Cleaning the Kids Room

Instead of constantly badgering your kids to clean their rooms, take the time to show them how. Children aren't born knowing how to clean. They need to be taught. Is your own bedroom clean? Are you a good role model for cleanliness? Have you taken the time to teach your kids how to clean and organize their room? If you've answered no to any of those questions, then you cannot expect your kids to know how to clean their room. Follow these guidelines for cleaning the kids' room. Have them watch you do it a few times, join you subsequent times, and they can learn how it's done.

• Sort. Use three large trash cans and place them in your kids' room. Tell them that the first can is for garbage, the second can is for dirty clothes, and the third can is for clutter. Tell them they can use crayons to label the cans.
• Organize. Start by picking things up off the floor and placing them in one of the three cans. Have your kids watch you for a moment or two, and then ask them to join in. Any clothing on the floor is considered dirty, so it will go in the dirty clothes can. Toys on the floor are considered clutter, so they go in the clutter can. Any food wrappers and trash on the floor goes in the garbage can.
• Sort again. Once you've clearly established dirty clothes from garbage from clutter, start putting the clutter away where it belongs. Have your kids watch you as you place books back on a bookshelf, games in the game closet, and toys and stuffed animals on their respective shelves.
• Teach. Next, show them how to make their beds, dust, and vacuum the floor.
• Create rules. Once the kids get the hang of using the three cans, tell them from now on that anything that is in the floor is considered garbage, since it isn't worth their time to put it away. Remove the clutter can from the room and tell them that there will only be two cans in their room from now on; one for dirty clothes, and one for garbage. Tell them that when you walk past their room, if you see things lying in the floor, you will place them in the garbage can.
• Create expectations. Tell your kids that you expect them to clean up their room every Saturday morning. Reward them for completing the job or punish them for not following through.

Make sure that you follow through and keep your promises. If you see toys lying on their bedroom floor, place them in the garbage can. When it comes time to empty the garbage, have your kids come with you and allow them to see that their favorite toys are in the trash. They will learn very quickly to make sure their toys are put away, else they know you will throw them away.