Call it a trail of tears or a trail of crumbs, but whatever it is—I have spent nearly twenty years following that trail of STUFF that kids leave as they move from one end of the house to the other—shoes, balled up wads of dirty socks, book bags, papers, sweatshirts, dishes, pencils, cd cases and game cartons—you name it; whatever any one of my kids might have in their hands one moment, will surely be left by the wayside as the move from point A to point B…
When the kids were younger, I used to keep a basket at the top and bottom of the stairs just for the stuff I collected on either floor that really needed to be on the OTHER floor. While they have gotten a little more territorial and a little better about keeping track of their own stuff, I can still tell who has been and gone just by what has been left lying around. There is the one who NEVER hangs up her coat and always leaves it draped over a stool at the kitchen counter or over the back of a chair; and there is the one who always leaves his socks in a pile by whatever door he has come in from (is he saving them to put back on later?). Or how about the one who leaves sweatshirts tucked behind the cushions of the chairs and couches—wherever she takes them off as she warms up and settles in.
What is truly amazing to me is that my kids have the gall to complain when I pick up this trail of stuff that is scattered about: “I’d know where things were if you didn’t run around behind me picking everything up!” Uh uh, and I can just imagine the junk yard state of our house if I truly left everything just where it was dropped by an absent-minded teenager!
Also: Do Teens’ Messes Ruin a Home’s Feng Shui?
Why Does Your Teen Have a Messy Room?