Every drawer in Akra Jr’s bedroom is full to the brim. Overflowing. To the point they jam and get stuck every time you open one to get something out.
It’s not that he has too many toys or too little storage. We’ve been careful with both. No, the problem is paper. Loads and loads of paper. Every scribble he’s drawn, every model he’s made is crunched into the back of a drawer, other stuff piled on top of it and then the drawer is shoved closed as best as it can be.
I have tried teaching him how to sort things out and only keep the very best, I have told him that drawers too tightly packed get toys damaged and lost, I have bought him a lovely A3 art folder and allocated a single drawer for 3D models, we have had big clear outs. It’s the same story – within a week it’s all come back again, filling up every available space (and most of the carpet too).
He is beyond the age where you can clear out half the stuff and have him not notice. At some point, I’m just going to have to accept that he’s a hoarder and that he’ll have to fight his way through every night to go to sleep in a nest of paper, aren’t I?
7 responses so far ↓
1 Pete // 6th Nov 2008 at 8:18 pm
It depends – would he be happy with a scanned image on the computer?
2 Pewari // 6th Nov 2008 at 8:22 pm
No, and in fact a significant portion of the paper is stuff he’s wanted printed out FROM the computer! (drawings he’s done, photos he’s taken, etc)
3 Dom // 6th Nov 2008 at 8:39 pm
Get him a shredder. Teach him the joy of destroying stuff. :)
4 anabels // 6th Nov 2008 at 11:20 pm
Could you replace one of his drawers with a hanging file like the ones you get in office filing cabinets? It holds more paper and keeps it in a better condition. Not sure about the 3D stuff but it would help with the flat stuff
5 Pete // 7th Nov 2008 at 3:56 pm
I think that most boys have terrifyingly untidy bedrooms. I know that I did. My parents gave up trying to change me, and just left me to it. If there’s space in his room, I suppose you could try to pick up more storage capacity, but eventually I expect that he’ll fill that too.
6 Sheila // 8th Nov 2008 at 10:26 am
Don’t worry – he’ll be leaving home soon! You may not believe it now but, believe me, it’s amazing how quickly that moment comes round. Meanwhile, put up with it as best you can. Be glad he’s stuffing it in drawers. Tell him that anything on the floor is likely to be classed as rubbish and put in the bin. Stick to that – keep his floor able to be vacuumed and train him to do that himself. So he gets to keep what he wants, he traps his own fingers in drawers, not yours, and you keep a tidy(ish) room. Keeping the door shut so you don’t think about it too much works well too!
7 Miss L // 10th Nov 2008 at 11:55 am
At least he’ll be well insulated warm in his room!
My daughter used to do this and when she was leaving home tearfully threw away her notes received from friends, drawings, poems etc. It was cathartic – but probably not what you wanted to hear!
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