Every day this summer, I’ve been having my daughter make a to-do list of things she needs and wants to do. It helps her stay on track, get things accomplished, and most importantly (smile) not bug me all day with suggestions like “Hey Mom, I know what we could do today. Let’s rearrange the furniture in the living room!”

The list has been working beautifully. Not only does she get writing and spelling practice, she gets to feel independent.

This morning, her list included cleaning her room. We just did a major overhaul in there so it really isn’t a big job, but if she doesn’t maintain it, it will become one.

While writing out the individual steps, we realized it was much like an article I might write. So we made it into an “official” article. I thought I would share it with you here.

How to Clean Your Room in 5 Easy Steps

1. Make the bed. This will make your room look neater almost instantly, and give you the motivation you need to complete the rest of your steps.
2. Put things away. Your toys and hair doo-hickeys will be much happier when they are in their own places.
3. Put the laundry in the hamper. Easy-peasy.
4. Dust with a slightly damp cloth. Ahh… the room is looking good!
5. Vacuum. Now you’re done and your room is beautiful!

This step-by-step method works for most rooms, by the way, and it works for grown-ups as well as it works for kids.

I read an article at http://www.housekeepingchannel.com/, a website for which I write monthly tips articles. This article by Marcia Ramsland is called, “Never Say ‘Go Clean Your Room!‘” I admit to feeling mildly put off by the title at first (because that’s exactly what I was saying), but as I read, I realized the wisdom in the advice. To a kid, “Clean your room,” is an impossible command. By contrast, “Put your Barbies in the Barbie bin,” is achievable. So the gist of the article is that you need to give kids specific, manageable tasks to complete. Not bad advice for adults, either.

Ramsland’s list varies slightly from the one my daughter and I wrote, but the principles are surprisingly similar. It’s difficult to improve on the basics.