Clean organized kids bedrooms...I need housekeeping advice

[fairfarmhand]

Several times a year, I have to pull apart my kids' bedrooms. By the time we're done, there;s usually a whole trash bag of garbage...mostly crumpled drawing papers, coloring book pages, and sunday school papers, but a few broken toys. Stashed in toy bins I'll find acorns, stones, sticks, etc. Many times, this stuff is crammed under the bed, behind books on shelves, in toy bins, in play purses and bags, etc. I also usually find "that shirt/socks/sweater" that someone has been hunting for weeks

 

Does anyone have a long-term fix for this kind of mess? They are supposed to straighten up every night and put things away. We walk in, things appear to be put away, but in/under/behind things is usually garbage, or other miscellaneous objects.

 

Do I really have to pull out each and every bin, climb under the bed, check behind books, in purses, etc. EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. to keep the junk from accumulating?

 

You clean, organized mom's help this Hot Mess housekeeping mom out here.

 

(Yes, they are so happy when the room is perfectly clean and tidy. They love it. They feel better. But I guess the good feeling is not enough to outweigh the short term benefit of tossing the trash.)

 

I have 4 kids in 2 bedrooms. They don't have very much toys. We regularly purge. We play outside a lot, so plenty of toys are not necessary.

[Ellie]

Do I really have to pull out each and every bin, climb under the bed, check behind books, in purses, etc. EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. to keep the junk from accumulating? Yes.

 

 

If y'all take time every day (pick the time of day...in the morning before breakfast? after breakfast but before...whatever? IOW, it should be a regular chore) there won't be all that clutter in every crevice.

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

I just did my son's room on Monday and the girls' room on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was horrible! I basically could have written your post. I'm thinking the only way to keep it from getting so horrible is just to check more often. I divided the girls' room up into 3 sections and they are each responsible for an area. I need to check in/under/behind everything at least weekly but I have a hard time being consistent with that. I've heard people say "Inspect what you expect". Sounds about right....

[MomtoCandJ]

If you find a solution let me know, i have to do this with every few months in what will soon be the girls' room (right only dd1 sleeps in there). Dd1 has to tidy it every day but that doesn't stop the load of "stuff" from getting in there

[Slache]

Bedrooms are for sleeping, not playing. Put the toys in a closet in the hall and they can only have one out at a time.

 

Nothing on the dressers or nightstands except for an alarm clock and light.

 

Instead of quarterly cleaning try monthly.

 

January, May, September = Bins under bed

 

February, June, October = Dressers and nightstands

 

March, July, November = Closets

 

April, August, December = Bookshelves

[aggieamy]

Do they have a playroom?  We only keep a few toys in the bedroom for quiet time otherwise everything else is in the playroom.  I generally help with playroom clean up once a week to do a good job but DD is responsible for it every day.  We also keep the rooms pretty spartan so there isn't many places for things to hide.  No bedskirt.  No closed trunks.  Once again DD is responsible for to tidy it every night but once a week I'll help her so I know that things are getting properly tidied and everything is not being thrown in the basket of doll clothes.  

[SKL]

My kids are 7/8 and I don't even ask them to be responsible for the neatness of their room.  I know they would just stuff things in the wrong places (like I did at that age).  What I do is ask them to do specific things here and there.  Like, put the dirty socks in the hamper (maybe that will work someday).  And I ask them to put things back in their place when they finish using them (again, not sure that will ever actually happen reliably).

 

The old papers etc. - they always think they want and need everything forever if I leave it to them.  So I will let junk sit around for a while until there are a couple layers of stuff on top of it, and then I'll just clear it out when the kids are elsewhere.  It only takes a couple of seconds.  It beats finding those cut up papers in the bottom of a drawer next year.

 

I know I have to transition this responsibility to them eventually, but I suspect they will gradually develop this ability without being taught.  One of them will, anyway.

 

Do you have a garbage bin in your kids' room?  I don't, but I wonder if they would use it if they had one.

[EmseB]

 

Do I really have to pull out each and every bin, climb under the bed, check behind books, in purses, etc. EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. to keep the junk from accumulating?

 

I am finding with my older two the answer is yes.  I think there's an old adage about "don't expect what you don't inspect" and I think with little kids it is exhausting, but very true.

[happi duck]

They've actually come up with a workable way of passing the daily room check. I think you need to fine tune the expectation and also address trouble areas.

 

Do they need trashcans? Do they need a spot for things without a home so when they're cleaning up even the odd bits have a designated spot? (Then this misc. bin can be purged when it's almost full)

[Tohru]

Eliminate stuff. 

 

Really, the only way to keep it clean is if there isn't much to clean up.  Ours each have a junk drawer where they can put their drawings or whatever stash they want.  When it gets full, they dump and clean it. 

 

As for everything else, well, there isn't much of anything else.  For the younger ones, they have a trunk for dress up clothes - takes less than a minute to pick up everything and toss it into the trunk.  The younger ones have a plastic 3-drawer thing that has 3 kinds of toys.  Whatever doesn't fit, doesn't stay in the room.  The older ones are responsible for keeping their own room clean.  If they can't keep it orderly, it doesn't stay in the room.  If there isn't a place anywhere else in the house, it doesn't stay in the house.

 

Simplicity Parenting changed my view on childhood and stuff.

[Trilliums]

Do they have trash cans in their bedrooms?

Do they have designated spots for old papers to be kept?

A designated spot for collected treasures?

 

I did do big clean outs for my kids about every 3-4 months, but now that they are teenagers, life is simpler.  They keep their rooms surprisingly tidy.  Also, we got a Roomba.  Their floors have to be picked up in order for Roomba to be able to run.

 

Part of this, for my kids at least, was that their play was pretty messy.  They don't play with only legos. They play with legos and blocks and geometric shapes and build wild and wonderful creations.  So of course, when it is time to deconstruct, it gets hard. 

[fairfarmhand]

Do they have trash cans in their bedrooms?

Do they have designated spots for old papers to be kept?

A designated spot for collected treasures?

 

I did do big clean outs for my kids about every 3-4 months, but now that they are teenagers, life is simpler.  They keep their rooms surprisingly tidy.  Also, we got a Roomba.  Their floors have to be picked up in order for Roomba to be able to run.

 

I wish I had a roomba.

 

Part of this, for my kids at least, was that their play was pretty messy.  They don't play with only legos. They play with legos and blocks and geometric shapes and build wild and wonderful creations.  So of course, when it is time to deconstruct, it gets hard. 

The bolded is, I think what we are running into. Honestly, my worst clutter offender has very few official toys. Those who suggested decluttering...well, she's decluttering the outdoors into my house. How do you ban acorns, rocks, shells, leaves, wads of moss, balls of sun dried clay....

[Slache]

The bolded is, I think what we are running into. Honestly, my worst clutter offender has very few official toys. Those who suggested decluttering...well, she's decluttering the outdoors into my house. How do you ban acorns, rocks, shells, leaves, wads of moss, balls of sun dried clay....

 

You could designate a part of the garage or shed to her. Or get a box for nature collections.

[aggieamy]

The bolded is, I think what we are running into. Honestly, my worst clutter offender has very few official toys. Those who suggested decluttering...well, she's decluttering the outdoors into my house. How do you ban acorns, rocks, shells, leaves, wads of moss, balls of sun dried clay....

 

There's a plastic shoebox in DD's room that I labeled "Treasures".  She can put anything she wants in there and when it's full we go through it and make room for new things.  The cool seashells collected on vacation get put outside in the garden.  Ditto with a cool rocks.  The necklace that her friend made for her can go in the tub in the basement we are saving full or art and things like that.  Other things simply get tossed.  

[happi duck]

The bolded is, I think what we are running into. Honestly, my worst clutter offender has very few official toys. Those who suggested decluttering...well, she's decluttering the outdoors into my house. How do you ban acorns, rocks, shells, leaves, wads of moss, balls of sun dried clay....

Is there a spot set aside for these things? In our family I'm the one who brings the outdoors in. I have a couple shelves where I arrange things and a couple baskets for things not currently on display.

 

Thrift store vases have been a nice way for me to display some of my stuff, especially rocks and leaves.

[SKL]

If I had space for it, I'd give each girl an exclusive small area with bins etc. which they could use however they wish, but they could not overflow their space.  And I'd figure out some way for their exclusive space to be blocked from the view of others, when desired.

 

An example might be a tall loft bed, under which they could have their own space, with a curtain or folding door that could be closed over that space.  Or a narrow cubby with folding doors and a desk/drawers/closing cupboards inside.

 

I might just do this someday.

 

The idea is that if they have limited space, they will be forced to purge on their own over time.  Or invest in a trash compactor.  ;)

[beaners]

Only emptying everything a few times a year? I'd call that a success. ;) Looks presentable on the surface? Double success.

[solascriptura]

I do have a solution, but it doubt it is popular one. Minimalist living. My kids have a bed, one dresser drawer and one small plastic bin that they can keep their treasures in. That is it. There are no toys in their rooms because we keep all of that in our family room. We've always been like this so they don't know any other way. They are usually amazed when they visit friends whose bedrooms are packed with clothing, toys, and junk.

[fairfarmhand]

Only emptying everything a few times a year? I'd call that a success. ;) Looks presentable on the surface? Double success.

You made me smile.

 

One great step is that my dd9, on her own, said about many items, "I don't play with that anymore. Let's donate it!" We got rid of a whole large cardboard box of stuff.

 

She also got out a few precious keepsake toys and said, "I don't play with these but I don't want to get rid of them. Can you put them in the box with my baby clothes and stuff for when I have kids?"

 

So I think she's beginning to understand that she can't hold onto everything, especially stuff she doesn't mess with anymore.

[Tohru]

The bolded is, I think what we are running into. Honestly, my worst clutter offender has very few official toys. Those who suggested decluttering...well, she's decluttering the outdoors into my house. How do you ban acorns, rocks, shells, leaves, wads of moss, balls of sun dried clay....

 

There is such a thing as too much nature indoors which adds to the clutter too.  We had a problem with rocks so we created nature baskets.  Everything that doesn't fit into the basket, does not stay in the house.

[Trilliums]

The bolded is, I think what we are running into. Honestly, my worst clutter offender has very few official toys. Those who suggested decluttering...well, she's decluttering the outdoors into my house. How do you ban acorns, rocks, shells, leaves, wads of moss, balls of sun dried clay....

 

 

She sounds like a budding naturalist. :)  

 

My youngest is now 16, but we had some similar issues when the kids were younger.  Rocks and balls of clay! YES!  I'd really try to set up a small nature corner in the room.  You might find some ideas on waldorf web sights that would encourage her to keep them all in one area, like a gnome house and garden or whatever might pique her interest.

 

I don't know...my kids did play in their rooms and throughout the house.  Those days are pretty much behind us, I don't regret that they had some pretty messy childhood moments.  Now DS just has to make sure his head buds aren't on the floor before Roomba starts up.  All the legos are on display or kept boxed up for Robotics club.  

 

DH bought the roomba for me last Christmas.  I had to hint at him about it.  I thought they were just way too expensive and couldn't bring myself to buy it, but now I love it.  Wish I had 2 more!

[Slache]

I do have a solution, but it doubt it is popular one. Minimalist living. My kids have a bed, one dresser drawer and one small plastic bin that they can keep their treasures in. That is it. There are no toys in their rooms because we keep all of that in our family room. We've always been like this so they don't know any other way. They are usually amazed when they visit friends whose bedrooms are packed with clothing, toys, and junk.

:iagree:  Yep. This is us.

[SKL]

My kids have a baby toy (a bilingual talking care bear, "Amigo Bear") which my youngest refuses to part with.  I have no idea why.  She didn't even like the bear when she was a tot.  But every time I suggest it's time to let it go to the little cousins (who are now getting too old for it too), she just can't do it.

 

I won't even go there with all the fuzzies she sleeps with (which remind me of the Tribbles iykwim).

[MomtoCandJ]

Separate play rooms or family rooms with space must be nice. I don't have that luxury, dd1's toys and things must be in her room as there isn't any other place to put it.

[Mbelle]

It is really hard.  I know I grew up my mom did not like mess, so we had no crafts and minimal toys.  I do understand where she is coming from!  However, that is really boring for kids.  My kids rooms sound like yours and we do require them to tidy up, but really it just ends up a mess after a few months.  They just do not have the ability to detail every single thing.  I'm sure they will mature into it.  I also did not have that ability and really I was an adult before I was able to keep tidy.  I really like things very tidy now.  If I want things to be tidy, then I have to follow them around all over the place and constantly remind them to do stuff.  It is exhausting for me and for them.  Especially as a homeschool parent who is already telling them stuff all day long.  I have done many things and I just hope when they grow up they can put it all together to keep clean.  I put signs up everywhere at one point.  Then I had to redo them, because they need detail info.  For instance I can not say put away toothbrush and toothpaste.  Instead I have to say put cap on toothpaste, then put a way toothpaste into correct bin then shut the drawer. LOL  Totally drives me insane. 

[CAmomof4]

There's a plastic shoebox in DD's room that I labeled "Treasures".  She can put anything she wants in there and when it's full we go through it and make room for new things.  The cool seashells collected on vacation get put outside in the garden.  Ditto with a cool rocks.  The necklace that her friend made for her can go in the tub in the basement we are saving full or art and things like that.  Other things simply get tossed.  

 

Good idea.

 

In a similar vain, I got each kid a school-type folder with his/her favorite character on it.  I tell them at night that whatever papers they like best and want to keep, need to go into their folders.  Anything else will be thrown out.

 

It *almost* always works.  :-)

[Chris in VA]

Does your "naturalist" have a nature table? We kept one in the school room (I'm sorry, I've forgotten if you have one).

 

I would just minimize what's in their rooms. Open shelving instead of toy boxes can help.

[fairfarmhand]

It is exhausting for me and for them.  Especially as a homeschool parent who is already telling them stuff all day long. 

This is my issue. I get so tired of just telling people what to do. My dh gently chides me for doing too many chores when the kids ought to be doing more. I know. They should. But if I have to tell someone else what to do at the end of a long day, listen to the whining, etc. I'd honestly rather do it myself. I'm so not at my best after say 4-5ish in the day.

 

You can tell me that I have to train them to do it and eventually they will do it complaint free or do it well, but really, especially with my oldest, that's not been my experience.

 

Does your "naturalist" have a nature table? We kept one in the school room (I'm sorry, I've forgotten if you have one).

 

I would just minimize what's in their rooms. Open shelving instead of toy boxes can help.

 

No school room. That's part of my clutter issue. We have school all over the house.

wait, I'm confused. Are kids bringing things like acorns in as collectables or just things they wandered in the house with because they shoved them in their pants' pockets and then placed them somewhere in their room? It never occurred to me they would be keeping these items as treasures lol.

Nope. My dd uses them as toys and such. She actually plays with acorns, pine cones, rocks, etc.

[blondeviolin]

Our kids only have a dresser and a bed in their rooms. Theres no under/in/behind to lose things.

[IfIOnly]

After breakfast, kitchen cleanup, and teeth and hair brushing, we all make our beds and clean our rooms before school. Every day. I look under beds, in closets, etc. Nothing gets stuffed in places it doesn't go, everything gets put in it's place. It only takes my kids maybe 10 minutes to do this. I just bought a timer to set for 10 minutes because that's our magic number. 10 minutes to do kitchen clean up. 10 minutes of housework each a day. I won't be offering treats or consequences. My boys like racing/the challenge.  But if they stuff things where they don't belong or are not working when it's time to work then there are consequences but we're past that. My oldest in in sixth grade this year.   

 

As an aside, my kid each have a daily bedroom tidy, kitchen clean up 3 times a day (those who finish early tidy up the living room so my living room gets tidied 3 times a day, as well), and 10 minutes of housework/tidy a day.  

[IfIOnly]

Oh and my consequence for not doing work properly is more work.  Seems to be a good deterant around here. 

[IfIOnly]

Forgot, when they were younger, I made a "Cleaning My Bedroom" checklist, put it in a plastic sheet protector, and they had to mark things off.  I checked everything on the list to make sure they did it.  Rewards were given until they had formed a habit. If they slacked after I stopped rewards then consequences were given because I knew they were capable at that point.

[hornblower]

I pretty much let my kids have it how they wanted to, from about age 12 on. Before that, I tried to be a bit more hands on from day to day but still, I always did the several times a year haul out of crap.  

Otherwise, I close the door & put it out of my mind.
 

My only rules were & are:

take food out before it starts going bad,

anything that's alive in the room must be kept well & looked after properly, (assuming it's supposed to be living there. If you have mold in there, it better be part of an experiment!)

have a path to the door & to the window

my 16 yo's room is in need of a giant clean out. Even he's mumbling that it's out of control. I'll probably do it with him because it's a pretty thankless job & doing it together makes it more fun & manageable.

Have you seen the 2005 version of My Family & Other Animals? Because Gerry's (the Gerry who grew up to be Gerald Durrell, the naturalist) room was quite funny in a couple scenes.

this isn't the best photo but all I could find.

 

ETA - the fim, btw, is excellent. Well worth checking out if you haven't, though preview it if you're strict because I've heard some parents didn't like Gerry's brother's bohemian friends... The whole thing is set in Corfu in the years before WW2.

[Katy]

Uhm, usually when that's a problem at my house it's that they either have too many things that don't have a place OR they're too lazy to put the things away.

 

Figure out which.  We can never remember where things go so I literally went insane with the label maker one day.  I labeled the inner lip of every drawer with what's supposed to be there.  If something doesn't have a place I figure it's not their fault.  They'll ask me where they should put it and either I come up with a place or we make a new place.

 

We have a room pickup morning and evening.  I let it slack sometimes, but when we first started this we did a ten minute room cleanup and I inspected everyone's rooms afterwards.  It even got to a point where they had ten minutes to clean their room, ten minutes for siblings to check for them, and if I didn't find anything out of place in anyone's room they got something special - candy with the next meal, or a special dessert or once go out to eat for lunch (I didn't want to cook that day anyway, but they didn't know that).

 

I think I did that twice a day for three weeks or so.  Every once in a while someone turns into such a slob that I either help them OR give them a warning that I might reinstate inspections if they don't clean it up.  This generally depends on whether I think they have the ability and attention span to do it alone.

[texasmama]

OP, this is my life and home, as well. We have also managed to bring the great outdoors indoors. I was just having a fit to my dh about it. I'm so frustrated I could scream, and that is not healthy!

 

When they were little, I just decluttered for them. So much easier!

 

I think I might just stuff a bunch of their junk in the attic. We have ample space there and in a few years when they are on their own I will hand them these boxes of goodies. Okay, I probably won't do that...

 

I think I need someone to come to my house and help me.

[Katy]

Oh- one thing that helped is having beds that don't allow space for anything to go under them.  You can cut wood to fill the gap, and put base molding around dressers and things.  That way while something might slip behind furniture, nothing can get under it.

[Guest]

I'm sorta known for being neat and orderly, but we still have to do The Catastrophic Clean every year or so. I would happily just thrown half the contents of their rooms into a Burn Barrel every week, but honestly, I have had to work hard to not being Fun-Sucking Neurotic Clean-Freak Mommy. I have learned to ignore a lot.

[Guest]

Oh- one thing that helped is having beds that don't allow space for anything to go under them. You can cut wood to fill the gap, and put base molding around dressers and things. That way while something might slip behind furniture, nothing can get under it.

...or, you can have an antique bed, which collapses when a friend hops onto it. Mattress stays on the floor. No more problem. ;)

[EmseB]

This is my issue. I get so tired of just telling people what to do. My dh gently chides me for doing too many chores when the kids ought to be doing more. I know. They should. But if I have to tell someone else what to do at the end of a long day, listen to the whining, etc. I'd honestly rather do it myself. I'm so not at my best after say 4-5ish in the day.

I do not do well after 3, so I understand. We have morning jobs and after lunch jobs. They both know what these jobs are, so that cuts down on me having to repeat myself. They are simple (clear off bfast table, pick up toys in living room, wipe bathroom counter) so it's not overwhelming for them and didn't require too much training. Whining, to me, is a separate issue of attitude and has its own consequences.

 

For their room, it has to be clean in order for them to watch their afternoon show (if you don't do tv, replace with some other desirable activity). Everything in their room has a place. So some days they intend to clean up their room, but end up reading or playing. The room is still a mess, but I prefer reading and imaginative play to TV anyway, so I've learned to let it go. Eventually they do want screen time, so it does get cleaned at least once a week.

[prairiewindmomma]

If things are basically tidy but you have to deep clean twice a year, I would be (and am) content. I block off a week in the spring and another in the fall for deep cleaning.

[cougarmom4]

I am in the same boat. It goes long enough until I feel slightly crazy...and then I give in and get to work.

 

I just wanted to mention my favorite cleaning up game...that you could use once a week to "deep clean"..tell the kids you are secretly choosing one specific item (or even piece of trash....any one thing that is out of place). Whichever child picks it up and puts it away in its proper place, will get a Popsicle or dollar or tootsie roll or 30-min extra screen time...whatever currency works for your kids. Of course, this requires you to search for a specific item, set a timer (or play a song....or count to 500 by 5's...), and watch them get to work. You have to see who does pick it up...and reward them right away when the time is up with something all of your kids might want. You could even play it a few times in a row. Even my teens will get into this if I'm holding a Milky Way in one hand. And it's surprising how much work can get done.

 

I've also tried a system for a few weeks where everyone had a jar with twenty nickels. We kept them on the kitchen counter. Whenever a child sees something out of place and they pick it up...they get to take a nickel from that person's jar and add it to theirs. At the end of the week, they keep the money. One of my kids became a super-duper-picker-upper!

 

And my dd6's favorite thing ever...I bought an old trophy at the thrift store. On Saturday at noon, we award the trophy to the person with the cleanest room. And they get to display it in their room. All. Week. ;-). She's the youngest and the only one who cares to win the trophy...but she will sure work hard to clean her room up just to win it!

[FO4UR]

My long term plan is to send them, and their messes, to college at 18yo.  That's all I've got.  It's Thursday night the week before a school break, and I'm ITCHING to break out the black trash bags now. 

 

 

I did mention how unwise it is to keep such a cluttered room in the month before Christmas. *wink wink*

 

 

[linders]

The only long-term fixes are:

 

(a) boarding school

(b) moving away to college.

 

Sigh. I just live with the mess. But I have also started keeping a log of the stuff I find in these room cleanouts. Looking back at the log is hilarious!

[Elisabet1]

I do not even get all that done once a year! You sound like you are doing great!

 

I am feeling quite frazzled over this tonight. My 5 yr old is sensory seeking big time (autism spectrum disorder) and my little one is like a blender with no top. She is interested in everything, and everything is scattered. And my 10 yr old loves to draw and all the papers end up on the floors. AND..I wanted to decorate for Christmas but feel like I cannot...again..this year. I am just frazzled!

[Ausmumof3]

Several times a year, I have to pull apart my kids' bedrooms. By the time we're done, there;s usually a whole trash bag of garbage...mostly crumpled drawing papers, coloring book pages, and sunday school papers, but a few broken toys. Stashed in toy bins I'll find acorns, stones, sticks, etc. Many times, this stuff is crammed under the bed, behind books on shelves, in toy bins, in play purses and bags, etc. I also usually find "that shirt/socks/sweater" that someone has been hunting for weeks

 

Does anyone have a long-term fix for this kind of mess? They are supposed to straighten up every night and put things away. We walk in, things appear to be put away, but in/under/behind things is usually garbage, or other miscellaneous objects.

 

Do I really have to pull out each and every bin, climb under the bed, check behind books, in purses, etc. EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. to keep the junk from accumulating?

 

You clean, organized mom's help this Hot Mess housekeeping mom out here.

 

(Yes, they are so happy when the room is perfectly clean and tidy. They love it. They feel better. But I guess the good feeling is not enough to outweigh the short term benefit of tossing the trash.)

 

I have 4 kids in 2 bedrooms. They don't have very much toys. We regularly purge. We play outside a lot, so plenty of toys are not necessary.

We have these kind of problems too. It is ok if I help out with bedroom tidying but I don't have time every day. At the moment I am resigned to the once a month or so trash bag exercise. I just did one in Dds room. It is hard not to lose your cool by the end.

 

Families I know that have tidy bedrooms usually have a playroom and rooms are just for beds and clothes. Then they have a mass playroom cleanup each week.

[Tsuga]

No, we do it like you do--they "clean their rooms" and sweep and so on, but there are hidden things and I just get down and dirty with a huge garbage bag once a season or so. And we are the same as you--NOT a ton of toys, compared to most others. It is so frustrating. I'm just replying so this will be on my list of threads...

 

Several times a year, I have to pull apart my kids' bedrooms. By the time we're done, there;s usually a whole trash bag of garbage...mostly crumpled drawing papers, coloring book pages, and sunday school papers, but a few broken toys. Stashed in toy bins I'll find acorns, stones, sticks, etc. Many times, this stuff is crammed under the bed, behind books on shelves, in toy bins, in play purses and bags, etc. I also usually find "that shirt/socks/sweater" that someone has been hunting for weeks

 

Does anyone have a long-term fix for this kind of mess? They are supposed to straighten up every night and put things away. We walk in, things appear to be put away, but in/under/behind things is usually garbage, or other miscellaneous objects.

 

Do I really have to pull out each and every bin, climb under the bed, check behind books, in purses, etc. EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. to keep the junk from accumulating?

 

You clean, organized mom's help this Hot Mess housekeeping mom out here.

 

(Yes, they are so happy when the room is perfectly clean and tidy. They love it. They feel better. But I guess the good feeling is not enough to outweigh the short term benefit of tossing the trash.)

 

I have 4 kids in 2 bedrooms. They don't have very much toys. We regularly purge. We play outside a lot, so plenty of toys are not necessary.

 

[Tsuga]

Nope. My dd uses them as toys and such. She actually plays with acorns, pine cones, rocks, etc.

 

The last purge, I threw out about ten sticks, five pinecones, and at least 10 lbs of rocks. NOT fancy rocks. Plain rocks. Just, rocks.

 

Well, I mean I threw them in the yard.

 

I am sure they will find their way back in.

[Ausmumof3]

The last purge, I threw out about ten sticks, five pinecones, and at least 10 lbs of rocks. NOT fancy rocks. Plain rocks. Just, rocks.

 

Well, I mean I threw them in the yard.

 

I am sure they will find their way back in.

Sounds like you need to throw away the backyard...

[violamama]

We have controlled chaos. It's how my husband lives- you should see that man's side of our bedroom. Or rather, he is why I keep that door closed 24/7. 

 

It sounds like you have a bookshelf or drawers. You could teach her to keep an open shelf as your special display tidy shelf for special tidy things. (The rocks are in a pile or a line or something like that.) The other shelf has a curtain (or it's a drawer), so it can revert to chaos. Stuff cannot be spilling out of it, and in our house we have a day every other week or so when I give them 30 minutes on the timer and then come check that they are organized and haven't expanded beyond the capacity of the shelf. 

 

Full truth: my 6 year old rocks (punny!) at being organized. He enjoys taking everything out and putting it all back in a new tidy way (he is me). My 8 year old hates organizing and would live in a hoard if left to his own devices simply because he doesn't think it will ever be perfect and because he forms weird attachments to random crap (he is my husband, with his awesome-in-1980 stereo components we've moved 3 times but never used... sigh). These boys share a bedroom. 

 

Please don't give up- teach her to organize so her creative side will know how to make the most of whatever she has! She sounds awesome. I bet my boys would love to spend a day at the coast collecting detritus with her. 

[craftymama]

The bolded is, I think what we are running into. Honestly, my worst clutter offender has very few official toys. Those who suggested decluttering...well, she's decluttering the outdoors into my house. How do you ban acorns, rocks, shells, leaves, wads of moss, balls of sun dried clay....

 

A season table.  You aren't banning these things, you are giving them a home and at the end of their season they have to move on so there is room for the things of next season.