Are you a messy? Sometimes I am, but I don’t like it. Hope asked me on Facebook, “How can we encourage our kids to keep their rooms clean?” I think that’s a great question. Some kids just don’t think it’s an important part of life. Others—they can’t stand living in a mess! So the first thing you need to do is figure out how your kids are wired and then set up a plan just for them. Mess doesn’t seem to bother my daughter, so we created incentives just to get it clean. For example, she can’t do anything fun until her room’s clean. When she was younger, she’d get an allowance if ALL of her tasks were completed during the week. Starting early helps build a good work ethic.

Suggested Reading: Proverbs 10:4, Proverbs 14:23