How often do you clean older child’s bedroom?

[Badbudgeter]

Two Ds’s 10 and 12 generally responsible for cleaning own room. I went in today to put away clean clothes and fell down the rabbit hole of cleaning. Six hours it has taken. It didn’t look that bad initially but everything had been rammed under beds and stuffed into corners. I found many torches ( we live in countryside so you use one if out after dark. Lots of socks/ towels/ clothes/wrappers and so much lego/ Pokémon cards/ wool. Eldest likes to knit. Skirting boards were disgusting and so much dust! I think I must of last deep cleaned it a year ago which I now suspect is slovenly and I should be checking more often.

So how often do you clean for similar age Dc? They are both completely capable of doing a decent job but are clearly not to be trusted. I will be checking when they tell me it’s Co been cleaned in future but it’ll give them a fresh start.

I feel your pain, their rooms look OK at first glance then when you start opening things the true horror becomes apparent.

I spent 6 hours helping DD (12) sort her room out yesterday, she is a hoarder and her room is a box room. She was really greatful yesterday and then got up at midnight last night crying that she she hates it how it is now. I anticipated this so most of the stuff is in loft, although she has been out in the bin and recycling bin today trying to find a dirty, broken fidget toy. Im going to make her leave it all in loft for a week or two in the hope that she likes how easy it is to keep clean and tidy now.

I think it had probably been about a year since we did it properly, although I do try and make her part with clothes every few months.

I am going to get in there with her every month or so from now on to stop it getting so bad.

DS kept his room much tidier and it just needed an adult rather "than wipe round stuff" dust every so often.

Sorry to offload on your thread 😀

grateful FFS

It’s good to hear other people have had the same experience. I have taken the opportunity for a clear out; if it’s been under a bed for six months it’s clearly not played with. I have issued my ex a silent apology, the number of times I’ve thought ffs can you not send back school jumper/ tie / shoes and they aren’t even there. At least I won’t have to buy socks for ages.

DS19 never.

Haven't been in to tidy/clean since 12ish.

We have small amounts of crockery and cutlery etc. Like...6 of each for 3 of us. So he could never get away with hiding that kind of thing in his room, as it was incredibly obvious where it was...

Well the one thing I didn’t find was crockery. I think perhaps because I share custody with their Dad stuff wanders between houses. Although clearly not as much as I’d previously thought.

They usually do it, but as you said it often gets to a deep clean stage where I have to go in and actually clean with bleach 🤣

I'm slightly embarrassed to say we have a cleaner so it's done weekly

I have 2 older teens, I never clean their rooms! Dd2 verrrry occasionally asks me to help with certain things like going through her wardrobe with her because she never hangs up her clean clothes and every now and then it all overwhelms her but maybe once or twice a year.
We have a cleaner so all rooms get cleaned once a week and as such must be tidy for her to do so.
I also have a ds who’s 11, his room I probably spend 5 minutes in a couple of times a week just having a quick tidy, he’s expected to keep it tidy himself but can be a bit neglectful of specific areas like under his chair (which unfolds to be a sofa bed but is one of those squashy comfy chairs, things end up shoved under there) and under the desk.

Dts are 11, if they want to live in a shit pit that's up to them.

We have a blanket no food and drink upstairs rule apart from water bottle.

If their clothes don't make it to the laundry basket, they don't get washed.

We have a cleaner but I don't expect them to clean their rooms.

I genuinely don't understand how rooms get into that state. Three sons, 13, 11 and 5. The older two bring down their clothes every morning and make their beds. I nip in, straighten the bedding cos I'm a bit fussy like that. Any visible cups and plates, I send them back up before school to fetch them (they mostly bring them down without asking, but sometimes forget). They put their washed clothes away when asked and polish/vacuum every couple of weeks. Sweet wrappers, anything else - in the bin and if I walk past and see they haven't, a quick reminder suffices. They don't want to live in a pig sty, expectations are clear, calm reminders are issued. I don't expect perfection, but not will I allow slovenliness. Both working full time with no cleaner, we all pull together in this house.

I think the "I dont know how it can happen" camp often have bigger houses than we do. It's a lot easier when you have space for everything and easy places to put things back.

There's a "broken window" theory as well that if the place looks lovely (so freshly painted, nice furniture, enough space) so a house where someone has a disposable income.... it again is easier to keep tidy than one where it just doesn't look so great.

We do our best with our 2. But they hardly have any space. Our living room has lego and craft in it to try and help in their rooms but we are overcrowded for our space.

Cleaner comes every 2 weeks. I tell my boys she's here to clean, not tidy, so they have to put things straight before she comes. Works ok for us They seem to appreciate their clean, tidy bedrooms after she's been, though they soon become untidy again.

I didn't attempt to enter my daughters bedroom from about her 12th to 18th year, when she went to university. I didn't think fighting about it was worth it.

about 20 years ago, she and her partner moved back in. I still don't go into their bedroom and they don't come into mine.

I never cleaned my dcs' rooms after about age 10. I would help them clean, gradually reducing the amount but I did. I would support them in doing things that prevented it getting so overwhelming. For example sitting on their bed and chatting while they did the tidying.

I go in once a month or so and make it lovely and fresh for 10yo dd. She tries really hard and really appreciates the extra help and spritz for her room. Ds is 7 and I go in once a fortnight and blitz but he has to tidy all the Lego away first. Both are responsible for making sure their dirty clothes are in the laundry otherwise they are not washed.

Same here, but without the embarrassment
The DC have to put all clothes etc away and rubbish in bins before she comes or at a minimum put clothes on the bed. I don’t allow food upstairs so at most there’s the odd glass up there.

Twice a year I go in with the bin bag of doom, if it doesn't have a place, it goes in the bag (mostly...unless I like it and willing to find a place for it...) the rest of the year he maintains the room, cleaner goes in once a fortnight to clean (not tidy) so he has to keep it neat-ish. Have done it this way for years, he's 12 now, doesn't take as long the older they get, my youngest (ADHD) is much messier and a hoarder (crafter )

I don’t think they can really be expected to clean properly until perhaps 12 or 13 ( tidy yes) . DS 11 has to tidy his room about once a fortnight and then once every 6 weeks I help him tidy properly put all his clothes away and then clean with him ( mostly me) . He is a responsible bright boy too.