My kids have a disaster area of a room. My wife and I don’t care really. It’s their space, they can live in clutter all they want. I did get slightly pissed the other day when I stepped on something in the dark. It probably broke, but I didn’t take the time to investigate.
I challenged the boy to clean his room with a huge incentive. $20 was on the line. But he had to clean it up like an Army barracks. Nothing out of place, nothing on the floor, etc. If he claimed completion and I inspected the work to find something amiss, I took off $3.
I used the same incentive plan that you sometimes hear about with highway/bridge projects. It works.
He could ask questions (like… “where does the -such-n-such-need to go”). He ended up spending about 1 and a half hours going through that room. He put away toys and gadgets, he hung up clothes, he piled the dirty clothes where they normally go. He even vacuumed.
Upon final inspection, it was tip top shape and he earned the $20. Now the interesting part will be how he spends it.
