Prepare Your Home for the Holidays Day 9: Teen Bedroom

Teen Bedroom

Do you remember being a teenager? Can you imagine your mom coming in and wanting to organize your room?  If I can brag for a moment, Kate had the best attitude.  She told me she likes having her room organized.  It makes her feel happy to be in her room instead of overwhelmed by the clutter.

Kate did a great job of jumping on her room while I was organizing Sara’s room. I was super impressed.  She went through all her books and gave me a large pile of books to donate to my classroom.  Score for the fourth grade!

Kate also organized her dresser making my job that much easier. I must admit I did peak in the drawers and they looked pretty good.  I told her I was allowing her artistic freedom with her drawers.  We both laughed.  I want to empower her not control how she folds her socks.

I did help her organize her makeup and hair brushes. She asked my opinion and welcomed my feedback.  I tell you, I was thrilled.

We then moved to her desk and guess what? She had organized her desk drawer as well.  We did go through a few things on her desk but really she had done most of it.

Finally, we opened the closet doors. Here I got to lend my helping, organizing hands, yippee.  We went through her clothes.  I asked her my same questions.  Have you worn this in the last year?  Is it still in good condition?  Do you still like it?  Is it still in style?  Does it still fit?  Honestly, we didn’t really need to get rid of anything.

We placed all her shoes in her shoe rack hanging from the closet bar. I found a similar one on Amazon.  Click here to see it.

Kate has a bin on the floor of her closet that holds her purses and bags. We purged several of those.

We washed her bedding and were finished.

We stepped back and admired our handiwork.

I know it takes great patience to teach your kids how to organize. It takes years.  But one day you will wake up and have before you a child who knows how to put things in order.  What a great feeling!

Simple Steps:

Pray before you enter the room. Ask the Lord for a peaceful and fun time with your teen.  Ask for wisdom.  I am not kidding about this being your first step.  Teens are becoming adults.  They need to feel respected.  You are entering their territory.  Remember for a moment what it felt like to be a teenager.  Encouraging them and respecting them goes a long, long way.

Let them take the lead. Ask them to work on their room before you even go in there.  Gently make a few suggestions and let them take it from there.  Remember you are training them.

Put another big red X on your calendar. You are almost half way done.

Come back tomorrow as we prepare a guest room for holiday visitors.