A Whale of a Room

I've tried a lot of ideas to inspire my daughter to take care of her room throughout the years.

One time I labeled dresser drawers for specific pieces of clothing, labeled toy bins, labeled the garbage (with a list of things that should go into it)... you get the idea.  I hung a list on the wall that broke down what to pick up first and what to put away and in what order.  It worked for a while until one day I went in and saw that she had rearranged and added to all of the labels.  It resulted in nulling and voiding the system I had created.  

I think it was her way of reclaiming her room (and pulling it back into the abyss of chaos). 

Several times I stripped her room of toys.  This at first made her sad, but then ultimately made her feel rescued, so I had to rethink the benefits of that idea.  

Her room has been my white whale throughout the years, a whale that has kicked my butt so hard that have I lapsed into periods of avoidance.  But I always find my way back to crusader mode. 

This weekend, the saga of managing Kloe's bedroom had a new chapter installment. 

In an effort to make her embrace her bedroom and really make it hers, I decided an overhaul was needed.  She no longer wanted the loft bed she's been using (and before that a bunk bed), so I found a new regular twin bed.  Well, not really new, but a used and in great condition bed off of craigslist

(If I ever just up and disappear, you can fairly safely assume that I finally wandered to the wrong craigslist ad and am now chopped into bits floating somewhere down the river). 

I also found a taller/less space-consuming dresser for her (again off of craigslist), as well as a bookshelf and nightstand.  Between the extra storage that the bed has under it, and all of the extra storage all of the other new items, it should be easier to make a place for her things. 

Saturday, Kloe and I went to the paint store where she picked a new wall color completely by herself.  The last time I painted in there, I chose a yellow color (cheerful, right?) She never approved. 

She wanted her walls to be "carmel", and chose a warmish tan color.  We (and I mean Kloe and I) put the first coat of paint down last night (Sunday).  Fifteen minutes into the process, she stopped and said "Doing this is not as fun as it looks" (and I smile as I type that).  I replied "Yes, I know that because this is the fourth time I have painted this little room of yours, and the first two times I did the whole thing by myself".  My hope (which I expressed to her), is that by understanding how much work it is to paint a bedroom, she will have a better understanding about why it is so important to me that she try to resist the urge to use thumb tacks to display her ever changing works of art (I will be hanging a new cork board though, because her art really does need to be displayed). 

She has also chose a new comforter set for her new bed, which I will be ordering soon.  I have really had to resist the urge to take over this choice, because Kloe and I like very different styles and colors (I want lots of bright colors, and she keeps leaning towards more subdued colors).

 I don't consider myself a controlling person, but the amount of effort it has taken to put the brakes on just taking over and doing it my way has been considerable.  I've had to focus on the big picture goal, which is not having a bedroom decorated just as I would like, but instead to have a room that Kloe feels connected to.  I am hoping that this will create more of a sense of responsibility in taking care of it.  

Now, we wait and watch and hope for success.  :)