Cleaning up our act

I can still remember the battle my mom used to have with me over keeping my room clean. I remember being told to go to my room and not to come out until it was clean. So, I would go to my room and start cleaning. That would last all of 5 minutes. I was easily distracted and soon I would be playing instead. Mom would come in and it would still be a mess. I eventually figured out that if I left it a mess long enough, she would either do it for me or she would at least help. By the time I was a teenager I think she had given up all hope. I can remember her crying over our rooms being a mess. At the time I thought she was crazy...but now, with one of my own....I completely get it. It makes me feel unappreciated after I spend an hour or more cleaning his room and then see it trashed within the next 24 hours. My mom of course thinks this is hilarious. She is finallly getting the payback that she so very deserves.

Well I am on a mission to break the cycle. I realize that I've already began to teach Brayden that if he waits long enough, I'll come in and clean it for him. Banishing him to his room until it's clean doesn't even faze him. Why should it? I'm requiring him to stay in a room filled with toys and a TV! He'll hang out in there and play until I make him come out to eat or take a bath. So yesterday, I asked him to please go clean his room and his response was "But I don't know how". I began to think about that and realized that he had a point. I've never "taught" him how to clean it. Basically I've just been telling him to go in there and figure it out. I'm sure it's overwhelming for him to see all that clutter and not know where to start. He doesn't understand how to take this huge task and break it down into a bunch of little tasks. So I came up with this....
It gives him several little tasks, instead of one big general "Clean your room". For the pictures, I actually used images of his fave movies, his toy bins and I even found a picture online of his bedspread. I printed a bunch of these sheets out and got him his own little clipboard. The first rule of cleaning (even for myself) is to turn the TV off. It is way too easy to get distracted. The second part is optional, but it always help me to have some music blaring. He can choose to do the smaller tasks in whatever order makes sense to him. As he gets through with each task, he can check it off. When he's done and has brought me the completed form and his room has passed "mommy inspection", he will be rewarded. He will earn $2 for his piggy bank. Once he begins, he will be given 2 hours (way more than enough time) to clean it from start to finish. If he doesn't clean it in the time allowed or if he moans and whines about it the whole time he will not be allowed to watch TV or play outside for the rest of that day. And then we will begin again the next day and the next until he figures out that it's easier just to clean it the first time. I don't expect perfection. I realize that making the bed is going to be tough for him, but as long as he tries, I'll be happy. Maybe by the time he turns the ripe old age of 5, he will be cleaning his room like a pro.

We haven't introduced this to him yet, but he can either do it this way....or he can pack all of his toys up into trash bags and let me take them down to goodwill. I refuse to fight this battle for the next 16 years like my mom did. By the way....Sorry Mom!!