Getting teens to declutter their homework area

Getting little kids enthusiastic and excited to pitch and clean up can often be as simple as playing one of the many “clean up songs” found on the internet. These tunes are catchy and you definitely risk an ear worm, but they’re effective. Then, those kids grow into teenagers and no amount of catchy clean up songs is going to get them moving. So, how do you get your teens moving? While there are no guarantees – they are teenagers after all – there are some ways to motivate kids to cleanup that work at least part of the time.

Educate them on the HOW

By sorting a big mess into four piles: Give, Keep, and Throw, and recycle you automatically break the task down into smaller more manageable pieces.

Once this initial sort is done, 75% of the heavy lifting is also complete.

Kids should already know where garbage goes, and if you’re a family who recycles, that part should be obvious too. As far as giveaway items, start a box for you kid to fill. Once full, take it to your local donation center. Just make sure that what you’re giving away is something someone else would want or be able to use – if not toss or recycle.

When all that’s left is the “keep” pile, it’s time to find homes for all that stuff.

Corral like items. The markers should all go together. The crayons should have their place. The same goes for pens and pencils. Clear bins are a life saver as well as shallow trays for paper. Anything required to make a particular craft should be bundled together with all the other things required (i.e. hot glue gun with glue sticks).

Only after the sorting is done, do things go back into the desk/cabinet WITH LABELS!

And the WHY –

Keeping a clean workspace has several benefits including:

• Increased efficiency – Whether completing homework or creating a work of art, the ability to work efficiently saves precious brain power for the task at hand.
• Reduced anxiety – It can be hard to concentrate when surrounded by clutter and mess.
• Ridding an area of clutter enables proper cleaning which cuts down on germs
• Keeping a work area free of garbage and waste from snacks cuts down on the likelihood of unwanted pests like mice or bugs moving in.
• Finding forgotten about items that might be useful once located.
• Once items have somewhere to “live” future cleanups are easier.

Further motivation can include:

Time limits – According to Parkinson’s Law “Work expands to fill the time available.” This means that if the kids have an hour to do the job or a day, it will take that long.

Rewards – Younger kids seem easier to motivate with rewards like ice cream or going to the park. Teenagers need a little more coaxing, but the thought of an upcoming shopping trip was enough to get mine on board. Another reward that’s proven effective is allowing friends over with the caveat, things have to be clean first.

Allowance – The monetization of tasks also can help motivate older kids and teenagers who are able to equate money = shopping = YAY!

No one size fits all

While some tactics work better than others, every teenager is different. In fact, the same kid can seem like a different person from moment to moment which can make finding what works seems next to impossible, but the key is to keep at it.

By continuing to reinforce the message that a clean organized space is important, the message will most likely stick eventually.

Give the above suggestions a try, and please feel free to share any tidbits that have worked with your teens!