hope it is a phase and he comes around to be tidy like yours.

@House Cat, maybe this is the answer and we as parents make ourselves crazy over room cleanliness for nothing. My main concern came from watching Hoarders, I wanted to make sure that our kids could make decisions when decluttering. Maybe that is a ridiculous reason but there you go.

@pearlsngems, small spaces are tough, we have a small house so I get it!

@seaurchin, seems to be a good compromise to let them have their space as long as it doesn’t get too out of control. I admit that of all the rooms in the house, our room is probably the least tidy. I could certainly do better there but the focus seems to constantly be on the common areas. It does get easier as the kids get older though.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I have a 5yo and a baby, their shared room is very small. Not enough room for toys in it. It's pretty much just for sleeping. There is a play area in the living room. Since it's in a shared space it all gets cleaned up before bed daily. The 5yo is pretty good about cleaning up, he knows if I have to do it it gets "cleaned up" into a trash bag. When we house clean we all do it together, he's my "apprentice". His favorite things are the spin mop and scrubbing the toilets/scrubbing in general. He does not like the vacuum, too loud.

A man who likes to scrub the loo is going to have ladies lined up around the block !

 

[LLJsmom]

Curious what other parents do about keeping their child’s bedroom in order. Now that our older one is 14, I try to encourage him to clean his room but it is a struggle! Like his favorite place to hide stuff is behind the door, there is always a small collection of things there.

He tends to be a pack rat but I try to make him go through his things from time to time. He has hundreds of Matchbox cars he still plays with, arranging them on the floor like an obstacle course! When I tell him to vacuum his room he gets bent out of shape because he has to pick them all up!

With our younger son who is 6 it’s a little easier. He can let things go pretty easily. When I go in his room I ask if something is keep or go and he makes the call. I did the same thing with the older one because I feel like it’s important for them to learn how to make decisions. Also I wouldn’t want to toss something that is important them.

Just got done with the younger ones room today, we got rid of a lot of toys he grew out of. I won’t dare show you the teenager’s room.


Do your kids keep their rooms clean? Do you go in from time to time to declutter and do you let them decide what stay or goes?

That room is immaculate, to me.