I had no idea that my youngest daughter (13, almost 14) was planning on decluttering and cleaning her room over the next few days; she kept that very quiet. She typed up a plan which she has allowed me to share with you.

Today she completed step 1 and felt so happy with her progress. I’ve been working all day so was really surprised when she called me upstairs to show me what she’d done. Her floor was clear and clean making the room feel a lot more spacious.

What was the motivation?

I asked her what motivated her to make a start and she said that she was sitting in her room the other day and it felt really cramped with no room to move. For a long time, there have been boxes of stuff containing items that she’d taken off her desk just before she started the home schooling at the end of March. These boxes joined the other stuff that was already on the floor, and then other items piled on top of them and gathered around them. In amongst that were clothes, a washing bin, cushions, books and so on.

Today she just woke up and was determined to make a start. I think that it’s been bothering her for a while that she never finished the whole room at the beginning of lockdown.

I told her that I was very proud of her and gave her a big hug! She said that step 1 didn’t even take that long and feels very motivated to do the rest.

So, this was a big step forward today for my 2020 challenge and I didn’t even have to do anything. It actually felt more inviting walking into her room this evening and not tripping over things. I’m looking forward to seeing her complete the next steps on her plan.

Unwanted books and other items

This box of books has made it downstairs ready to be donated. Even though I love books and hardly ever get rid of mine, I can see why she doesn’t want these as she’s grown out of them or they are ones that she’s been working on at school and has now completed.

Should you tidy your children’s rooms or leave it to them?

Yes, sometimes it can be frustrating to see it all pile up in their rooms and be tempted to just go in and pick up the clothes and rubbish from the floor, but I have resisted over lockdown. I like to leave them to do it themselves and organising things the way that they want them. Mess eventually gets to everyone, and if I’d done it, they wouldn’t have experienced that sense of accomplishment.

I’ve seen them both be tidy before with everything in its place and they’ve helped me around the house, so I know that they have the decluttering bug in them somewhere. I’ve just been waiting patiently for it to shine through again. I also like to think that I’ve influenced them both indirectly by decluttering the rest of the house. In fact I actually think we’re influencing each other.

I can see a much clearer picture now of getting this house up straight. I’m positive that we can all work together to come up with tidy and decluttered spaces and keep them that way.

Until tomorrow…

Sandra