Comments on: The Great Debate

By: Captain Backfire

Captain Backfire — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:37:27 +0000

I think that kids have rights too, so should be able to keep their room how they want as long as it’s not a hazard. Otherwise it’s like slave labor.

By: The Great Debate…Finally Some Results! « In the Air

The Great Debate…Finally Some Results! « In the Air — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 03:04:43 +0000

[...] Matthew will be back soon after Christmas, but for now, here is the status on his room following The Great Debate, from my [...]

By: Danny

Danny — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:39:31 +0000

As an adult, there is less forgiveness when an error occurs.
—Danny
I spelled Otherwise wrong.
Forgive me please.

By: Danny

Danny — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:36:44 +0000

Life is relationship or else life is lonely. All of it. For now, you are in relationship with your family.

One day, you will add to it and add a family of your own to the family you have. Otherwiase, you will be alone.

As a child, you get a break. You can make a mistake and we chalk it up to growing up and learning. As an adult, there is less forgiveness when an error occurs.

Organizing your life lets you add MORE to it. You can come back to whatever you want, because you know where it is. That means you respect yourself to be able to make the best out of life always.

When you are the dad, you will share a room with the mom. How THAT room is organized will have a lot to do with how your life goes. You will be happy or else alone. Making your room the best it can be now is training and practice to be in the best of relationship all of your life.

No man is an island and all alone. You are part of your family’s house. Make your room as inviting to your family as you want people to feel invited to know you all of your life. Clean up.

We have autism in our family and it has been a whirlwind of love. But totally organized so we can fit it all in.

Blessings to you all.

By: Cat

Cat — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 19:29:55 +0000

My 3 children all think that you should leave it how you want, but one of them thinks you should clear a bit of the floor.

I think that if it was my house and you kept your clutter out of the family rooms I wouldn’t worry but I would insist on clean clothes being put away and dirty ones in a laundry bin. So 3 votes for you and one for mom

By: Megan

Megan — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:39:18 +0000

Hi Matthew and mom –
I am a former “messy” kid. My mom and I fought about my room for YEARS. I almost always won – meaning my room stayed a mess, and for years I struggled with the repercussions. At 27, I have finally learned to keep my room clean – and it has changed my life! I can get things done more quickly – I actually get to the projects I say I want to do but get lost in the shuffle (things like photography, crafts and reading). What I would suggest is that you start slow in learning to keep your room tidier. Maybe go with your mom to one of the stores that has lots of containers and pick out the kinds that you think might help you. Tackle one thing at a time – maybe clothes first, then toys, then “stuff.” I find that I don’t keep clothes organized on shelves. If I have a shelf – it’s just going to be jammed in there. I need drawers – so now I have lots of drawers to put my clothes away in. Start exploring how you like to manage your stuff – one reason I had all my stuff out all the time was that if I put it away, I’d forget where – or that it even existed! Open organizational tools help this – drawers or shelves with clear or wire fronts so you can still see what’s in side. Then at least they’re not on the floor – but you don’t have to worry about losing them.

I used to think I functioned just fine in mess – but now that I have a cleaner space, I feel like I can think and do things better because I know exactly where things are and it’s not so overwhelming to pick up and put things away when I do get a bit messy.

Hope these tips help

By: Shelby

Shelby — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:47:57 +0000

Dude! Your room is a mess. I agree about the whole “your space” thing but the food garbage and the dirty clothes have to go. Get a little more organized, keep it a little more organized, I think everyone will be a lot happier.

By: zoe

zoe — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 01:21:42 +0000

Matthew, I think you are adorable but for the love of all things sanitary please go clean that room before some never before seen bacteria eeks its way into your brain. This of course is coming from the mom of a 15 year old boy.

By: Sofia

Sofia — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:13:01 +0000

I have a mixed answer for this one. I for one am a very messy person, and so my room is usually as messy as yours and i agree with you that a messy room in and of itself doesn’t hurt anything. However i do all my cleaning including my laundry and dishes. And in your case it is unfair for your mom to hunt around your room picking up dirty clothes.

I think kids can have their rooms however they want as long as some ground rules are established and followed. As long as you keep things that your mom has to do like laundry and such in order i vote in your favor. Although i warn you, there will come a day where your room will be solely your responsability, as will your laundry and dirty dishes, so it would be better for you to get in the habbit of keeping your things in order.

By: linde

linde — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:18:43 +0000

I”m with mom on this one but…

This could be fun! I agree that storage is the big problem here. It totally sucks when you can’t find what you want. So…

Find a theme or a few colors you like. Paint is pretty cheap and easy to do. Clear out the whole room and paint it your favorite color or even two or more colors.

Start searching thrift shops for storage and “decorations”. I know decorating doesn’t mean much to a guy your age but it really means making your room look cool.

Say you wanted a camp theme. You could look for old picnic baskets or coolers to put your stuff in. The inside of the containers don’t have to be orderly….but all the stuff could be in one place. One container for action figures, one for cds and so on. ALL the stuff doesn’t have to be in the containers all the time…that’s no fun. Choose five minutes of each day to put away the stuff you’re not using.

And….remember this. When you grow up, the person you live with will likely not want to live with a mess like this. Easier to learn to be a tidier person now rather than later.

Again….make it fun!