Yesterday, I decided that I really had to tackle cleaning out my (super sloppy) college-aged daughter's room. When she left for school, I told her it had to be 'guest ready ' before she got in the car to leave. Clearly, our definitions differ. She is coming home for the weekend and I wanted to, 1) get all the junk out of there before she brought more junk home, 2) show her EXACTLY what I mean by guest ready.
Cleaning out is really just about digging in and dealing with stuff you would rather not deal with. Honestly, I could start a small school with the amount of discarded school supplies I found in her room. I guess I should have known they were in there somewhere since every year she was the only one of my kids who was never able to reuse any supplies from the previous year. Now I understand why...she would have had to find them first. I just figured that she lost everything (which I guess is, technically, true).
The best thing I found was a water bottle from her middle school basketball tournament (identified with fabric paint on the neoprene cover) still filled with water. As we all know, once a child gets to high school they never again touch anything that smacks of middle school. For that reason, I can be sure that the water that was still in the water bottle was circa 2004....lovely. And all this time I thought she left on her shelf because she had happy memories of her basketball tournament! I guess she just couldn't be bothered to take it down to the kitchen and wash it out!
I finally got everything out of there, hauled all the trash to the outside can and ran the vacuum. It looks great!
Of course, she comes home tomorrow. I will enjoy 24 hours of her room being up to the standards of the rest of the house...and then I will clean it up again when she leaves on Monday (of course, I won't tell her that). It is a small price to pay for having her home.
Someday, she will figure out that it is easier to keep it neat than to have to go in and wrestle back control--I can only hope!
If you like what you've read, please consider subscribing to my blog: 
I believe that buying or selling real estate should be a GREAT EXPERIENCE. If I can help you, your friends or family buy or sell their next home in Northern Virginia, please let me know!
If you need help with a home outside of Northern Virginia, I have an extensive network of referral agents and will make sure you are working with the best!
The contents of this blog may not be copied or reproduced without the permission of Holly Weatherwax.
Holly - you are one brave woman and much kinder than me.....if that was my kid's definition of "guest ready", and they were the next "guest" to use the room, I would leave it the way it was to welcome them back home. See? I told you you were nicer! :)
Enjoy the visit w/your daughter!
Ha! I don't know about nicer...maybe just sick and tired of looking at it! Thanks for your comments.
I have to say that I think I'd be more like Coleen myself. I'd just have to keep the door closed!
Holly, sounds like a trip down memory lane. My kids rooms are disaster areas, I close the door. I would find cleaning her room to be very emotional. Thanks for sharing.
You are a good mom!
I love that water bottle that is almost 6 yrs old
your friend in Charlottesville Virginia!
Yeah, just what everyone wants--antique water!!
You summed it all up when you said, "It is a small price to pay for having her home."
Just have your vacuum, a dust mop and some furniture polish ready!
And if you get thirsty while cleaning, well, there's always that "circa 2004" water bottle!!!!
Ah the joys of children. I only have one at home (he's 5) and he LOVES to have it spotless. His toy room is another story altogether. That one, I just shut the door. I know the day is coming where his room will be a wreck. In the meantime, I'm enjoying his attempts at making his own bed. :o)
Enjoy the time with your daughter. As you know, it will go quickly.