9 best replies when you are told your room is a mess

Most teenagers don’t appreciate being told their room is a mess or being nagged to clean their room by their well-meaning but annoying parents. Maybe your folks don’t understand everything you have going on in your life, like exams, sports, computer games and friends. Of course, your plan to clean up the mess in your room later never happens.

Next time you are being told to clean your room, use one of our clever comebacks and try and buy yourself some time.

If you have an even better comeback leave it in the comments below.

9 Best comebacks to ‘your room is a mess’

1. My Definition of a clean room is a clear path from the door to my bed.

2. My room isn’t dirty, I just have everything on display.

3. Creative minds are rarely tidy.

4. My room is not messy. It is an obstacle course designed to keep me fit.

5. I’m creating a ‘lived-in’ look to help my guests feel more at home.

6. I’m preserving my natural habitat of my belongings…in their natural state of chaos.

7. Why, I enjoy living in a pig sty.

8. This is not a mess, it is called the lived in look.

9. I hear you, I will try to keep it clean.

More comebacks you might like

• How to answer don’t talk back to me
• Top ten comebacks for mean girls who create drama
• Check out our top ten comebacks lists

Why do parents get upset when your room is a mess? 

Parents get upset if their child’s bedroom is a mess for a variety of different reasons. A messy room can be viewed by guests as a reflection of the family’s poor standards when it comes to tidiness, and personal responsibility.  

Parents want their kids to launch and eventually move out of the house. Moving out requires having the skills to take care of yourself, including managing your belongings and your personal hygiene.  

Living in chaos and mess doesn’t tend to lead to good grades. Parents want kids to have good personal habits so they can succeed in life.   

How to handle being told your room is a mess

When being told your room is a mess, it’s important to approach the situation with understanding and responsibility. Here are some steps to handle the situation:

1. Acknowledge the Request: Acknowledge the request without arguing or becoming defensive.

2. Express Understanding: Acknowledge the importance of a clean and organized living space, and the impact it has on the household. 

3. Set a time to tidy up: Agree to clean your room within a reasonable timeframe, such as within the day or in three days time. You can even start by doing an hour a day if your dreading cleaning your room.

4. Take Action: Follow through with the task and clean your room as agreed. Clean up all the mess once and for all to honour your agreement.  

5. Maintain Consistency: Make an effort to maintain a clean and organized room regularly to lessen the frequency of being told to clean it. Keeping a clean room comes down to small daily habits of tidying up after yourself. Set a habit of spending 15 minutes a day picking up after yourself.  

6. Communicate openly: If there are reasons why your room is messy, communicate openly and find solutions to address any underlying issues. If you have a busy exam time or need extra time to clean up, let the person know you plan to tidy up shortly.  

By handing the responses in a mature way and showing respect, your parents may let you live at home a little longer before you have to launch out on your own.  

French hoarder lives in a mess

French hoarder, Jean lives in a messy house sleeps amongst piles of rubbish. Jean can’t bring himself to throw anything away and lives with filth and squalor. It is a safety hazard living amongst garbage and who knows what else.

Your parents may be fearful that your room will end up looking like this, which is why they nag you constantly to clean up your mess!