She explains, ‘Shoes by the door, stacks of mail, papers, or too many small countertop appliances – They all feel chaotic.

So while you might notice that a room is messy and have intentions to clean it up, finding the concentration and energy levels needed to do the task can feel difficult or even impossible.

Are we parental failures if our children can’t see the mess and won’t hear our requests to clean it up? For your teen, however, privacy and autonomy, not a messy room, are the issues.

Most people said they'd rather have a messy car because if their house is dirty then they wouldn't be able to relax. I ...