Each morning, my mission was to borrow my teenage son's Wii for my workout. This seemingly simple task involved a ten-minute warm-up of clearing an area big enough for the balance board while navigating through a minefield of potato chip crumbs. Sound familiar?
Identify what starts the clutter and fix it:
In my relentless pursuit to conquer clutter, I unearthed the root cause of the chaos lurking in my son's room - an unruly cabinet where all the game stuff had seemingly staged a revolt, spilling out onto the floor with reckless abandon. It was like the cabinet had become the leader of the rebellion, inspiring other items to join in the mess-making frenzy.
Once the room started down the slippery slope of untidiness, it seemed to snowball into an unstoppable force. My son, feeling overwhelmed and powerless in the face of the growing mess, seemed resigned to its chaotic rule.
Once I sorted that issue, his room transformed into a nearly obsessive level of cleanliness. I still can't believe he's the same child who used to inhabit a room where the floor was merely a rumor.
My son independently took his organizing skills to the next level - his console games are now arranged meticulously in alphabetical order!
The Mysterious Pile:
Just when I thought I had conquered the clutter, a small pile of random stuff appeared outside his door. Eager to investigate, I asked if it was trash, only to find out that he had thoughtfully put together items he thought I might want.
Among the assortment were old baseball team pennants, notebooks, pencils, and...ta-da! A crumpled-up school hall pass. Cue the sarcastic excitement! I pretended the hall pass was a long-lost treasure, and my son's eye roll was the cherry on top. You gotta love parenthood!
Organizing Inspires More Organizing
You know how if you clean a door you notice the frame is dirty and you end up cleaning a door, a frame, and the wall. Organizing can have that same effect. Once you know how good it feels to have things in order, you start to notice the disorder in other areas of the house.
The initial organization project had inspired my son to take charge of the clutter and clean up other areas of his room. From having the reputation of having the messiest room in the entire house, he miraculously transformed it into a well-organized sanctuary...and, lo and behold, he managed to keep it that way!
It was like witnessing a magical transformation, as if a clutter fairy had waved her wand and sprinkled tidying motivation all over him. Gone were the days of tripping over misplaced items, and in their place, a sense of pride in a space that radiated order and cleanliness. I couldn't have been more astonished by the change. His room had undergone a complete makeover - from a cluttered jungle to a neatly arranged oasis.
Raising Organized Kids
Teaching kids to be organized at a young age is an invaluable skill that will serve them well as they venture into adulthood. They'll thank you (or maybe roll their eyes) later! Sometimes all it takes is helping them get started so they see the difference it makes.
Conquering clutter doesn't have to be a serious battle. With a bit of humor and a keen eye for the root cause, you can transform chaos into order. So, don your decluttering cape, muster your best eye-roll comeback, and take on the clutter with confidence. No more chips on the floor - it's time to reclaim your living space and share a good laugh with your tidy, well-organized child!
I don’t have children to clean up after… but my poor partner got lumbered with a 25 year old child with me. I confess… I leave things lying around (although not food…. thankfully lol)!
However… despite the fact I leave coats and clothes lying all over the place, I am unbelieveably weird about having a clean and clear work area, both at home and at my place of work. I hate things lying around on a desk….
….so I shove them in a drawer in a somewhat chaotic manner.
I’m probably your worst nightmare lol!
LOL I’m sure the fact that you are hysterically funny makes up for it. Thanks for stopping by! By the way everyone check out Stacey’s blog because she is a riot! 🙂
I like how you focused on the cabinet earlier. One of the things that really caused clutter in my house growing up is that I needed books but my parents wanted to spend nothing for bookshelves, even though it wouldn’t be much money long-term. So of course very nice, expensive books I was reading regularly had to go on the floor (in piles, of course): there was simply no other option.
In other words: if you’re going to fight clutter, make the resources you need available. Living with less doesn’t solve any problems if “less” is inadequate.
Oh no. Yes books stacked all over the place can be a mess. My daughter had me remove her bookshelf so she could fit her drum set in her room (a whole other space nightmare), which left me packing up books (that eventually my 4 year old will read..many years from now) in boxes in a closet. You can never have too many bookshelves in a house of avid readers.
I have teen twins so I can relate to your story. You are lucky your son lets you exercise with his Wii. Mine are very careful to make sure neither I nor their dad touch any of their gadgets. LOL! Glad to be connected with you!
I would have to either use it when he was in school or beg to use it and have him watch/critique my workout. Now that it is summer..forget it. 🙂
Very nice article, thanks! I’ve subscribed to your RSS feed. Please keep up posting.
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
That had to make you feel great, congrats to the both of you!
Hmm, I’m going to have to check out that article. I recently helped my seven year old daughter clean her room, and in a few days it looked like a cyclone hit it, heh.
Only one flaw in the clean room. He likes to keep my dishes. That will make an article for my other blog. 🙂
Melinda, you crack me up. I love how your son kept the hall pass thinking you might want it (why, oh why?), but your reaction is classic. You can tell that you have a good sense of humor and I bet it rubs off on the rest of the family. 🙂
I like to keep them on their toes. 🙂