Anal?

No No NO People. Not THAT kind of anal.

OCD, perfectionism, etc. You know, anal.

So, sometimes I'm anal about stuff. Is that so bad? Everything has a place, and everything should be in it's place. Organization is never bad, right?

Of course, being so requires, especially with three children to mess things up, time to care for the order of things. Replace items where they go, ensure things are left as they should be. If you take something out of its spot, just put it back when you are done with it. This shouldn't be difficult, right?

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not the kind of mom that won't let her kids have fun and enjoy childhood for the sake of cleanliness. Fun and silliness comes first, but afterwards order should be returned. Wow. That statement alone sounds like it should come from a drill sergeant.

My children know this about me, I've always been this way. Somehow, however, my 14 yr old has decided to rebel against this part of our household rules and regulations.  I cannot for the life of me get her to keep her room clean.  Punishment doesn't work. Taking away things from her - i.e. cell phone, laptop - doesn't seem to work. The only way the girl's room ever gets cleaned is when I do it myself. Clothes sit in the laundry basket until I have to scream at her to take care of them, belts and shoes and socks and whatever else she might remove scattered on her dresser, her bed, her floor, sometimes even the bathroom floor.  Trash never gets taken out of her room, and she won't even place it in the small trash can she has in there. I don't know what to do to make her understand how completely crazy this makes me.

Then my mother comes along, and laughs, and tells her: "You know, your mother never would clean her room when she was your age either."

Thanks, Mom.