Julie Cliff, Professional Organiser
TEENAGERS’ bedrooms are the topic of many household arguments.
Shoes, clothes, rubbish and much more can often be found thrown on the floor. It tends to be the adults that are begrudgingly left to constantly pick up the mess.
Empower the teens with the right tools and skills to organise their own bedroom with these 4 easy steps.
You will be delighted with the results, the reduction of stress and the pride the teenagers start to take in their own space.
1. Teach the teens to decide if their clothes need washing
Depending on the smelliness of the teen, clothes may not need to be washed every day.
Show them how to look out for marks on their clothes as they take it off.
Encourage smelly teens to make sure they put their clothes out to be washed on a regular basis.
– Needs washing – Put the clothes in the laundry basket:
Choose a fun design that is roughly the same size as the washing machine.
Show the teens how to put their clothes in the machine when the basket is full of dirty clothes.
I found some cool washing baskets on Pinterest.
I also found some great ones at K-Mart too.
– Does not need washing – Hang clothes for airing
Delegate somewhere for clothes to be hung overnight instead of being thrown on the floor if they are OK to wear the next day,
The end of the bed, allocated “airing hangers” in the wardrobe or on a night stand will do just the trick.
2. Set up an art gallery or display area for their stuff:
Teach your teens the skill of letting go of stuff by making conscious choices about what they want to keep and put on display and what they no longer need.
Set up a pinboard or display shelf for the teens to display the artwork they choose to keep.
Make time for the teens to rotate the artwork regularly, allowing time to dust and declutter as they change over the collection.
3. Provide a rubbish bin in their bedroom:
Make sure there is a rubbish bin in each bedroom room.
The bin should be emptied each week when the other household bins go out.
4. Create a permanent home for things:
Set up a permanent home in the bedroom for the teens’ stuff and encourage them to return them to their home before they get into bed each night.
Shoes – dedicate a tub or rack for shoes to be stored.
My boys have a shallow wheely tub under their bed for shoes.
Another family I know keeps their shoes in the garage so they can take their shoes off on the way into the house from the car.
Clothes – label drawers so the teens can find clothes and put them away themselves.
With the right tools and a little encouragement teens will begin to take pride in their bedroom by getting involved in these 4 easy steps.
Julie Cliff, is a Melbourne-based Professional Organiser at Space and Time and specialises in home management systems for professional, working Mums.
Sound familiar? Julie would love to hear from you – info@spaceandtime.com.au
