Win the War on Bedroom Clutter: Confessions of a Teen

The holidays are over and since the in-laws are coming over, YOU need to clean the house.  The only problem is that (surprise, surprise!) teens hate cleaning.  You’re tired of cleaning up after your messy teen but what are you to do? How can you get your child to clean?  And I don’t mean the “I’ll-hide-it-in-the-closet-because-no-one-would-see-it” kind of clean; no, how can you get your teen to neatly put away their things with minimal screaming contests?

Here are some quick, simple ways to get your teen to clean:

1. Closets – Let’s just face it; teens hate….no, LOATHE folding clothes.  Whatever we wear to school normally ends up in a not-so-discreet pile on the floor or stuffed in the drawers.  Hangers in closets get rid of the problem of the mess and works WITH your teen’s laziness.

2. Memo or cork boards – These are really useful if you are trying to get your teen to clear his desk.  “I can’t put these notes away; I need to see them everyday!” “Why should I put my friends’ pictures away?”  Memo boards come in all colors and designs; they can be mounted on the wall and be easily used.  Just insert the said pictures and “important” papers between the ribbons; it would be organized and your teen can see it whenever he looks up at his desk, which means LESS time rustling through notes.  Same goes for cork boards.

3. Knick-knack shelves – Cluttered surfaces and lack of clear space makes a room more disorganized than it actually is.  Several piled jeans look messier in a small corner than an occasional pair around the room.  To clear some desk space, get clear shelves.  Your teen can simply dump some of the clutter in, yet can easily find them because of the transparency of the shelves.

4. Incentives – TRUST me; this works, especially since we would want extra spending money to hang out with friends during the holiday break.  Teens are willing to suck up their complaints and work silently if it is a means to getting money.  But, we all knew that already, didn’t we?

Hope that this was some help; my parents did most of these for me so it’ll be easier to get me to clean up.  Remember, it’s not about making your teen to lose their lazy habits; it’s about giving your teen no reason to complain and motivate them to develop better habits themselves.  Try this and see the difference.

Rachel is a teen writer for Radical Parenting.com, a parenting website written from the kid’s perspective with 82 teen interns! Rachel is a 16-year-old born and raised in NYC.  She enjoys singing, debating, traveling and writing.  Her favorite subjects are English and Science; she wishes to pursue a career in either of them in the future.