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Q: "How Can I Tackle ‘The Great Bedroom Clean-Up’ with My Teen?"

Bedrooms need creative organization tricks and frequent purging, especially if your child has ADHD. Use these strategies to find an organizing system that works for your child.

1 Comment: Q: "How Can I Tackle ‘The Great Bedroom Clean-Up’ with My Teen?"

  1. My ADHD/kid cleaning hacks:

    For daily maintenance:
    -The perfect is the enemy of the good. They’re going to be just dropping laundry where they stand when they change; the goal is to put laundry baskets where they normally drop laundry (maybe SLIGHTLY off to the side) so they can just as easily drop it into the basket.

    -Similar for any other area of the house; if you can get the hook RIGHT NEXT to the door, a shoe bin instead of a shoe rack, a cubby or large basket for their school bag right next to where they normally drop it, you have a greater chance of it being used. The key there is to clean it out regularly (see the top one and below).

    For weekly cleaning time:

    -Making a weekly time to “Clean Out” one section of the room/house and get rid of stuff that doesn’t bring joy anymore (or just isn’t seasonal) in that section (it’s motivating for ADHD people to clean out instead of just normal putting things away- I think I read somewhere that purging releases some fun endorphins that keep us motivated). Areas probably include: Clothes- socks etc, Clothes- Pants/shirts, Clothes- Outerwear, Desk/schoolwork area, Games/Toys/Videogames, Nightstand/Bed table. So, every 6 weeks, you rotate around to one of those things and there will be plenty to purge/put in place!

    -Work alongside them; if you want them to clean, clean with them. You don’t have to do much (you could probably eventually be cleaning your own stuff in a different room, or just clean with them for the first couple of minutes only), but just having someone there creates the accountability they’ll need to get started, and check-ins to make sure it keeps going without distraction.

    -Pair it with something more “fun”- energetic music, a favorite podcast, maaaaaaybe some favorite youtube videos (depending on how stationary/thought-free the task is)

    -As a teacher: Backpacks need to be gone through every week. their grades will thank you. Also: if you can choose organization methods, pocket folders are the answer. Just make sure you’re going through the folders in that weekly clean-out (and get that on their 504 plan if you have one so teachers can help with that organization from their end, too! In fact, you can have “using folders” on the 504 plan so they’re allowed to do folders even if the school requires binders normally!)

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