Yes. Every other week they need to pick up their rooms, which takes a lot longer than it sounds since they are a mess. It’s not the cleaners job to straighten their mess. In the summer when they are home, I’ve been making them strip their own beds, wash their own sheets and remake them. I didn’t grow up with cleaners and realize my kids have had a very different upbringing. That’s the least they can do. They also clean the bathroom at least once in between cleaner visits.

Anonymous wrote:Our cleaner comes once a week, and every week that morning I have my kids clean their rooms, which are total messes normally. So no, you are not the only one.

+1 especially crap on the floor. My biggest pet peeve.

My kids have to PICK UP their rooms before the cleaners come. Trash needs to be in trash bin, floors and counters need to be mostly cleaned off.
If they don't, i tell the housekeeper to skip their room and they clean their own toilet.

Of course. Cleaning your room is a basic life skill that kids need to learn how to do. Plus, the cleaning lady can actually clean better (vacuum, dust, etc.) if clutter is cleaned up.

Yes - we used to argue with mom that we shouldn’t have to clean before the cleaning lady came, but she argued that the cleanly lady couldn’t vacuum the carpet if she couldn’t see it.

So I had to as a child and make mine now.

My kids keep their rooms clean themselves. We don’t have a housekeeper. We did when they were younger, and if their rooms were truly messy, I would tell our cleaner not to clean it, just to change their bedding. The housekeeper would otherwise get bogged down and spend too much time on their bedrooms.

Yes. I’m trying really hard not to care what the room looks like six days out of the week, but the night before the cleaning lady comes, laundry needs to be picked up off the floor, water bottles and debris in the trash, a quick Clorox wipe on the toilet etc.

This info is a bit dated but my HS boyfriend's family had a weekly cleaning service and yes, his parents always made him tidy up his room first. They said the cleaners were there to do deep cleaning and shouldn't have to waste their time (or bill for extra time) on picking up his crap to clear the floors, beds, etc. so they could do what they were actually there to do (vacuum, change linens, etc.). Made sense to me and still does, so, I agree with you, OP. Also now that I'm reminiscing about my teenage years, I will add: never listen when your kid says you're the "only mom" who makes her do xyz responsibility. Calling foul on that one!

I have a tween bit how is this even a question? I ask her to tidy her room about once a week, put books back on bookshelves, throw anything trash away, put shoes in shoe holder etc. her clothes go in the hamper every night so that’s never an issue and if she has a snack in her room she brings the bowl down when she’s done with it.

Anonymous wrote:The luxury of having a maid. My teen cleans his room because no other person is going to do it for him.
I would seriously keep the maid and make the teen clean her own room. Life skills!

This. And stop buying plastic water bottles. You have a kitchen and a faucet and glassware.

The luxury of having a maid. My teen cleans his room because no other person is going to do it for him.
I would seriously keep the maid and make the teen clean her own room. Life skills!

Of course. But they have to clean their bedrooms daily - not just right before the cleaning lady comes by.

Our cleaner comes once a week, and every week that morning I have my kids clean their rooms, which are total messes normally. So no, you are not the only one.

I don't/didn't make them clean their room.

One has ADHD and sometimes she wants me to help her do that, which I do.

My other kid basically never lets me in his room, he keeps it OK - not dirty but he has too much stuff so it is cluttered.

I figure that is one area they can fully control so let them.

My rules are no eating in your room and bring down glasses, etc because we need them for our household. Otherwise, they are on their own.

But I don't buy them new clothes unless they bring me old stuff that doesn't fit.

Do you make your teens clean their rooms before the maid comes over? According to my DD im the only mom that does this. Is this true? I just don’t want them to clean up over 30 water bottle etc because the kids should do it. It’s their mess