Tanner's New Leaf

Even Tanner has had to admit that his room has been just gross. He even came home from one of his hunting trips very disappointed because he thought for sure that I would take pity on him and clean it. No way! I have been known to do it in the past, but it hasn't been that long ago that I did clean his room, and the return to disaster happened too quickly for me to have any desire to do it again.

The problem my boys have is that I have seen them do a good job cleaning their rooms, so I know they are capable of doing it. Grandma Terry has trained them very well. So it is hard for me to have sympathy for them when they don't do it. So I have learned to just shut the door and pretend it isn't even there. Well, Layne doesn't do that as easily. This week he gave Tanner the ultimatum that if he didn't clean his room he couldn't go to the football playoff game at Holt Arena on Thursday. So when I got home from work on Tuesday night this is what I found in my living room. I didn't get a before shot of Tanner's room. But just imagine everything in the living room inside a room about half the size.

Tanner was so excited for me to be home so I could help him. I told him, "Sorry, I have a Relief Society meeting." Whew, no more complaining about meetings for me!

Here is a shot of Tanner's empty room. He vacuumed corner to corner and even wiped down the base boards! Luckily Karlee is a great little sister and she helped him. By the time he was done he had gotten rid of two big black garbage bags of clothes, and a garbage sack full of junk.

Here is the finished product. The main thing that inspired him to do the deep clean was so he could take Zak's bed, which is a little newer and more comfortable than his. And since I had just cleaned Zak's room and washed the sheets it was one less thing he had to do. Note that you can actually see the carpet in this picture. That is not usually the case.
I have given him a challenge to keep it this way. I know he can do it. When he puts his mind to it he has kept a clean room for weeks and weeks. So far he has made it through one day and has even made his bed. I will keep my fingers crossed.
This is his closet now, although he still had some clothes in the wash and some clothes in Zak's closet. He is basically living out of two rooms now. He put his stereo in Zak's room. And he hangs his shirts up in Zak's closet straight out of the washing machine so they won't shrink.
Tanner's reward for cleaning his room was for Layne to give him a Mohawk. Supposedly all the guys at school are doing it for the football game on Thursday. Tanner tried giving Keegan one but it was crooked, so he just ended up getting a shaved head.
I must say Layne could have a second career on his hands. Tanner's hair is so thick that he has to take about three runs through to get it done. This picture gives you a good, "before and after" of Tanner.
That's our boy! Oh my...