Teenage Bedroom Cleaning Checklist | Monthly and Weekly Free Printables

Whether your teen’s messy bedroom needs a little tidy up or a massive overhaul, a checklist is a great help. Checklists can also help teens develop better habits for keeping their room clean. Grab this free printable teenage bedroom cleaning checklist and dig in for more tips about how to get a teenager to clean their room.

Getting on the Same Page

The teen years are incredibly fun. Honestly. If you’re here looking up cleaning checklists, you might not be feeling it right now, but there’s so much potential in these years for connecting with our teens in meaningful ways and watching them grow into independent humans that do a lot of good in this world.

That being said, I also know that some of the “little things” like keeping a bedroom tidy can also be a big stress. Anyone else feel like this…

Using a checklist is a simple way to be on the same page about what a “clean room” really is. So I hope these cleaning checklists are helpful! If you want more tips about how to use the checklist, the steps for how to clean a messy teenage bedroom, getting teens on board with cleaning their own room, or other resources for parenting teens or simplifying life, keep scrolling.

Free Printable Teenage Bedroom Cleaning Checklist

If all you need is a printable teenage bedroom cleaning checklist, here it is! We have a daily or weekly bedroom cleaning checklist and a deep cleaning checklist in two different styles, so simply click the image you’d like to print.

Daily or Weekly Teenage Bedroom Cleaning Checklist PDF

This pdf comes in two designs and includes tasks that should be done daily or weekly.

Teenage Bedroom Deep Cleaning Checklist PDF

This pdf is great for when a deep cleaning of the bedroom is in order. This might happen about monthly. This cleaning checklist is also available for instant print access in two designs.

Time-Saving Home Systems for Keeping Bedrooms Clean

Your teenage bedroom cleaning checklist is helpful, but it’s not magical on it’s own. We all know you can’t just print a piece of paper and change a teen’s behavior. It’ll probably take a little more teaching and motivating and practicing, until your teen finds it’s easy to keep their room clean.

One way to get to that point, is to set up a home system. Home systems are a powerful way to simplify your home life and save time. Getting teens on board with those systems is incredibly helpful for the family and teaches teens important life skills, like how to maintain a clean space.

One of the best ways to improve your time-saving home systems is to download my Simple Systems Starter Guide.

This guide will show you three steps for creating any time-saving home system, including a system to help your teen’s bedroom stay clean. Because, don’t worry, you’re not the only one with a messy teenage bedroom in your home!

Is It Normal for a Teenager to Have a Messy Room?

I think when we ask these “is it normal” questions (and trust me, parents ask them A LOT), we’re really looking for hope. Hope that this situation isn’t really as bad as it feels. Hope that we’re going to make it past this stage to where our goals are met. So if you’re looking for that hope, I want you to feel it.

If you’re wondering, “Is it normal for a teenager to have a messy room?” the answer is yes.

I could soapbox about how we’re either all normal or there is no normal because that’s reality. But I’ll spare you, and just go with this: It is very developmentally appropriate for a teenager to have a messy room.

Teens’ lower brains are very strong, and the pre-frontal cortex that’s in charge of thinking about the future and making “wise” decisions is still developing. This means that the urge to pursue pleasure and avoid pain is powerful. And for many of our teens, cleaning a messy teenage bedroom seems pretty painful.

Additionally, teens are also wired to crave more independence. On the days when that independence is a challenge, remember it’s a good thing! Owning their own space and exerting their own choices within that space is one simple way teens can claim independence and feel in control of their lives.

While it’s developmentally appropriate or normal for a teenager to have a messy room that doesn’t mean they can’t learn to keep a clean one.

How to Get a Teenager to Clean Their Room

First off, a teen is going to need a little motivation to clean their room. And let’s be honest, they’re going to need a lot of motivation is that room is really messy.

So here are a few ideas to help your teen find bedroom cleaning motivation:

• Communicate clearly WHY a clean bedroom is important.
  • Make it about your teen- their life skills, their ease of finding things in the room, how clutter adds to stress, their health if you’ve reached that point, future roommates or partners, etc.
  • Then if you want include your family vision or goals for your home.
  • Ask your teen why (or even if) they think it’s an important life skill.
• Give teens control over the cleaning.
  • We’re all more inclined to follow-through if we have control. Ask teens what they think is a good way to keep the room clean.
  • Teens could control when they clean (morning, night, weekend), how often (shorter time more often or longer time less frequently), consequences or motivation, or more.
• Make it easier to clean the bedroom. The easier it is, the less motivation is required.
  • Help teens simplify and get rid of stuff. The less stuff, the faster to clean.
  • Keep a trash can in the room and necessary cleaning tools easily accessible.
  • Set a timer for ten minutes and work down the bedroom cleaning checklist only for that time.
  • Turn on music, help each other, chat while you clean, etc.
• Be sure teens know how to clean their bedroom.
  • The free printable teenage bedroom cleaning checklist is ideal for this.
  • The next section also describes the steps.

How to Clean a Messy Teenage Bedroom

Turn on some music, start a timer to see how fast you can do the job, and work through the following tasks that are also on the free printable teenage bedroom cleaning checklist.

1. Put dirty clothes in the laundry basket and clean clothes away.
2. Put away any books or items that are on the bed or floor. Give-away or toss as much as possible. Remember, the less we have, the faster it is to clean.
3. Put away misplaced items from desk and arrange desk nicely.
4. Clean out under the bed. It can be helpful to have under the bed storage bins that can easily slide out. Nothing should be under the bed except the bin(s).
5. Collect any remaining trash.
6. Make the bed or change the bedsheets as needed.
7. Empty trash can.
8. Spray air freshener and/or open windows and door to air out the room.

If you want to deep clean the bedroom, add the following tasks.

*Make sure any water or cleaning supplies used are safe for surfaces.*

1. Dust desk, windowsill, shelves, and other surfaces and wipe down with damp cloth.
2. Wipe off ceiling fan and/or light fixtures.
3. Clean doorknob and light switches.
4. Vacuum bedroom floor. Vacuum window tracks, around baseboards, mattress, and under the bed and other furniture.
5. Wash windows.

Then sit back, relax, and enjoy your clean bedroom!

Best Help for Parenting Teens

I hope these tips about how to use the teenage bedroom cleaning checklist and how to get teens to clean their bedrooms are helpful! Raising a teen is no easy job. But gratefully, you’re not alone.

If you’re wondering how to teach your teen about sex, how to raise a respectful teen, how to handle a teen’s big emotions, how to connect, or more, some of the best help for parenting teens can be found in our Raising a Healthy, Happy Teen Summit.

In order to find answers from experts to these and other big questions, you can purchase the full trainings from our previous summit or get on the wait list to be among the first to know when free registration opens for our next summit. This event is created to help you build a relationship with your teen that lasts.

Keep loving your teen fiercely. At the end of the day, messy bedroom or spotless, the relationship we have with our teens and the unconditional love they feel from us really does matter most.

What has worked for you to get your teenager to clean their room or help out around the house? What challenges are you facing? Which bedroom cleaning checklist will you use? Share in the comments.

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