Want to eliminate the clutter-y chaos in your crib -- and keep it that way? Give your room a good spring-cleaning! Try these tips to get motivated:

Set a Date
Set aside a full day, or even a weekend, to get the job done. Pick a date when you’ll have few distractions and no other commitments. Starting the process and then stopping to go to piano lessons or a movie with friends will leave you too distracted to focus and follow through.

Make It Fun
Get stoked in advance by making a playlist of your favorite high-energy tunes for cleaning day. Wear comfy clothes and pin your hair back, then dance around your room while you get your organizing groove on. For extra motivation, decorate your tools of the trade (bins, boxes, photo albums, and the like). Touches of personal flair will make you want to fill ’em and keep ’em organized!

Start With the Big Stuff
Make the hardest and most time-consuming tasks -- cleaning out the mound of junk under your bed, for example -- your first priority. Getting stuck organizing tiny areas won’t show much progress and will have you feeling too overwhelmed to tackle larger tasks. Once you see how much you’ve already done, it will give you the mojo to power through the smaller stuff.

Get to Organizing
De-cluttering your space is really all about sorting things out. Make piles for all your goods, laundry, put-aways and trash. For stuff you’re keeping around, make sure that even the tiniest items have a designated home to call their own. Pencils need a holder, nail polish needs a bin, magazines need a rack, CDs need a case, and so on.

Dust, Wipe and Sweep
Once all your gear is stowed away in its proper place, break out the cleaning supplies to really make your room shine. Grab a dustrag and swipe your electronics, desk, shelves and dressers. Then, wipe down other surfaces that need some extra elbow grease -- like mirrors, windows and your vanity -- with a furniture polish or glass cleaner. Lastly, vacuum or sweep your floor to pick up leftover dirt and dust.

Make It a Habit
Now that your room is tidy, it’s not too difficult to keep it that way if you hit it a little bit at a time. Write up a schedule to get you into a clean routine. Give each day of the week a to-do: Laundry should be one day, vacuuming another, and organizing another. Spreading out your tasks over time makes them manageable so you’ll actually stick to your plan. Keep it up, and you may never be stuck in a messy room again. Phew ... high-five, girl, on a job well done!

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You know that girl in your crew who clashes with you? Whether it’s because of her rude ’tude or her constant negativity, you just don’t quite get along with her. And this could cause some awkwardness when you’re both hanging out in the same circle. So face it: She’s here to stay, and you have to make nice. Here’s how to keep the peace -- even with your worst frenemy.

Toss Her a Compliment
This is a tried-and-true tactic for shutting down frenemy friction. Rather than going out of your way to avoid, ignore or brush off a not-so-nice chica, be the first to shell out an “I like your outfit!” She won’t know how to respond, and you’ll leave her beyond baffled. It might even melt her iciness and have her seeing you in a different light.

Float Her an Invite
Throwing a birthday bash or hosting a sleepover? Instead of keeping your guest list exclusive to a favored few, extend an invitation to your frenemy too. There’s no better way to say, “Hey, let’s get to know each other better.” The gesture will take her by surprise, and having your whole group as a buffer should ease any awkwardness.

Have Her Back
Get on her good side by, er, taking her side. Stick up for her the next time the class clown targets your frenemy, or when an untrue rumor has been spread at her expense. Showing her a bit of loyalty when she feels heated or helpless is a surefire way to soften the friction between the two of you.

Make Her Laugh
Get chummy with your frenemy by having a good laugh with her. A case of the giggles can break even the tensest situation and banish any bad feelings. So show off your funny side! The minute you two are chuckling, the vibe should totally delete any bad feelings of the past.

Lift Her Spirits
Can you sense your frenemy is a little down and out? Did she get cut from the field hockey team or sprain her ankle? Take an oh-so thoughtful approach and use your creative juices to construct a “feel better” card. She should be wowed and softened by your support through tough times and start seeing you as (dare we say it?) a friend.

You might not think you’re so pretty, but you’re wrong! In fact, all girls are beautiful. But if you’re going around feeling and acting all negative, well, few people will be able to actually see the awesome bag of gorgeous you’re packing. It’s like having a foggy downer cloud hovering all around you that obscures your true beauty.

Luckily, if you know how to feel good in your own skin, you’ll put off an amazing energy that is incredibly attractive. Give these beauty tips a try:

Bare Your Teeth
As in, smile! Nothing radiates your inner beauty like a big, genuine grin on your face. Even if you have a mouth full of braces, spread your happy vibes all over the place. (Hey, that rhymes!)

Not feeling it so much? Smile anyway: Studies show that smiling releases your body’s feel-good chemicals, called endorphins and serotonin, which will in turn make you happy. So even if you’re feeling down, don’t frown (on a rhyming roll!). Um, can you say “Cheese”?

Stand up Straight
When you slouch, you send a message that warns, “Back off -- I don’t feel so great about myself.” But when you pull your shoulders back and straighten out your stance, you command a whole lotta positive attention. Simply strut some non-arrogant but rock-solid confidence, and you will turn heads.

Be Healthy
A healthy body is fit and well-nourished. So do not -- we repeat, do not -- cut out any meals or work out like crazy to be ridiculously thin. Instead, eat lots of good-for-you foods, such as fruits, veggies, whole grains and low-fat proteins. And do fun things for exercise, like sports and roller skating. Your body will be in its best form ... and as an added bonus, your skin will emit a very radiant glow. You go!

Love Yourself
Here’s the thing -- if you don’t think you’re fabulous, the world will reflect that right back at you. So first thing every morning when you’re getting ready for school, look in the mirror, give yourself a big smile, and say, “Hello, gorgeous!”

This does not mean that you can act like you’re all better than everyone else. You’re not -- but remember, every girl is pretty in her own unique way. And that goes for you, too! Don’t ever forget it, OK?

@iStockphoto.com/damircudic

Yeah, boys can be baffling. That’s why this quiz is designed to help you figure out if you’re picking up on his signals. Hopefully, it’ll clear up some of the confusion about what’s going on in his head so you’re not scratching yours and going, “Huh!?!”

Photo: @iStockphoto.com/pink_cotton_candy

At some time or another, you’ll surely have to deal with the discomfort of “the friendship triangle.” Put three girls together and, well, it almost always spells triple t-r-o-u-b-l-e! Here, we take a brutally honest look at this friendship dynamic.

You’re the odd girl out
You’re the one being excluded? Bummer. It never feels good when you think you’re gonna have a good time with the girls and then find yourself tossed aside like a spare wheel. So ya know what? It’s this simple: Remove yourself from the situation. Call a parent to pick you up, go to another room, put on your ear buds -- whatever you’ve gotta do to ignore these meanies.

You’re not having fun, right? So why stick around and endure any more of their bad behavior? You could try to hang out with these two again another time, but if they continue to treat you like an outsider, it’s time to ice them out until they’re ready to play nice (if they ever are!).

You’re the instigator
OK, be honest: Are you the leader in this three-ring circus? Are you influencing one friend to oust the other? If so, stop that right now. Fact is you might think you’re in charge, but you’re actually completely out of control because you don’t even recognize what’s really going on -- which is that you are jealous.

Yep, we said it. You feel threatened, and so you’re turning your insecurities around on someone else. But you’d better rethink your actions. You see, the thing about friendship triangles is that they’re ever-shifting. It could all change tomorrow when it’s your turn to be the odd girl out (see above).

You’re stuck in the middle
So you’re good friends with both of these girls, but they’re just not hitting it off. First of all, do not let the instigator (above) influence you into ganging up on your other friend. It’s just wrong. You chose to be friends with both girls, so don’t be put in a position where you’re expected to pick sides.

Look, it is not your job to be the mediator -- so don’t even try. If these two refuse to get along, the advice here is similar to that we gave for the odd girl out: Walk away. Then hang out with Friend A and Friend B on separate days -- and refuse to get sucked into their drama!