Teenagers’ bedrooms are often scary places for many parents, the place we dare not go. However, even though you hate it, your teenager’s bedroom still needs to be cleaned from time to time, and sometimes, you have to put up with the B.O., dirt, grime, and general lack of hygiene often present in a teenager’s bedroom. Oh, and the laundry is all over the floor. It is time for a deep clean.
No matter the state of your teenager’s room, chances are they’ll be too busy to clean up after themselves, leaving you with little choice but to do it for them. With that in mind, here is the ultimate bedroom cleaning checklist for teens and young adults.
Step 1: Pick everything up off the floor.
Your first step to even being able to clean your teenage bedroom is to get everything off the floor. If there are dirty clothes, throw them in the laundry baskets or bed, as you’ll be stripping those sheets later anyway.
This means picking up clothing, homework sheets, bookbags, and everything else on the floor, including garbage that reliably never made its way to the bin. Bring a garbage bag with you so you can dispose of it quickly.
Once you’ve exposed the floor, you can begin vacuuming it. If there are stains from spilled drinks, you may need to rent a carpet cleaner and clean the floor.
Step 2: Put dirty laundry in the washing machine.
Your next item on your cleaning schedule is to put the dirty laundry in the washing machine and start a load. You can come back to it later and put it in the dryer. After the washing machine starts, you can start cleaning in earnest. Add upbeat music to lift your spirits while performing the gruelling task, or try to get them to do it themselves.
Step 3: Wipe down all surfaces.
This is one of the essential parts of any teenage bedroom cleaning checklist. Start by wiping down the tops of your teen’s dresser and bedside table. Then, wipe down all surfaces thoroughly using any all-purpose cleaner.
Don’t forget to wipe down any windows and mirrors. You can do this with a Windex-style glass cleaner and paper towel. Once clean, open the window to air the space out while you continue your spring clean.
Step 4: Clean out all drawers.
It’s time to go into the abyss that is teenage drawers. Whether it’s your son’s dresser that needs organisation tips or your teenage girls’ makeup table, thoroughly empty all their drawers and give the inside a wipe-down with some all-purpose cleaner and paper towel.
Before you replace any clothing, makeup, or whatever else was in there, now is the perfect opportunity to declutter and organise to give that clean bedroom a bit more shine.
Step 5: Reorganise your teen’s drawers.
This may already feel like an ongoing struggle, and undoubtedly, your teenager will eventually undo your efforts. However, while you’re in full cleaning mode with lively music, it’s a perfect time to reorganise your teen’s drawers.
The first step is to place their unfolded, messy clothing on the bed and begin to fold everything. You can either roll the clothing or fold it neatly. You can use folding hacks from TikTok to re-fold your teenager’s clothes so they neatly fit into the drawer.
Step 6: Enlist your teen’s help.
One of the most essential things your teenager can learn is a sense of personal responsibility. It’s not only your job to keep their space clean, but also theirs. Now is the time to teach them about cleaning their room and come up with a cleaning schedule that, over time, will become a cleaning routine that becomes second nature.
Things like making their bed every morning as they get up, putting their dirty laundry in the basket, occasionally reorganising their space, etc. Show them how to fold their clothes properly (or re-teach them) so that their clothes’ drawers don’t look like a bomb site every time you open the drawer.
Doing this often enough will instil a sense of responsibility in your teenager. One idea is to have a printable teenage bedroom cleaning checklist that you put on the fridge or the bedroom wall so that their sometimes addled and forgetful brains will have something to remind them.
This checklist can include everything you did during your deep clean but on a lesser scale. This includes:
- Removing trash and things that don’t belong, including plates, cups, and so on
- Regularly opening their windows to air the room as the weather dictates.
- Once-a-week vacuuming, perhaps on a Sunday, so their floor is clean for the week ahead.
Step 7: Take the trash out of the room.
Now that you have compiled a healthy pile of trash and had to empty the vacuum cleaner’s cylinder once or twice, it’s time to take the trash out of the room and throw it in the bin outside. If your teen is home, this might be a task for them to do. If not, then take the trash out next.
Step 8: Change the clothes and strip the bed.
One of the last tasks on your teenage cleaning checklist is to strip your teen’s bed and wash all the sheets and pillowcases. Before you get your teenager into the habit of doing this for themselves, it’s your turn.
Change the dirty laundry finished in the washing machine into the dryer and put your teen’s bedsheets and pillowcases in the washing machine, carefully washing them on a delicate cycle.
One idea to prevent you from doing this often is to purchase a couple of pairs of bamboo sheets and pillowcases. Bamboo is a natural deodoriser and may save time and money washing your teen’s bed sheets often. Once the washing cycle has been completed, replace the clean, dry clothes with the bedding.
Step 9: Re-fold and replace clean clothes and bedding.
If you don’t have fresh bedding to put on your teen’s bed, you’ll have to wait for the wash cycle to finish. Once finished, replace the dry bedding on the bed, and finally, leave the window open as you leave the room clean and organised, a far cry from how you found it.
Summing up
Don’t forget to write down all these cleaning tips and print a checklist for tweens and teens you can hand over. Hint, hint. It’s time to enjoy a glass of wine and bask in your accomplishments.
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