Power Clean

The Power Clean

A student's room can be cluttered and messy. I know his from experience, as my room was a disaster, and I used to get mad at my mom for cleaning my room and moving my stuff around. If your child's room is a disaster area and he is struggling in school, it may be time for you to get them in the habit of doing a power clean before trying to focus on homework or studying.

Clutter Interferes with Focus

The clutter in a room can keep your child from focusing properly. Papers strewn on her desk, clothes piled on the floor, books and other items tossed about can make it hard for a student to concentrate. But if the student tries to clean all of this up, she can become overwhelmed. It might take hours!

The Power Clean

This is where our tutors may introduce a power clean. The power clean was first introduced by one of our tutors who was working with a middle school student who was failing. The student was bright, and the tutor could see that the disaster area that was her room was getting in the way of her studies.

The Purpose

The purpose of a power clean is to clear the clutter away from the immediate vicinity of the work area quickly so that the student can settle down and focus. For instance, the student might bulldoze the dirty clothes into a closet, and put any clothes that are clean in a tidy pile in the corner of the room. All books and other items can go into a box, or another designated spot. And papers can be piled up and put on a shelf.

The idea here is to get stuff out of the way, not worrying about getting things perfect. The student can worry about the full cleaning later, when there is more time. It gets the room back in order again without overwhelming the student with a "full cleanup." Then the homework can get done, and the student can schedule a full cleanup when there is more time. Once the student realizes that the clutter gets in the way, she may find that she keeps her room a little neater and that power cleans won't be needed as often. Even if the condition of the room doesn't improve between homework assignments and study sessions, at least the student will be able to focus on the work at hand.