to think you can clean up your own mess

[user1466264864]

So, I know another mum as posted something similar before , but really?
Why can't teenagers pick up after themselves? I am a very liberal parent and I don't enforce a lot of rules, other than going to school/college and being respectful.
I feel that it is best to let children learn to keep their own space clean and tidy - after all, I am not their slave.
But surely, there has to come a point when enough is enough, right? This is too much. I refuse to clean it. But how do I get them to clean it? And want to keep it clean? Any ideas?

YANBU

I await the solution with eager anticipation

If that is her bedroom, I would ban food in bedrooms.

I find, every 6 months or so, they get the urge.

That's a very nice cereal bowl in the first picture.

Haha op have you been round my house with a camera? No answers here I'm afraid.

If this is in vedromm, pile it all on bed, cover it with the duvet

I have a no food in rooms rule BTW. Doesn't make much difference.

Close the door? I rarely entered my teenagers bedroom. Their room their mess their life.

WiFi off / router hidden until it’s cleaned up

Yeah, or maybe change your WiFi password so you can still stay connected but they can't. You want the new password? Clean your room!

if she can keep her shoes all neatly arrayed then she can keep other things neat.

I would, on that basis, dock her clothing allowance until she pulled her socks up.

I have 2 still at home and they are well out of their teenage years and still have plenty of times when they leave their crap everywhere. I was always tempted to pile it all under their bed covers

I got to the stage of putting it in my DD bed.
She's much better now, but at 21 - still not great!!!!

I'm with you op. I don't make mine do much but all I ask in return is that they pick/tidy up after themselves. This morning I came down stairs to cereal bowls with milk still left in from the night before. They'd used all the milk too so there was no tea for me this morning 😩

Their rooms have plates and cups in from god knows when and their are clothes everywhere! Their laziness destroys me 😬 why do teenagers have to be so grotty.

I am a very liberal parent and I don't enforce a lot of rules, And that's why they are like this.

You can't complain that they don't clear up after themselves when you haven't enforced rules.

Just move it to where she does her makeup/hair, or put it on her bed. I would leave it until she notices it herself. To be fair, in my teens, I would have thought that was totally fine

I'd clean it up, it's a room in my house and I'd hate it to be in that state. But I know that's not for everyone. I don't feel like a slave because they work hard at school and do other things and are nice people to be around, I just get fed up of the mess first so I clean it up.

Oh my god my teen would die if his room was like that, he's spotless.

You need to know what will hurt her most. With ds it would be lack of wifi and or phone taken away.
Are there flies in the cup in the last photo?
How old is your dd?

I can see dd (8) being like this as a teen....

I could never let a room get that bad.

Time to get very mad!

Hahahaha I love the close the door idea! Might just do that, it's not very Marie Kondo though!

I agree with Clutterbugsmum, you can’t not enforce these things then get cross when they don’t magically start doing it. Believe me, they’ll probably infuriate their future partners with their inability to see or clear up mess as well.

Either you get on them to do it, probably have to actually help them to do it, or it won’t be done.

All the solutions I can think of involve rules. Somehow getting teenagers to WANT to keep their spaces clean is nigh-on impossible.

Dump it all onto their bed.

I'd say slide the bowl under the bed and say nothing. The smell of sour milk in a week or so will make her go on a hunt for it and force her to clean!

No food in rooms rule will help with that.
If the rule doesn't work then sanctions with biweekly wifi change I guess.