Tidy up with a teenager O (part 1)
- namigibbs
- Jun 24, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 25, 2022
A 14-year-old boy whose parents were not happy about the state of his room.
The very first impression of the teenage boy's room was pretty good. It wasn't as bad as his parents complained. He did pick up some clothes beforehand, but with or without that, the state of the room wasn't bad at all... until we started tackling his drawers.
This area looked OK from here, but inside it was a mess and this seemed to have been the whole reason for him not being able to tidy up (and why his dad was not happy at all).
As always we were about to put all the drawers upside down, then he told me to be very careful as there were lots of tiny sharp items like bare razors or bare needles mixed with the rest of even smaller pieces!
Once they were on the floor, there were hundreds of teeny tiny items all over the place as well as slightly bigger items like video game boxes, lots of coins, bits of LFT tests, and lots of pieces of metal too.
The most challenging thing for me with him is that he did not want to get rid of anything. Things that look like a piece of metal to me were some parts of gadgets or something and he wanted to keep everything. The only things that went into the bin were literally rubbish, like sweet wrappers!
I don't criticise it, it is not a bad thing. It is just a matter of where to manage everything.
Now the key for him to keep the room tidy is to remember where the items should live. Every single item he chose to keep.
Since the prioritisation of items was not straight forward we found another way to separate everything into groups and here are the results.
- Lots of bits that he tends to use a bit more often than the others. (top left)
- Any and all sorts of paper. (top right)
- Lovely selections of pens but not being used much. (bottom left)
- Most used items and a little 'Buffer Zone' where he can casually put things which he can't think of any other places to put. (bottom right)
Before and After
This trolley was also being dealt with at the same time as the drawers since the same kind of items were also found in the trolley and in the drawers.
It looked as if this trolley was mainly for paintings, so we gathered all the paint tubes from here and there, and placed them in the middle section. They don't need to be carefully placed, just chuck them there, and then he will know where to look for them when he needs some paints.
As for the top section, he kept lots of pens and paint brushes there, so I decided not to change that, and just made a 'Buffer Zone' tweak for him to handle this area a bit more easily.
The bottom section is now for other arty gadgets and things.
We decided to keep the trolley near the desk rather than near the wardrobe where it used to be. Since most of the items were for art, better to be closer to the other arty items in the desk.
Finally, we moved a small table where an easel used to be on, to the wardrobe side. I gently suggested removing the table from this room, I explained to his parents that that table will be a temptation for him to put things from his pockets or any accessory when he gets home or something.
It seems a great idea, but try not to create a large, flat, open space for a 'temporary' resting area for your stuff. Spaces like these will look messy and become your long-time problem.
Towards the end of the session, the boy did all the mantlepiece area. This is the focal point from where he will be resting on his bed, so I am glad he did it all by himself and I hope it will remind him to keep it tidy longer...
I made a few suggestions about having some baskets by the fireplace for storing his clothes (worn but still clean) and for piling his homework.
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