If you are a parent, you probably have great kids.  Mine are generally pretty great.  They do well in school, they are involved in lots of sports, and they are kind to animals.  Who could ask for more.   Unfortunately a clean room is not one of their strong points.  I’ve taken both carrot and stick approaches and gotten similar results.  Yesterday we ventured into last straw territory.  At breakfast I informed them both that something bad would happen if their rooms weren’t clean when I got home.  I’m still not sure what that would have been, but it was the best I could think of at the time.

Fast forward 10 hours.

I returned home to find Stepford children sitting on the stairs smiling.  They assured me that progress was going well, but they needed a little more time.  They assured me that I could see their room by the end of the night. Curiosity got the better of me so I played along.   I later found that this was because they were having some problem with the carpet steamer – after they vacuumed.  I still need to check for pods later today.

So unveiling time comes.  June Cleaver would have been proud.  And then the surprise happened.  My daughter tells me she Googled “How to clean your room” for the solution  (here’s the actual link – http://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Your-Room ).  OK – so far, sounds like a good idea.  “and you know what the first step was” she says.

Turn off Facebook!

I’m paraphrasing – but you get the idea.  I’m not sure which of us was more surprised.  “I didn’t even need to go on to step two”  she said.

I’m guessing your bedroom isn’t in need of cleaning, but maybe your life is.  If you aren’t realizing your dreams as quickly as you might want, maybe it’s time to do something a little different.   If you are wondering about taking the first step – the same instructions apply.