The rest of your home might be as clean as a whistle, but when it comes to your teenager’s room, well, that’s a whole other story!
Teenagers are renowned for not exactly being enthusiastic about keeping their rooms (or themselves!) clean and tidy, and trying to encourage them to take more responsibility for their space in the home, can be a bit like pulling teeth. However, there are a few ways to get them onboard that shouldn’t involve too much complaining, check out the following tips:
Before you begin, there are 3 important things that your teen must learn to do:
- Keep the floor space free of obstacles/junk
- Dirty dishes must be taken to the kitchen (and ideally washed!)
- Dirty clothes and wet towels must be stored appropriately
Failure to do at least these three things could present a very real health hazard, so try as hard as you can to get your teenager to abide by the simple rules.
Once you’ve got them to understand the importance of the above, you can move on to getting them to clean and tidy their space in the following ways:
Give them a helping start
Grab a container for trash, or anything that needs to be transported to the kitchen and place it in the center of their room. Then, do the same with the laundry basket, and place the vacuum cleaner and a small selection of cleaning supplies (microfiber cloth, surface spray etc.) next to it.
Allocate a day and time to cleaning their room
Now it has to be a day and time that they agree to, otherwise the job is simply never going to get done. So, try to take their schedule into account when arranging a day and time, but also make them appreciate that you’re busy, too, and that all adults have to make time for cleaning; that’s just life! Make sure they have ample time to get the job done properly, and allow them to play their favorite music while they do it.
Let them have a little control
Their room is their space, but that room is inside your home, and it’s important that you try to get them to respect that fact. Once you’ve established this, step back and let them have a little control over their actions.
Be respectful of their right to privacy
Your teenager does deserve to have a private space, and to the largest extent possible, try to give them the benefit of the doubt and let them keep it clean and tidy without interfering or nagging too much.
Set a good example
How can you expect your teenager to keep their space clean and tidy, if you don’t do the same with the rest of the home? Show them what your standards are, and hopefully they’ll be inspired to exhibit the same.
If all else fails, bring in the professionals!
Sometimes, it’s easier and less stressful to just face facts, and if your teenager simply refuses to keep their room clean, bringing in a cleaning professional to do the job as often as is needed, might make sense.
For teenagers who refuse to clean, don’t get caught up in endless arguments, simply hire a cleaner and who knows, when they’re a little older and have kids of their own, they might appreciate the struggle you went through with them!
