Is it too much to ask...

that the boys start off the new school year with basically clean rooms?

• We've taken away toys.
• We've restricted TV, computer, Playstation, etc. and even taken them away too.
• We've tried to bribe them.
• I've tried the Flylady approach of breaking the room into zones and even gave them their own Control Journal.
• Mark has raked (yes I mean raked with a garden rake...heck, why not, it's not like there's any other use for one down here LOL) out their rooms.
• Mark has thrown bags of stuff away.

I am at my wits end. We've been at this all summer in one form or other...this latest battle has been going on for over 4 days now and school starts tomorrow. One of the new beds (less than 6 months old) already has a huge hole in the box. Clean clothes, neatly folded or put on hangers by me, end up on the floor so when I ask for the dirty clothes I end up re-washing more than I care to think about. It's not like I expect the rooms to be spotless...I'd be a hypocrite if I did. But I can't even walk into Cam's room without stepping on itty bitty Legos. Is it so hard?

• Make your bed.
• Put your clean clothes away...correctly.
• Put your dirties in the laundry.
• After you've finished playing with something put it away before getting the next thing out.
• Tidy your room before bed each night.

Sorry for the rant...if you have any ideas PLEASE comment! At this point I'm ready to let Mark empty the rooms. The boys can sleep on the floor, have one set of play clothes, two sets of school clothes, one book each, one toy each, and be grounded from the Playstation, et all, till they EARN things back. GRRRRRRRRRR