Kids see their rooms differently than us grown ups do. To a kid, their room is their fairy tale land and they are quite often proud of what they have created. The penguins made out of coffee jars lined up on the desk taking up room is a creation to be proud of and to admire and play with. It doesn't matter that the pencils, papers and books have to be piled up on the chair, those penguins needed a home, and the desk it was.

The cars and trucks all over the floor waiting for the bridge to be finished is a work in progress. Those vehicles have to cross the river somehow so a cardboard box cut to shape makes a good sturdy bridge. Can't argue with that. It makes no difference that everything else has to be kicked under the bed, the stranded traffic relies on the habitant of the room to get them mobile again.

However, things can and do get out of control in those fantasy worlds that little people live in when they walk through the door of their bedroom, so being organised is what us grown ups and big kids need to teach them.  It is our job to teach the little people the things they need to know and saying "clean your room" is translated into something entirely different that causes mayhem and conflict. The only guarantee is that another fantasy world will be created when the room is again tidy. A blank canvas to start all over again. Any creators dream.