One Christmas, I noticed that my then 11-year-old nephew was sleeping on the couch instead of in his room. I discovered the reason: his bedroom floor was covered ankle-deep with toys, clothes, and just stuff.

My nephew has ADD, and when his mother told him to clean his room, he would spend hours in the room attempting to clean it up. However, other items would distract him, and the process completely overwhelmed him. My nephew wound up pulling more things off the shelf to play with those than clean his room. In the end, “cleaning his room” wound up growing into a bigger and deeper monstrosity that only led to even more frustration. My sister, a fairly new single mother too frustrated to deal with the mess, just let it be and allowed my nephew to be driven out of his own room by clutter.

When your Auntie is a Professional Organizer, how long do you think it’s going to take until something changes?  If you decide to help your nieces and nephews clean their room, here are a few strategies to use.  Just have a trash bag handy.
 
First, pick up all the clothes off the floor. Dirty clothes go into the hamper, and the clean clothes go into the drawers or closet.

Second, pick up all the shoes and put them in the closet.

Third, take a hula hoop or an embroidery hoop (if the room is small) and toss it on the floor. No hoops? Draw an imaginary circle with your finger like I had to do. Pick up whatever is inside the circle. Don’t let them wander off to other areas of the bedroom. Only focus on what’s inside the circle.

Repeat the circle technique until the floor and bed surface are clear. This is not the time to purge possessions unless the child says he doesn’t want a particular item anymore.

Next, pull the sheets off the bed if they’re dirty and remake the bed. If the sheets are relatively clean (particularly if they’re not sleeping in the room), make the bed.

Tackle the nightstands and dresser surfaces.

Make sure all of the dresser drawers and the closet door can be completely closed.

Vacuum the floor, and you have a clean room!

When I did this with my nephew, it took about 45 minutes.  He was so grateful to have a clean room, and I wrote up a list for him on how to clean his room that he posted on the wall. Depending on the level of the child’s ADD and age, play some happy music to keep them motivated. If they find the music too distracting, turn it off.

Keep encouraging and praising them as they progress through the room. Every now and again, stop and show them how much progress they’ve made. Tell them, “Look at that! Wow! You’ve done a lot so far.”

After successfully cleaning the room, it’s reward time. Take your niece or nephew out for lunch or watch their favorite movie with them. Positive reinforcement always helps!

By breaking up the overwhelming task of cleaning the bedroom, these strategies break that big task into smaller, bite-sized pieces. It becomes much more doable, especially for children with ADD. After all, kids should have a restful bedrooms and a Savvy Auntie ready to lend a helping hand.