Dear Dad,

    This morning, you asked me to clean my room for the millionth time. Then we argued about it for the millionth time. Clearly, this isn’t working for either of us. I need a space where I can be myself. And being myself means being a little messy. 

    Think about it this way: One person’s mess is another person’s memories. Where you see a shelf of junk, I see my friendship bracelets from camp. 

    I see my photo booth pictures from the school dance. I see the snow globe Nana bought me in New York. My “clutter” makes me happy.

    And I’m not the only one who enjoys a little mess. Did you know that Albert Einstein’s desk was always a disaster? He said, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what is an empty desk [a sign of]?” There was even a study done. It showed that people with messy work areas tend to be more creative. 

    I know messiness stresses you out. So I’ll try to keep the common areas tidy. But maybe my room stays the way I like it: a perfect mess. What do you say?

Love,

Erika

Dear Dad,

    This morning, you asked me to clean my room—again. Then we argued about it—again. We have a problem. You like neatness. But I have to be myself. And that means being messy.

    Look at it this way: One person’s mess is another person’s memories. Where you see a shelf of junk, I see my friendship bracelets from camp. I see my pictures from the school dance. I see the snow globe Nana bought me in New York. My “clutter” makes me happy.

    And I’m not the only one. Albert Einstein’s desk was always a mess. He said, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what is an empty desk [a sign of]?” There was even a study done. It showed that people with messy work areas tend to be more creative.

    I know messes stress you out. So I’ll try to keep the common areas tidy. But maybe my room stays the way I like it: a perfect mess. What do you say?

Love,

Erika

Dear Dad,

    This morning, you asked me to clean my room for the millionth time, and then we argued about it for the millionth time. Obviously, this isn’t working for either of us. I need a space where I can be myself—and being myself means being a little messy.

    Think about it this way: One person’s mess is another person’s memories. Where you see a shelf of junk, I see my friendship bracelets from camp, my photo booth pictures from the school dance, and the snow globe Nana bought me in New York. My “clutter” makes me happy.

    And I’m not the only one who enjoys a little mess. Did you know that Albert Einstein’s desk was always a disaster? He famously said, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what is an empty desk [a sign of]?” And according to at least one study, people with messy work areas tend to be more creative.

    I know messiness stresses you out, so I’ll try to keep the common areas tidy—but I’d really prefer for my room to remain a comfortable, inspiring mess. What do you say?

Love,

Erika

Dear Erika,

    I’m impressed with your arguments! But the mess has to go. The truth is, you need to be considerate of the people you share your space with. Right now, that’s your family. In college, it might be a friend or roommate.

    This is about more than being considerate though. Clutter makes it impossible to stay organized. And that leads to stress. Remember that time you lost your math homework—then found it on your desk a week later? You were so upset. I’d hate to see that happen again.

    Plus, a cluttered space is hard to keep clean. If there’s laundry all over the floor, we can’t vacuum. If there are papers all over your desk, we can’t dust. I’ve found that a messy space can become dirty very quickly—and that attracts bugs and mice. 

    How about a few rules? Dirty clothes go in the hamper. Dishes go back to the kitchen. And once a month, you tidy up so we can clean. If you can do that, I can put up with a little mess. 

Love, 

Dad

Dear Erika,

    You make some good points! But the mess has to go. You need to think about the people you share your space with. Right now, that’s your family. In college, it might be a friend or roommate.

    This is about more than thinking of others though. Clutter makes it hard to find things. And that leads to stress. Remember that time you lost your math homework, then found it on your desk a week later? You were so upset. I’d hate to see that happen again.

    Plus, a cluttered space is hard to clean. With laundry all over the floor, we can’t vacuum. With papers all over your desk, we can’t dust. A messy space can quickly become dirty. And that attracts bugs and mice.

    How about a few rules? Dirty clothes go in the hamper. Dishes go back to the kitchen. And once a month, you tidy up so we can clean. Does that sound fair?

Love,

Dad

Dear Erika,

    I’m impressed with your arguments, but the mess has to go. The truth is, you need to be considerate of the people you share your space with. Right now, that’s your family. In college, it might be a friend or roommate.

    This is about more than being considerate though. Clutter makes it impossible to stay organized, and that leads to stress. Remember that time you lost your math homework—then found it on your desk a week later? You were so upset. I’d hate to see that happen again.

    Plus, a cluttered space is difficult to keep clean. We can’t vacuum if there’s laundry all over the floor, and we can’t dust if there are papers all over your desk. I’ve found that a messy space can become dirty very quickly—and that can lead to problems with bugs and mice. 

    Let’s agree on a few rules: Dirty clothes go in the hamper, dishes go back to the kitchen, and you tidy up once a month so we can clean. If you can do that, I can tolerate a little mess.

Love,

Dad