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How to say don't make a place ugly/untidy?

I have seen "Don't litter" boards in Railway stations; but can we use it in other places like, "Don't litter your room/car (keep it clean)"

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Don't litter your room/car

sounds strange to me.

I have heard

  1. Don't clutter (up) your room/car.
  2. Don't dirty (up) your room/car.
  3. Don't keep/make a mess in your room/car.


However, instead of using "Don't", I would say

Keep your room/car clean.

This seems very natural to me.

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    Litter is a funny kind of word, with two senses. It can mean either "to carelessly dispose of trash", as in "Don't litter", in which case it's intransitive, or "to be scattered around as trash", as in "Cigarette butts littered the floor", in which case it's transitive. I think this is why "Don't litter X" sounds strange - it's an imperative, but it looks transitive, which is the wrong sense.
    – stangdon
    Commented Jun 23, 2016 at 12:23
  • That's very interesting. Thanks for the insight. I also have a feeling that there might be regional differences where this instance of "litter" might actually sound fine.
    – Em.
    Commented Jun 23, 2016 at 12:41
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To answer your question, yes you can say "dont litter your room/car" as that is correct. However, litter does not mean the same thing as ugly/untidy. You could have a beautiful litter or a tidy trash.

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Here in germany you often hear:

Don't mess up my room/car/etc.

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