How to Clean Your Room (Teens)

Co-authored by Kathi Burns, CPO® and Hunter Rising

Last Updated: January 11, 2023 References Approved

It can feel like a boring chore to clean your room, or it may be so messy that you don’t even know where to start. While it doesn’t seem like fun, cleaning your room regularly makes it less cluttered so you’ll be more comfortable in your space.^{[1]
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Expert Source

Kathi Burns, CPO®
Board Certified Professional Organizer
Expert Interview. 31 December 2019.} Start by choosing your favorite music and setting timers so it feels more fun before you start cleaning your floors, shelves, and tables. Once you have your surfaces clean, organize your things to get rid of what you don’t need. With a little bit of time and motivation, your room will look and smell better than it did before! When cleaning your room make sure you get all of the trash from under your bed!

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Making Cleaning Enjoyable

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Put on comfy clothes so you feel relaxed while you’re cleaning. Choose a comfortable shirt and pair of pants that you don’t mind getting dirty when you clean. Find something that’s loose-fitting so you can easily move around and clean hard-to-reach places in your room, such as under your bed or behind a dresser. Avoid wearing any tight clothes that prevent you from bending or kneeling to reach something you need to pick up.^{[2]
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- For example, you may wear a loose-fitting T-shirt or a large sweatshirt as a top, and choose sweatpants or athletic shorts as bottoms.
- Avoid wearing your street shoes in your room since you could track in more dirt.
2
Play music you like to make cleaning more fun. Put in headphones or play music on speakers in your room so you can have fun and dance while you’re cleaning. Choose a playlist with upbeat music that you like listening to so you stay motivated to keep cleaning. Keep the music playing the entire time you’re cleaning to make it go by quickly.^{[3]
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- Don’t get too distracted choosing what music you want to listen to, or else you’ll procrastinate cleaning your room.
Tip: Make a playlist that’s a specific amount of time. That way, you can make it a goal to finish cleaning your room by the time your playlist is done.

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3
Set timers while you clean to motivate yourself to finish quickly. Goals can help you finish cleaning your room faster and make it so you don’t spend all day cleaning. Use a timer app on your phone or set a kitchen timer for 30-60 minutes and start cleaning immediately. That way, you can work quickly and efficiently.^{[4]
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- You can set shorter timers for specific tasks if you want to. For example, you may give yourself 5 minutes for vacuuming your room or 10 minutes to sort through your clothes.
- Don’t feel rushed if you aren’t able to clean everything before the timer goes off. Try to be more efficient or give yourself a few extra minutes the next time you clean.
4
Open your windows to let fresh air into your room. If you have a window in your room, sunlight and fresh air can help motivate you to clean faster so you can go outside. Open windows also help bad odors escape if you have something smelly in your room. Keep your blinds or shades open and keep the window open the whole time you’re cleaning.^{[5]
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- Don’t open your window if there’s bad weather or if you’re heating/cooling your home.
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Choose a reward to give yourself when you’re done. Cleaning your room can be a lot of work, so treating yourself to something when you’re done can make you feel accomplished. You may pick something like eating a sweet snack, hanging out with a friend, or spending time outside. That way, you have something to look forward to when you finish cleaning.
- You can also set rewards for yourself for completing tasks. For example, you may take a 5-minute break after you finish sorting your clothes or eat a piece of candy after you organize a shelf.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Deep-Cleaning Floors and Surfaces

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Make your bed when you start cleaning. A made bed can immediately make your room seem cleaner and it feels more comfortable to climb into at night. Pull your sheets and comforter so they tightly cover your bed. Then organize your pillows so they lay flat at the head of your mattress.^{[6]
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- Strip the sheets off your bed once a week so you can wash them and keep them clean.
- Make sure loose sheets are tucked in under your mattress to make your bed look cleaner.
2
Throw away all of the trash lying around your room. Carry a garbage bag through your room and look for food wrappers, loose papers you don’t need anymore, and empty containers. Search for items on your floor, desk, shelves, and dresser to make sure you’ve found everything.^{[7]
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Kathi Burns, CPO®
Board Certified Professional Organizer
Expert Interview. 31 December 2019.} Fill up the garbage bag with any trash you have before putting in a large outdoor bin.^{[8]
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- Check underneath your bed to make sure trash didn’t get underneath. If you can’t see under your bed easily, use a flashlight to help you find waste.
- If you have a garbage can in your room, be sure to empty it and change the liner inside.
3
Put the clutter from your floor on top of your bed. A lot of teens leave clothes, backpacks, papers, and many other items on their floor, and it can create a big mess if they haven’t been cleaned in a while. Scoop up an armful of the things you have on the floor and set them on your bed. Continue clearing the items from your floor and setting them on your bed so they’re easier to sort through and pick up later.^{[9]
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- Putting items from your floor onto your bed forces you to organize and clean, or else you won’t be able to get in bed when it’s time to sleep.
4
Clean off windows and mirrors with glass cleaner. Check around your home for glass cleaning spray and apply a few squirts onto your windows. Wipe the glass cleaner in back and forth motions with a paper towel to wipe off streaks and any dust. Then repeat the process with any mirrors you have in your room.^{[10]
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- Only use glass cleaner on your windows and mirrors since other cleaning solutions could leave streaks.
- If you don’t have any glass cleaner, wipe the windows and mirrors with a damp paper towel followed by a dry cloth so it doesn’t streak.
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Clean up sticky messes or spills with a multipurpose cleaner. If you have stuck-on residue, such as spilled drinks or rings from drinking cups, you’ll need to scrub them off. Spray a multipurpose cleaner onto a rag until it’s wet, and work it in circular motions to scrub the residue. Test the spot again with your finger to see if it still feels sticky, and continue cleaning until it’s clean.^{[11]
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- In the future, clean up spills as you make them so they don’t leave a sticky residue.
- If you don’t have a multipurpose cleaner, try using water with a squirt of dish soap.
6
Dust and wipe the flat surfaces in your room. Use a furniture polish or dusting spray with a clean, lint-free rag when you’re dusting. Apply a few bursts of the dusting spray to the rag and wipe off flat surfaces, such as tabletops, shelves, and dressers. Clean with a different part of the rag with each wipe so you don’t put dust back onto the surface.^{[12]
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- You can also use a microfiber duster to help pick up dust.
- Take your items off the tables or shelves while you’re dusting them so you can clean them completely.
- If you have a ceiling fan, stand on your bed and wipe the top of the blades since they can collect dust easily.
- Wipe down the tops of the baseboards along the walls as well as the top of your door frame.
7
Sweep or vacuum your floors. If you have hard floors in your room, then sweep them clean with a broom and dustpan. If you have carpeting, then use a vacuum instead. Start in the corner of your room furthest from the door and work toward the doorway. That way, you don’t get dirt in areas that you already cleaned. Use the hose attachment of your vacuum to work in tight corners so you can clean your room completely.^{[13]
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- If you aren’t sure how to work your vacuum, ask a parent or guardian to show you how it works.
- Try to sweep and vacuum underneath your bed as well since dirt and dust can collect there.
- If there are stains on your carpet, ask your parent or guardian how to wash them.
Tip: If you have hard floors, you may also choose to mop them with a mix of warm water and cleaning solution.
8
Use air fresheners to make your room smell better. If your room has a bad odor, you may want to spray an air freshening spray to make it smell better. Choose an air freshener that also kills bacteria or else it may just mask the odor. Spray the air freshener toward your ceiling so it can float down to your floor.^{[14]
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- You can also use plug-in air fresheners or candles to help get rid of strong smells.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Decluttering Your Room

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Sort the pile of things on your bed into like groups. Now that all of the things on your floor are on your bed, separate them into separate piles so you’re able to see what you need to clean. For example, you may set school supplies near one corner of your bed, clothes in another, and accessories somewhere in the middle. Keep your piles organized so you’re able to clean each group of items separately.^{[15]
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- If you don’t have room on your bed for everything, it’s okay to put some piles back on your floor or a table. Just make sure you actually put the things away rather than leaving them there.
- Pick a number from 1 through 10. When you've picked your number, put that many things back where they go. Repeat until you've gotten rid of a significant amount of clutter.
2
Take any plates or drinking glasses you have back to the kitchen. There’s a chance that you may have eaten a meal or snack in your room and you forgot to bring the dishes back out. Look for any dining ware or cups that you have around your room and stack them up. Take the dishes into the kitchen and wash them by hand or put them in a dishwasher.^{[16]
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- Don’t leave your unwashed dishes in the sink because your parent or guardian may get upset if you don’t clean them.
3
Sort through your clothes to check if they’re clean or dirty. Hold the clothes you picked up off the floor to your nose and smell them. If they smell musty or dirty, put them in your laundry basket so you can wash them. If they still smell clean, either fold them or hang them up so you can put them away. Continue going through your clothes until you don’t have any left in the pile.^{[17]
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- If you aren’t able to tell if clothes are clean or dirty, then put them in your laundry basket just to be safe.
- Look at your clothes to make sure they don’t have any visible stains or dirt on them before you put them away.
4
Straighten out your closet so it doesn’t feel as cluttered. Your closet can be an easy place to hide clutter, but it needs to stay organized as well. Separate your hanging clothes into similar groups, such as jackets, sweatshirts, dresses, and pants. If you’re able, use a closet organizer to stack shoes or clothes so they don’t look like they’re just thrown inside. Try to clear as much of your closet floor as you’re able so it doesn’t look cluttered when you open it.^{[18]
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- Keep your closet door shut to make your room seem like it’s cleaner.
- Look for clothes that you don’t wear often and see if you’re able to donate or sell them.^{[19]
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  Expert Source
  
  Kathi Burns, CPO®
  Board Certified Professional Organizer
  Expert Interview. 31 December 2019.}
- Don’t throw things in your closet without hanging them up or straightening them out or else it will just get messy again.^{[20]
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  Expert Source
  
  Kathi Burns, CPO®
  Board Certified Professional Organizer
  Expert Interview. 31 December 2019.}
5
Organize the objects on your nightstands or desk. Desks and nightstands can gather lots of random objects if you don’t keep them clean and organized.^{[21]
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Expert Source

Kathi Burns, CPO®
Board Certified Professional Organizer
Expert Interview. 31 December 2019.} Sort loose papers and notebooks into folders so you can easily keep them together, and find a spot in a drawer or cabinet for them. If you have random knick knacks or small items, store them in small boxes or crates that you can pull out when you need them.^{[22]
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- It’s okay to leave some things on your desk that you use often, such as your wallet, headphones, or a planner.
6
Put loose items into organizers so they’re less likely to make a mess. There’s a chance that you have jewelry, coins, pens, or other knick-knacks somewhere in your room that are cluttering up your space. Use tiny bowls or baskets to store your items so your shelves and surfaces stay organized. Put items that are similar in the same container so you know exactly where to look the next time you need them.
- For example, you may keep a cup on a desk to store pens and pencils, or you may use a folder to put important pieces of paper in.
Tip: Shoeboxes work great for storing small items and they fit easily in a closet or on a shelf.

Expert Q&A
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Question

How do you clean your room so that it stays clean?

Kathi Burns, CPO®
Professional Organizer
Kathi Burns is a board certified Professional Organizer (CPO) and Founder of Organized and Energized!, her consulting business with a mission to empower people to master their environment and personal image by assisting them in taking control, making change and organizing their lives. Kathi has over 17 years of organizing experience and her work has been featured on Better Homes and Gardens, NBC News, Good Morning America, and Entrepreneur. She has a BS in Communication from Ohio University.

Kathi Burns, CPO®

Professional Organizer

Expert Answer

Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

Make sure everything in your room has a place to live. I call it the zero space. It takes a long time to get to that zero space, but once you're there, it's so quick and easy to maintain it. Take 10 minutes a day to put everything back to normal and where things need to be.