Photos of how a fed-up mom cleaned her teen’s messy room are going viral

The messy bedroom. For some moms, this fight seems like the eternal thorn in their side. It wasn’t that long ago that many of us were the teenager with the messy room, and now we’re daily going toe to toe with a kid who simply won’t put their stuff back where it belongs.

More: Mom’s birth photo was just a bit too natural for Facebook

Indiana mom Alice Velásquez decided to take things to the next level when she got tired of reminding her teenage girls to keep their room clean. She gathered their stuff off of the floor, stuffed it into trash bags and held it for ransom.

Earning back their stuff was simple. She put each bag for sale for $25 dollars and required her daughters to do chores to earn money to buy back their stuff. The real trick? Everything was stuffed into bags at random.

More: Strangers call cops on dad who doesn’t look like his kid

“The bags were collected as they were found in the room-random!” she explained in her viral Facebook post. “So their $25 could buy a bag of dirty clothes, it could buy a bag of trash or it could buy their soccer gear. #MayTheOddsBeEverInYourFavor”

We’ve got to hand it to this mom. Because sometimes the same old punishment of grounding or taking away privileges is ineffective, she really thought outside the box to accomplish a behavior change in her children. Teenagers have a lot on their mind, and keeping their room clean might not be a priority for them, but it is an important life skill they need to be taught. With a creative discipline approach like this one, we are sure these girls are learning to appreciate their belongings as they work hard to earn back their stuff.

More: I refuse to ruin my kids’ Easter this year just because it’s trendy

Since posting her strategy online — pictures of the trash bags included — her post has been shared more than 8,000 times. Her approach to demanding a clean room from her teens is receiving a lot of praise from parents online, and we expect that parents all over the country will be giving her discipline method a try. We think that’s great — parents can definitely benefit from some creative parenting practices, but you’d be wise to give it a try without posting it online, as that might embarrass your teen.

Before you go, check out our slideshow below: