I swear something blew up in my boys' rooms!

Yesterday I helped my 12-year-old son clean his disaster of a bedroom. You wouldn't believe the amount of stuff we threw away. Well, maybe you would if you had kids. This guy is a packrat! I was in charge of the garbage bag. I held it firmly and tossed all sorts of things into it - things I didn't want handed down to my youngest who had his room cleaned a week or so ago.

I started on the dresser and went through each drawer. We removed items from each drawer and put back what actually belonged there. If there were clothes that were too small and in good shape, they got passed down to the little brother. Other things got put into piles on the floor (cars, cards, bouncy balls, army men, etc.) for figuring out what to do with later.

Next items to attack were the two drawers under the bed. These were filled with anything and everything and it's a wonder the kid could find anything. Everything got pulled out and put on the floor.

On to the cubby! It has nine squares for storing things and there are two canvas boxes. The boxes have handles and are much like drawers. Each cubby was dealt with separately and items were put into the floor piles. We even unearthed a school library book - from last year! This child attends middle school now and the book was from elementary school. My husband is going to return the book and see if he can get his money back (apparently he paid the overdue fine last year, unbeknownst to me or J).

The nightstand was next. There are two drawers in it and they were full of junk. Everything came out and put in its rightful place - on the floor or in the garbage bag.

Closet next. Hangers were on the floor, clothes were on the floor - is this typical of boys?? My 7-year-old son's closet was the same way. He used to take pride in his room (the 7-year-old) but now he's taking after his brother.

I also attacked under the bed and between the wall and the bed. I unearthed foam darts from underneath the beanbag chair.

After arranging the dresser, cubby, closet and nightstand the way J liked it (and the way I liked it), we began organizing the mess on the floor. Like things went into plastic shoeboxes (Yu-Gi-Oh cards in one, army men in another, cars in yet another, and so on) and labeled. These boxes were put in the drawers under the bed.

Everything is now in its place. We have a rule for K (the 7-year-old) that if something is out of place and he is not in the room (or in the bathroom), that thing (book, toy, etc.) gets taken away. This may sound harsh, but if you were me (or hubby) and have been telling these kids to clean their rooms and they don't, then you'd understand. After walking into K's room and stepping on a Lego in sock feet (OUCH!), that was the last straw. J's room was just as bad. Dice on the floor, forever a game board out, shoes everywhere. Enough already! So... the rule for K is the same for J. I don't care if they are five years apart in age. If they truly treasured their toys, they'd take care of them and put them away!