One of the things I was determined to do over the winter break was clean this kid’s room. I’ll be completely honest: the main problem was the fish tank. The sad and very dirty fish tank. That hadn’t been cleaned in a really long time. And yet the fish thrive! Go figure.
Well you know me, I’m kind of a crazy furniture mover, so when the opportunity to shuffle some furniture presented itself once the fish tank had been emptied? I was all over that like white on rice.
I love a good furniture shuffle. All the dust bunnies are forced to come
clean. All the tiny bits of weird things that kids collect have no
choice but to show themselves. It’s awesome.
Truth: I
spent an entire day — SIX LONG HOURS — in this room 2 days after
Christmas. I might have had a Bloody Mary half way through the task, I
can’t be certain. But the end result? The end result was exactly what I
was after. Everything was washed, dusted, wiped, cleaned, folded, and
organized within an inch of it’s life. Plus, we pulled 3 bags of trash
out of this room. Three bags! School papers and bar wrappers and weird
crap that this kid of mine holds on to. (Say nothing, I know. The collecting apple.
It’s not falling far from the collecting tree. I KNOW.)
Of course there’s nothing like kicking back in your freshly cleaned room with your brand new ipod, eh?
Truth: I about lost my marbles halfway through the task, hence the Bloody Mary, ahem. I mean, after breaking my back over the side of the tub cleaning the fish tank and having dirty fish water all over my hands + splashing in my face (oh yes) and dusting and mopping and doing laundry and sorting legos – ohhhhh the lego sorting… I about wanted to cry. But I just kept thinking to myself: This is a gift. This is a gift. This is a gift. This is a gift, right?
Right.
Seriously, did you Mom or Dad ever clean your room when you were a kid? I know my Dad definitely did not. My Dad had this very interesting approach to our messes… he’d give it a certain amount of time – and not much – and then he’d just threaten to throw it away. He was not going to fool with our mess. Swipe it off the table, into the can and that was that. I’m sure it only took one time of that actually happening (if it even did) for us to learn. I think I have memories of my Mom cleaning my room with me? I think I remember she wasn’t happy very about it either. (love you, Mom)
Who knows what the right approach is. For now, we have a very thankful, happy boy who has a very clean room with a crystal clean fish tank. And the whole thing smells like the freshest laundry and it’s a really nice space to be in. Fingers crossed that it lasts more than a week or two.
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
I hope he appreciates the heck out of it! My parents NEVER cleaned my room. Maybe once or twice my mom did! What a lucky boy, Henry. Your room looks smashing!
I was an avid furniture mover growing up. It drove my mom bonkers!
Love this,
“I know. The collecting apple. It’s not falling far from the collecting tree. I KNOW”
This all made me feel better about wanting to clean my 5 year-olds room when his father thinks he should. But I can do it better!
awww you are such a good mama. and, seriously, how cool is that room? super cool!!
Your son is very blessed to have such a cool Mama to decorate his room so nicely!
I swear, you have the best ideas. I love those pennants hanging like that and the twinkle lights on the map are just magic.
Three bags – wow. My parents always threatened me within an inch of my life about my room but I never remember my Mom doing like you did and spiffing it up within an inch of its life- though, you know…I’m sure she did. You moms work hard and deserve the moon and stars. And self cleaning fish tanks.
my parents have a similar clean-it-or-it’s-garbage philosophy. they’re not too keen on my collecting habits either – luckily, grandpa’s been letting me store stuff in his basement. i just hauled a formica table and three canary yellow chairs over today. total enabler. henry’s room is boss though – love the pennants and christmas lights!
i reeeally really want that Bullwinkle pillow case.
awesome job, looks magical. i just did similiar things too after the christmas deluge.
What a perfect boy room. And a sweet mama!
I have a present for you : a life-changing fish tank tip. My neighbor just takes his out on the lawn and sprays it all out with the hose sprayer. It cleans through the rocks easily and then he just wipes the sides with paper towels. No soap, it only takes a few minutes and won’t break your back.
What a magical room! The map(s), pendants and twinkle lights create such a wonderful ambiance. What a lucky little boy!
haha great post.
i think his room rocks! love the penants. good job mom!
First off, I ove this room!
That map, that tray, those vintage pennants!!!
J’adore!
Second, my parents did’t clean my room.
But only because I loved doing it myself.
I wa one of those kids who cleaned her friend’s rooms for them and re organized the fridge for my mom.
Dream child.
But I think I have 2 of my own that will be like that.
And 1 that most assuredly won’t.
And 1 thst is only 7 months old so who knows about him?
I’m thinking he’ll be a cleaner too.
I’”m an optimist.
I love your style.
Love from,
Greta
yay, clean room!! that is truly a gift!! i think my mom cleaned my room once when i was maybe 9 or 10. it was spotless, she then told me that the secret to keep it looking nice is maintenance.. i may never be able to master that one
We never had to clean our rooms, and the only time my mom would do it or force us to do it was when we were having guests or my grandma was coming to stay. We weren’t HORRIBLY messy, but it wasn’t a pretty site either.
BUT, speaking of throwing away things that didn’t get picked up, my coworker told me about how when his kids were little they told them about how there were gnomes that stole toys at night and if they wanted to keep them they better make sure they were up off the floor. When the kids started doubting the gnome story they would intentionally leave “lesser” toys out to see if the gnomes would steal them.
I think giving a room cleaning gift is great. My mom did it occasionally and it’s one of my Jan goals for my boys’ rooms. When they’re little they can’t do it all, but everyone likes nice and fresh.
Plus I figure if I’m dreaming about a housekeeper, giving them that gift once in awhile is a good thing. 
I was always an obsessively clean/organized kiddo, so the folks never had to worry about me. My younger sister, meanwhile, was crazy-cluttered to the point where Mom would pull out the old “Either you clean it or I’m coming in there with garbage bags” threat…at which point, I would happily offer to clean Kat’s room for her. Because I was a weird, weird little kid.
(I drew the line at cleaning her fish tank, though. Ew.)
Anyway: Henry’s room is so awesome! I’ve been wanting to get an old hanging map for our rec room downstairs – thanks for the (accidental) reminder!
My mother would go in my room over summer, when I was away at camp or Grandparents and just purge. I did the same to Edie this summer and it stayed that way for about 2 minutes after she got home from camp.
To be fair, her room is small and the amount of stuff she has in there is amazing – not just her bed & dresser, small table and bookshelves, but a dollhouse, a fairy hangout and a piano. I need to learn to say no.
What a lucky kiddo! Totally in love with the room so I checked out your houzz tour and holy smokes your whole house is fabulous! I still clean my four year old’s rooms (oh yes, that’s intentionally plural, one boy/two rooms) … it’s just easier than arguing with him about it most of the time. Except when I get fed up with it, then I tell him that if he doesn’t pick them up they are going to the thrift store. And I have actually done it! But just once, after that the lesson was learned and now all I have to do is tell him that I’m taking anything I have to pick up to the thrift and he picks them up … crying and whining and full dramatics the whole time, which brings me back to the “it’s just easier..” thing. I know, I know … {sigh} I know.
My mom and I both love cleaning. It’s really kind of disturbing. Since I moved out, she still comes over and we have little cleaning parties. We’re suckers for organizing. I seriously find joy in emptying my shelves and putting everything back on them. Is that wrong? Ha ha. It definitely look like it was worth it, though! It’s such a relief when it’s over. By the way, I’m just dying over that map! I scored one at Goodwill for a decent prize. It looks like it was in a classroom at some point, but it’s in a large wooden and glass frame that itself was probably worth more than the price I paid for it! It’s my biggest thrifting gem, no doubt.
way to go on his awesome room! Your persistance paid off- it looks great! I adore that big map. Totally going to do that for my gal when its age appropriate. Wish I’d have had a giant world map in my room growing up!
LOVE the pennants and the map and the lights—its FANTASTIC!!
looks great! I was doing the same thing in Oscar’s room, probably on the same day. but I gave up halfway through the task. didn’t get to the toad’s tank or the closet. I did however try for the upteenth time to tackle the lego situation. I should have gone for the liquid courage, clever girl!
I adore this.. what a lucky child to have such a cool mom. The map lights did it for me!
Love the vintage pennants on the wall. Stealing that idea if I ever have a boy of my own!
it’s fab, of course! how did you hang the tray? I purchased the round virginia tray from you months (and months!) ago and haven’t figured out how to hang it (masking tape failed.. doh). it’s currently just sitting on the middle sil of the double hung window, but that’s not gonna cut it come summertime. help!
Wow it looks great. Very inspiring too as I have 2 boys under 6 and lets just say the room is not exactly blog worthy, scooby doo posters and power rangers all over the place. But maybe I jst need to get the right stuff for the walls. We are moving soon so will try a new start with your inspiration!!
I am a 39 year old woman, and I would LOVE to live in a room that awesome!!!