Another bedroom post - RM column June 1

Those of you who swing by will be more than aware of the Messy Bedroom and I have I am sure bored any readers of my Echo column with tales as well and here is another.

Another bedroom post

The Young Wan’s bedroom has been the subject of more than one column and judging by the amount of people who come to my website looking for untidy bedrooms, I’m far from the only parent to suffer from unitiditis.

Then Nanny said she was coming to visit and she was ordered in to sort it out as Nanny stays in her room.

Twelve hours past of the Young Wan tidying which was more lifting stuff from one part of the room to another part of the room, shoving things into nooks and crannies, and storing huge amounts of stuff on her bed.

Having been popping in and out all day I didn’t really see the extent of how much energy was being wasted by not doing it properly. Until I inspected it properly at one stage and I went ballistic.

So there was only one thing for it, a real and proper clear out and if it took all night, so be it.

I cleared out all the hidey-holes, cleared the shelves of the shoved in clothes, cups and whatever else was shoved there and she ended up facing a pile which was nearly as big as she was.

And in fairness to her she ploughed on until bedtime and then got up again the next morning and continued.

The end result looked great, sadly it didn’t last. But that’s one thing about teenagers and their bedroom; you have to sometimes, a lot of the time, just shut the door and keep walking.

Teenager’s bedrooms are their refuge and even though it may kill and it may, as parents we have to respect their privacy but up to a point.

When there are no glasses left in your cupboard because they are now living under your teenager’s bed, then it is fair enough to go in hammers blazing.

There is also nothing like rearranging a bedroom to clear out a decidedly messy and unorganized bedroom.

I have also found the best results came when I told her to clear the shelves, then they were done she would get instructions to do something else. It is almost as if it is less overwhelming when the work is carried out in stages.

It’s funny how different parents cope with teenagers bedroom, some gather up all the junk into black bags and put them away somewhere like the garage, others declare that part of the house a parent-free zone and others just try to ignore it.

I am trying a mix of all of the above, it doesn’t appear to be working, but I doubt that any one action is a solution. I think the only solution is growing up and possibly not living with you anymore. Then the room will be spotless and the house will lose some of its life. Mmmmh maybe it’s not so bad living with the messiest person in Ireland.

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