You’ve heard it and probably said it, “This room looks like a cyclone hit it!”

Ah yes, the familiar, clean up your room…or else, that most parents find themselves regularly chanting. If you feel like your teen is winning the battle of the bedroom, time for new strategy:

1) Stop caring and allow your teen to be a slob. Let the person he or she marries deal with it!

2) Ask nicely but give a reasonable time frame to get the job done. Forget the nagging, lectures, charts.

3) Try explaining that this is not some crazy control issue for you as a parent. Organization really does work in life. You can actually find your clothes and have them wrinkle free when they are hung and folded.

4) Enforce consequences. Set up the if, then rule and stick to it. Use a consequence that makes a difference. Your teen will decide if the consequence is worth the effort.

5) Begin early. OK maybe too late for this child, but you may have others and grand kids. Helping kids clean up their rooms, store toys, etc. at a young age, sets a habit.

6) Use humor, lots of it to break the tension and make your point. Be creative. Perhaps your teen’s room could be used as a family hamper and everyone could throw their laundry on her floor for a few days. Or maybe start bagging the stacks into give aways for the Salvation Army.