--- title: The House Fairy | Pam's Blog | Cleaning description: Cleaning | Pam's blogs reflect a celebration of life and encourage families to be organized just enough to be punctual, get enough rest, eat healthy, complete daily chores, get sunshine and exercise and enjoy each other. --- Hello, Friend[Access Your Account](https://www.housefairy.org/my-account) ### Happy Kids,  Happier Moms [![facebook](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/file-422096398-png/social_buttons/facebook.png "facebook")](http://www.facebook.com/therealhousefairy) [![twitter](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/file-426374790-png/social_buttons/twitter.png "twitter")](https://twitter.com/HouseFairyPam) [![pinterest](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/file-426359165-png/social_buttons/pinterest.png "pinterest")](http://www.pinterest.com/thehousefairy/) [![youtube](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/file-426364010-png/social_buttons/youtube.png "youtube")](http://www.youtube.com/user/MakeItFunVideo/featured) [The House Fairy](https://www.housefairy.org/) ## [7 Tips for Inspiring Kids to Clean Their Rooms](https://blog.housefairy.org/7-basics-for-getting-kids-to-clean-their-rooms-0) Posted by [Pam Young](https://blog.housefairy.org/author/pam-young) Jun 17, 2020 1:35:15 PM [![](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/hub/341571/file-886341069-jpg/Blog_Photos_/527/Clean_Room.jpg) ](https://blog.housefairy.org/7-basics-for-getting-kids-to-clean-their-rooms-0) It’s a battle that’s waged in millions of households across America every Saturday morning. When I was a kid, I called it the **SRF**, ***Saturday Room Fit***! Mom would stand in the doorway to my very messy bedroom, hands on her hips, eyes blazing like a drill sergeant barking commands to her new recruits and her voice, behind clenched teeth, like a cat in battle for its life, would hit my tender eardrums, “You are NOT leaving this room until it’s clean!” Most moms feel frustrated with their kids’ messy rooms and they feel they need to impose some sense of order or they’ve failed. If your kids have messy rooms, you are not a failure and neither are your children. Let’s not freak out about this issue. Hey, Stephen Spielberg’s mom was scared to go in his room when he was a boy, because it was such a mess. My mom was so frustrated with my disorganized sister and me that she researched the problem. One psychologist said, “Just shut the door to their room and out of a natural desire for order, they’ll clean it up eventually.” Those were pre-Google days, and unfortunately that recommendation is still being disseminated to weary moms throughout the Internet. It’s not good advice. My sister and I had no semblance of a natural desire for order and that’s what lead to the dreaded **SRF.** #### **You Already Intuitively Know This** Establishing regular routines for yourself and your children provides some predictability and stability in your home life. Knowing how to clean and do basic chores will serve your children when they grow up and manage homes of their own. Having kids put things in order teaches them to be responsible for their things and when we moms can make the process fun, we change the game from the SRF to joy and excitement! So how can you change something that’s been a battle into something that’s suddenly fun? [Read More](https://blog.housefairy.org/7-basics-for-getting-kids-to-clean-their-rooms-0) Topics: [Cleaning](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/cleaning), [Chores and Children](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/chores-and-children) ## [Dejunk that junk drawer now!!](https://blog.housefairy.org/dejunk-that-junk-drawer-now) Posted by [Pam Young](https://blog.housefairy.org/author/pam-young) Sep 26, 2014 9:46:00 AM # Organizing kitchen can start with THE JUNK DRAWER. How long do you think it would take to clean out that junk drawer in the kitchen? If you timed yourself, you could do it in 15 minutes. See if you can do it in 15 minutes and see if you can actually have fun doing it. If you hear yourself saying, "I don't know where to start," just watch this short video and head to your kitchen junk drawer. In this short video clip, you'll learn the key to dejunking may start with an actual key.....and asking the tough questions like: “What hole do you go in?" "Am I successfully brewing?......and twisting?” My sister Peggy and I show you what to get rid of in the junk drawer you’ve been meaning to clean. [Read More](https://blog.housefairy.org/dejunk-that-junk-drawer-now) Topics: [Cleaning](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/cleaning), [How to Clean Videos](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/how-to-clean-videos), [de-junking](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/de-junking) ## [7 Basics for Getting Kids to Clean Their Rooms](https://blog.housefairy.org/7-basics-for-getting-kids-to-clean-their-rooms) Posted by [Pam Young](https://blog.housefairy.org/author/pam-young) May 30, 2014 5:00:00 AM [![](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/hub/341571/file-892261917-jpg/Blog_Photos_/527/Work_Together.jpg) ](https://blog.housefairy.org/7-basics-for-getting-kids-to-clean-their-rooms) It’s a battle that’s waged in millions of households across America every Saturday morning. When I was a kid, I called it the **SRF**, ***Saturday Room Fit***! Mom would stand in the doorway to my very messy bedroom, hands on her hips, eyes blazing like a drill sergeant barking commands to her new recruits and her voice, behind clenched teeth, like a cat in battle for its life, would hit my tender eardrums, “You are NOT leaving this room until it’s clean!” Most moms feel frustrated with their kids’ messy rooms and they feel they need to impose some sense of order or they’ve failed. If your kids have messy rooms, you are not a failure and neither are your children. Let’s not freak out about this issue. Hey, Stephen Spielberg’s mom was scared to go in his room when he was a boy, because it was such a mess. My mom was so frustrated with my disorganized sister and me that she researched the problem. One psychologist said, “Just shut the door to their room and out of a natural desire for order, they’ll clean it up eventually.” Those were pre-Google days, and unfortunately that recommendation is still being disseminated to weary moms throughout the Internet. It’s not good advice. My sister and I had no semblance of a natural desire for order and that’s what lead to the dreaded **SRF.** #### **You Already Intuitively Know This** Establishing regular routines for yourself and your children provides some predictability and stability in your home life. Knowing how to clean and do basic chores will serve your children when they grow up and manage homes of their own. Having kids put things in order teaches them to be responsible for their things and when we moms can make the process fun, we change the game from the SRF to joy and excitement! So how can you change something that’s been a battle into something that’s suddenly fun? [Read More](https://blog.housefairy.org/7-basics-for-getting-kids-to-clean-their-rooms) Topics: [Cleaning](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/cleaning), [Chores and Children](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/chores-and-children) [All posts](https://blog.housefairy.org/all) ### Subscribe to Pam's Blog! ### Follow the House Fairy ### Recent Posts ### Posts by Month - [June 2020 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2020/06) - [March 2020 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2020/03) - [September 2019 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2019/09) - [July 2019 (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2019/07) - [June 2019 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2019/06) - [May 2019 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2019/05) - [April 2019 (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2019/04) - [August 2018 (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2018/08) - [June 2018 (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2018/06) - [February 2018 (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2018/02) - [November 2017 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2017/11) - [May 2016 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2016/05) - [November 2015 (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2015/11) - [September 2015 (4)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2015/09) - [August 2015 (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2015/08) - [December 2014 (12)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/12) - [November 2014 (6)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/11) - [October 2014 (13)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/10) - [September 2014 (9)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/09) - [August 2014 (3)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/08) - [July 2014 (6)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/07) - [June 2014 (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/06) - [May 2014 (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/05) - [April 2014 (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/04) - [March 2014 (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/archive/2014/03) [see all](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/cleaning#) ### Posts by Topic - [Tools for Moms (11)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/tools-for-moms) - [Being a Mom (10)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/being-a-mom) - [Raising Children (10)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/raising-children) - [Entertainment for Mom (6)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/entertainment-for-mom) - [Family Games (6)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/family-games) - [Cooking Videos (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/cooking-videos) - [Fitness (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/fitness) - [On Being Organized / Disorganized (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/on-being-organized-disorganized) - [Playing with Kids (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/playing-with-kids) - [Recipes (5)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/recipes) - [Chores and Children (4)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/chores-and-children) - [Happiness (4)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/happiness) - [Cleaning (3)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/cleaning) - [Daily Thought, (3)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/daily-thought) - [De-Cluttering (3)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/de-cluttering) - [Habits (3)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/habits) - [Manners and Children (3)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/manners-and-children) - [Health (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/health) - [House Fairy Videos (2)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/house-fairy-videos) - [Children's Rooms (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/childrens-rooms) - [Great job mom (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/great-job-mom) - [How to Clean Videos (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/how-to-clean-videos) - [Organization (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/organization) - [Relationships (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/relationships) - [appreciation for moms (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/appreciation-for-moms) - [de-junking (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/de-junking) - [faith (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/faith) - [peace of mind (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/peace-of-mind) - [succeed (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/succeed) - [thank a mom (1)](https://blog.housefairy.org/topic/thank-a-mom) ## Subscribe by RSS ![rss-icon1](https://blog.housefairy.org/hs-fs/hub/341571/file-570749489-jpg/social_buttons/rss-icon1.jpg?width=50&name=rss-icon1.jpg) [Mom's World Feed](https://blog.housefairy.org/blog/rss.xml) [Privacy Statement](https://www.housefairy.org/privacy-statement) **About The House Fairy** The House Fairy is the brainchild of New York Times bestselling author Pam Young. A stay-at-home mom of three, stepmother of two and grandmother of 12, Pam has enjoyed most of her life surrounded by happy children of all ages. With a major in drama (not in college, but in life) Pam has always been able to see with the eyes of a child. Writing a shelf of “self-help” books to inspire disorganized moms, Pam’s focus has always been on solutions to the challenges mothers have in life.