My dd 9 can't keep her room neat. She switched with her brother. The room is bigger and her sister will eventually (right?) sleep in there. I threw out 3 large garbage bags. I also got rid of one bag of cloths.

I have given her containors and the stuff is never in them. They end up being beds for misc. creatures.

I am seriously thinking of 3 large baskets. If they don't fit the rest has to go. I am just not going in there and trashing/giving away her stuff for my sanity.

How difficult is it to try this? Is there a better idea?

It is not really toys either. She keeps everything. Boxes, bottle caps, junk mail etc.

Kathy

When I was a kid, my room was a pigsty. My mother eventually gave up and just kept my door closed. As long as I wasn't keeping old food in there she didn't care.

Eventually I got sick of the mess and cleaned up after myself. It's more difficult as you have her sister joining her in the room--she's going to have to have some of the room clean. Could you break the room into halves and let her keep her half as messy as she wants to? Perhaps then she'll snap out of it when she realizes a clean room is more pleasant to be in.

My DD who is 15 has always been a pack rat. She keeps EVERYTHING! It was not worth the battle. I swear it has been months since have seen any carpet at all in her room. I think it would be diagnosible if she was an adult!
BUUUUT it is her room we just shut the door. I do not do her laundry or anything. She has to do it because she could never get her clothes to the hamper even.... It makes life much more pleasant now that I do not care.
Karen

Having been that messy kid, threats won't work.

Letting the kid live in her own mess for a while making her the only one responsible for it will. At nine it might take a while, and so you might have to curtian the room in half or wait for the other dd to be old enough that she can be in that room alone so its' safe for her etc, but it will work much better and she will carry those "pick up after yourself" skill the rest of her life.

My husband's mother until last christmas was still buying him underpants (bday and christmas presents etc). You can tell because he doesn't pick up after himself and has no clue how messy that is, it's like he expects it will magically get taken care of kwim?

I :heart: dh but dang man! kwim?

So yeah, my parents still tease me and are rude about how I'm messy, not seeming to see I havne't been that way since I was about 15 :rolleyes:

Anyway, I'm taking over your thread sorry! :eek:

j

There may actually be a deeper meaning behind it. Her behavior sounds like hoarding, something kids do when they feel insecure. They feel that if they collect enough stuff around them it gives them security. There's a little mroe to it, but that's basically the idea.
Is there anything going on in the family that might cause her some insecurity? Maybe her sister moving in with her or other changes?