Walk into the Little's room? Me? Not without a hard hat and hazmat "bunny suit!" Their room is the definition of a pigsty. First, if you can get the door open, you are greeted by a mound of shoes...I am talking medium size hill here! If you can make it across without injury, you will find yourself in a swamp of books and papers. Haven't drowned? Then you have made your way to the broken toy/missing pieces playground or cemetery if you will. There is more crap in their room than should actually fit. Seriously, if a fire marshall got wind we would probably have to evacuate the premises due to weight constrictions.
To this I am torn. I have read that children benefit from living in a messy home. Not only is it great because the kiddos are exposed to germs but messy homes bring out random stimulation. Okay, I get that. But there is no stimulation going on it that room. It is Martha Stewart's version of HELL!
Is it seriously hard to comprehend putting away one toy before playing with another? Can’t find your shoes again? Did you put them away when you took them off? Of course not.
Then there is the side of me that feels allowing them to be messy is condoning their being lazy and unorganized. I have tried to no avail to teach them responsibility for belongings and to respect gifts others have given by not leaving them on the floor. If a toy is broken or missing pieces it needs to be thrown away. Too many toys? Looks like we need to donate some! This does not seem to sink in to my little pack rat hording children who can't bring friend inside without being embarrassed. (I am embarrassed, they see no problem with their room being a disaster!)
Ultimately, I guess I fall in the middle of my two very different opinions. There still needs to be some order. I am not expecting their room to sparkle and smell like sunshine 24/7/365. Yet I hate the constant chaos! I am not a perfectly tidy person by any means. I organize as suits my style; we live in a home that is too small for our family. That being said, NEVER in my life have I seen such a landfill for a child's room. Numerous times, I have helped them really clean their room. At best it would stay tidy for 3 days tops. I am about to just go in with trash bags and clean house once more but it takes hours....time I don't want to devote on a day off.
I just don't know what to do. They know the rules and that nightly, they are to tidy up...but they don't. At this point, I feel I am going to have to stand over them and instruct them on what to do. Again, not looking forward to that. I have taken away their favorite possessions. Not even a flinch! Then I promised a total room makeover, they chose the bedding, color scheme, wall decor, everything. Even, that did not work. Which was shocking because I went onto pinterest and showed them pictures of ideas they could use. Though it excited them...it failed to light that fire under their butts!
Ah, the joys of parenting!
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