Attention Neatniks: Help! I'm a total slob!?

Question

I am 17 years old, and I am very, very, VERY messy. I've got clothes all over the floor (dirty AND clean), facial wipes all over my bed and floor, hairballs on the floor, and receipts, granola bar wrappers, TONS of coins, cosmetics, and gum wrappers all over my counter and the pile of skateboards, keyboard pianos, art kits, and shoes are LITERALLY up to my hips. (No joke). I am not happy with myself. Seriously, it looks like JCPenney's and Kwik-ee Mart barfed in my room. I've been like this my whole life, and all my mother does is scream at me about it. How can I MAKE myself become a neater person - and actually be naturally inclined to be neater and not such a slob.

Answer 1

Start by throwing away everything you have that you don't need or want anymore. That will free up some closet/dresser space for the things you DO use. Then you need to decide on a place for everything, and commit to it. "This drawer will be for shirts." Then ONLY put shirts there and at all times your shirts can only be in one of three places: on you, in the hamper, or in that drawer. Make very strict rules and force yourself to follow them for one week, and then it will start to feel like habit. And make sure to always put your clothes in the hamper IMMEDIATELY after taking them off.

The key is: A place for everything and everything in its place.
And don't feel bad, my boyfriend is 33 and I'm still working with him on this very same thing.

Answer 2

OK, lovey, calm down and take some deep breaths! I am 38 years old, and still have this problem, but there are steps you can take!

First, don't beat up on yourself. You deserve a nice clean room where you can find everything -- and you'll want to clean up because pretty soon you'll be going off to college or your own apartment, and you won't want to pack all the junk.

Second, take a look at the Flylady website (see sources). She's not a neat-nik either -- but a reformed slob who has helped millions of people work their way out of the clutter. She's got a lot of hints and ideas for coping with clutter, and cleaning it up. Also, she's got a list of books that helped her -- you can probably get them at the library.

For right now, see if you can borrow a kitchen timer, and set it for 15 minutes. Empty your trash can, start the timer, and see how much junk you can get into it in 15 minutes. Then stop and look how much better it looks. You'll be amazed! As Flylady says, you can do anything for just 15 minutes!

Flylady has a lot of routines, too, for keeping yourself neat. Most of her stuff is aimed at a whole house, but it's easy to convert that stuff to your room. So, like Monday you spend 15 minutes on your dresser, Tuesday is 15 minutes on your closet, Wednesday is 15 minutes on the floor, Thursday is 15 minutes on your school bags and purses, and Friday is 15 minutes under the bed. Strip the sheets and vacuum on the weekend, and do 15 minutes doing whatever needs to be done. That's not too bad, is it? The important thing is to know that YOU are the one who will do it, and YOU are the one who deserves a clean and neat room.

*hugs* and good luck!

Answer 3

Start out small so as not to put your brain into shock. Get yourself a cool wastebasket and use it. Every wrapper or piece of trash goes in it immediately after being opened. Get a hamper and put dirty clothes in it as soon as you take them off. Any clean clothes you will wear again get hung up AS SOON as you take them off. Get the pattern here? With a big mess, you don't even know where the bugs, roaches, etc. are hiding. And believe me, you have bugs in there, even if you don't see them. It takes 21 days to make a habit, so keep at it. You'll be happier.

Answer 4

when your mother or girlfriend come over do you clean up? If so then get it into your mind that they may come anytime. Plus you have a real health hazard there. Lucky you are not ill or overrun with bugs.