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Please Clean Your Room
Some people are naturally good at keeping their rooms tidy, while some of us need to be reminded, whether by a frustrated parent or roommate, or by not being able to walk through our room without tripping over something.
The problem is that if your room is a mess, the prospect of cleaning it can seem like an overwhelming task. But if you approach it in "layers" as described below, it'll be much less intimidating and, who knows? You might have some fun!
Turn off the computer, unless you are going to use your computer to listen to music. Sign off from any chat programs. Don't even take time to put up an "away message". The temptation to chat or browse can be a major pitfall.
Put on an album that you enjoy singing or dancing along with. Stay away from mellow, relaxing music--you need motivation. Turn it up loud so you're not thinking of anything else (or as loud as you're allowed to put it). Make a game of seeing how much you can get cleaned up during one song.
Open all of your curtains or blinds and, if appropriate, the windows themselves to let some light and fresh air in. If you're cleaning at night, just turn on all of lights. This will allow you to see everything and brighten your cleaning process. If you have a ceiling fan, turn it on. There's a good chance you'll work up a sweat.
Gather the trash and throw it away. Keeping a garbage bag in the room will help. Pull stuff out from under furniture, behind bookshelves, or whatever else might be hidden from view. Your only concern right now should be trash, so don't put anything else away, and don't start organizing just yet.
Put everything in your room that you need to put away in a big pile on your bed. When stuff is all over the room it is easy to avoid, but when it's all right there in a big, tall pile, it is almost impossible to leave it there. As you're building up your pile, set any clothes aside in a hamper or in a separate pile.
Fold or hang your clean clothes and put them away, while throwing the dirty ones in the laundry basket. If you come across something that you haven't worn in quite some time, try it on. If it doesn't fit you, give it to charity, as long as it's not dirty or torn. Organize your closet and dressers. Close all drawers and doors; make sure nothing is sticking out.
Attack the pile. Put everything in its place - don't just shove everything under the bed and call it a day - but don't organize yet. For example, put all the books where they're supposed to be, like on your bookshelf, but don't get caught up in organizing the bookshelf just yet, or else you'll lose momentum. Just keep grabbing an item from the pile on your bed, put it in its place, and move onto the next item. If you find something that doesn't belong anywhere, either consider giving it away, or make a place for it. Continue putting everything away (stuffed animals, photographs, purses, shoes, and so on) until your bed is cleared.
If you find things that need to be put in another room (like dishes that belong in the kitchen) grab a laundry basket or box and put those items in there. When you're done putting everything away that belongs in your room, you can go and put the rest of the things away that belong in other rooms. Individually taking the items to their spots in other parts of the house is a big waste.
Change the sheets, if necessary, and then make your bed. An unmade bed will make any room look messy by itself.
Stack your books and magazines neatly, even those on the floor. Organize your bookshelf if your have one. Dust the books and the shelf surfaces with a feather duster or a moist cloth.
Clean up your desk, organizing and dusting as you go along. Even a simple dusting can make your desk look more inviting to sit at again.
Straighten or organize anything else that needs attention. Look around your room and see if there are any spots remaining that look messy. Now is the time to untangle your jewelry, put pairs of shoes together neatly, re-arrange your picture frames, and so on. Focus on the finishing touches.
Mop or vacuum the floor. Believe it or not, even if the floor isn't too dirty, cleaning it can make your room look much better. Make sure you get into the corners and edges as well.
Wipe all surfaces with a cloth or paper towel and an appropriate cleanser. Don't forget door knobs, mirrors and windows. If you have a ceiling fan, turn it off and dust it thoroughly with a damp cloth.
Spray your favorite air freshener (keeping in mind that chemical products are bad for your health and you might want to use some small bags of dried lavender) and reward yourself when you are done with something that you enjoy. You earned it!
Tips
Take a short break if you have to. Just have your break in the room. You could make it 10 minutes for every hour, or 2 minutes for every 10 minutes. Don't get distracted on your break!
If there is a really big mess to clean up, try tackling one corner at a time. If you only focus on one section at a time, it makes a big mess seem easier. Just follow all the steps above for one corner, then repeat them for each corner individually.
Take a few pictures of your room when it was messy and then when it's clean, clean, clean! When you are done, compare the before and after. You will see how much work you did and you will feel more motivated to keep your room that way.
Play a game to make it more fun. For example:
Lava: The floor is lava and the only way to win is to not touch it. While you are trying to survive, you pick stuff up so that the other players get eliminated. Once eliminated, you can pick up 10 items to get back into the game.
No one can push one another or touch them in any way. You must put away everything you pick up. The game ends when there is nothing left to pick up. Note: this does not work unless everyone wants to play.
Basketball: Shoot garbage into the garbage can or dirty clothes into the hamper.
Colors: Pick up everything of a certain color and put it away. Then move on to orange, yellow, green, and so on.
The pressure's on: Pretend you are a servant to an evil lord who will have you destroyed if your room isn't clean on time. Or, pretend that mutant aliens are coming and if the room is not clean in (insert time), you are doomed.
If you keep your room clean (e.g. put dirty clothes in the hamper at the end of the day, put away a book when done reading), you won't have to clean as often.
Look out for sharp objects and put them somewhere you are not going to step on them.
If you have allergies, take your regular allergy medication just before you start, or wear a dust mask.
If you stop cleaning, you will probably not want to start cleaning again. You can grab something to eat or drink, or go to the toilet; just make sure you get straight back into the cleaning.
Hunger can become a distraction while working and make the cleaning process longer. Eat before you start. If you know you're going to be cleaning all day, set out the food you are planning to eat and bring it to your room so you're less likely to get distracted.
Things You'll Need
Garbage bag(s) and garbage bin
A bucket of warm soapy water
A dust rag and spray
A vacuum
Window cleaning solution and cotton rag
A laundry basket and/or box(es)
A couple of hours
A good CD or favorite radio station
Air freshener
Motivation
clean sheats
The problem is that if your room is a mess, the prospect of cleaning it can seem like an overwhelming task. But if you approach it in "layers" as described below, it'll be much less intimidating and, who knows? You might have some fun!
Turn off the computer, unless you are going to use your computer to listen to music. Sign off from any chat programs. Don't even take time to put up an "away message". The temptation to chat or browse can be a major pitfall.
Put on an album that you enjoy singing or dancing along with. Stay away from mellow, relaxing music--you need motivation. Turn it up loud so you're not thinking of anything else (or as loud as you're allowed to put it). Make a game of seeing how much you can get cleaned up during one song.
Open all of your curtains or blinds and, if appropriate, the windows themselves to let some light and fresh air in. If you're cleaning at night, just turn on all of lights. This will allow you to see everything and brighten your cleaning process. If you have a ceiling fan, turn it on. There's a good chance you'll work up a sweat.
Gather the trash and throw it away. Keeping a garbage bag in the room will help. Pull stuff out from under furniture, behind bookshelves, or whatever else might be hidden from view. Your only concern right now should be trash, so don't put anything else away, and don't start organizing just yet.
Put everything in your room that you need to put away in a big pile on your bed. When stuff is all over the room it is easy to avoid, but when it's all right there in a big, tall pile, it is almost impossible to leave it there. As you're building up your pile, set any clothes aside in a hamper or in a separate pile.
Fold or hang your clean clothes and put them away, while throwing the dirty ones in the laundry basket. If you come across something that you haven't worn in quite some time, try it on. If it doesn't fit you, give it to charity, as long as it's not dirty or torn. Organize your closet and dressers. Close all drawers and doors; make sure nothing is sticking out.
Attack the pile. Put everything in its place - don't just shove everything under the bed and call it a day - but don't organize yet. For example, put all the books where they're supposed to be, like on your bookshelf, but don't get caught up in organizing the bookshelf just yet, or else you'll lose momentum. Just keep grabbing an item from the pile on your bed, put it in its place, and move onto the next item. If you find something that doesn't belong anywhere, either consider giving it away, or make a place for it. Continue putting everything away (stuffed animals, photographs, purses, shoes, and so on) until your bed is cleared.
If you find things that need to be put in another room (like dishes that belong in the kitchen) grab a laundry basket or box and put those items in there. When you're done putting everything away that belongs in your room, you can go and put the rest of the things away that belong in other rooms. Individually taking the items to their spots in other parts of the house is a big waste.
Change the sheets, if necessary, and then make your bed. An unmade bed will make any room look messy by itself.
Stack your books and magazines neatly, even those on the floor. Organize your bookshelf if your have one. Dust the books and the shelf surfaces with a feather duster or a moist cloth.
Clean up your desk, organizing and dusting as you go along. Even a simple dusting can make your desk look more inviting to sit at again.
Straighten or organize anything else that needs attention. Look around your room and see if there are any spots remaining that look messy. Now is the time to untangle your jewelry, put pairs of shoes together neatly, re-arrange your picture frames, and so on. Focus on the finishing touches.
Mop or vacuum the floor. Believe it or not, even if the floor isn't too dirty, cleaning it can make your room look much better. Make sure you get into the corners and edges as well.
Wipe all surfaces with a cloth or paper towel and an appropriate cleanser. Don't forget door knobs, mirrors and windows. If you have a ceiling fan, turn it off and dust it thoroughly with a damp cloth.
Spray your favorite air freshener (keeping in mind that chemical products are bad for your health and you might want to use some small bags of dried lavender) and reward yourself when you are done with something that you enjoy. You earned it!
Tips
Take a short break if you have to. Just have your break in the room. You could make it 10 minutes for every hour, or 2 minutes for every 10 minutes. Don't get distracted on your break!
If there is a really big mess to clean up, try tackling one corner at a time. If you only focus on one section at a time, it makes a big mess seem easier. Just follow all the steps above for one corner, then repeat them for each corner individually.
Take a few pictures of your room when it was messy and then when it's clean, clean, clean! When you are done, compare the before and after. You will see how much work you did and you will feel more motivated to keep your room that way.
Play a game to make it more fun. For example:
Lava: The floor is lava and the only way to win is to not touch it. While you are trying to survive, you pick stuff up so that the other players get eliminated. Once eliminated, you can pick up 10 items to get back into the game.
No one can push one another or touch them in any way. You must put away everything you pick up. The game ends when there is nothing left to pick up. Note: this does not work unless everyone wants to play.
Basketball: Shoot garbage into the garbage can or dirty clothes into the hamper.
Colors: Pick up everything of a certain color and put it away. Then move on to orange, yellow, green, and so on.
The pressure's on: Pretend you are a servant to an evil lord who will have you destroyed if your room isn't clean on time. Or, pretend that mutant aliens are coming and if the room is not clean in (insert time), you are doomed.
If you keep your room clean (e.g. put dirty clothes in the hamper at the end of the day, put away a book when done reading), you won't have to clean as often.
Look out for sharp objects and put them somewhere you are not going to step on them.
If you have allergies, take your regular allergy medication just before you start, or wear a dust mask.
If you stop cleaning, you will probably not want to start cleaning again. You can grab something to eat or drink, or go to the toilet; just make sure you get straight back into the cleaning.
Hunger can become a distraction while working and make the cleaning process longer. Eat before you start. If you know you're going to be cleaning all day, set out the food you are planning to eat and bring it to your room so you're less likely to get distracted.
Things You'll Need
Garbage bag(s) and garbage bin
A bucket of warm soapy water
A dust rag and spray
A vacuum
Window cleaning solution and cotton rag
A laundry basket and/or box(es)
A couple of hours
A good CD or favorite radio station
Air freshener
Motivation
clean sheats
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