When children have kept bedrooms in bedlam for weeks, Mom has to step in and do something. The trouble is that since Mom does not have ownership of the stuff, she can't in all fairness be the one to make the stay or go decision on most things.
Enter the bedroom proposition: Children decide what's kept or tossed and they make the room so that Mom can come in to help. If this is not done by Mom's appointed deadline, Mom comes in while children are out and scoops up anything and everything into big, black trash bags of doom.
Now the children have to make the choice and take action or face the consequences, but that's only the beginning of Mom's trouble. The children still only have half the work or less while owning the whole mess. They pick and choose or they don't, but Mom has to come in and work either way. Then, when one child picks one way and another picks the other way, one or both will end up feeling that they got the worse deal.
"It's not fair!" is the battle cry. Child who chose not to decide to Mom: "It's not fair that you took away all my stuff!" Child who picked the keepers and tossers to Mom: "It's not fair that I worked so hard to clean up my stuff and you didn't make him/her!" Mom to all children: "It's not fair that you guys make big messes with all your stuff and any part of the clean-up has to be my job!" Who wins? No one really, but Mom definitely loses all the way around. Hmph!!
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