Well, today, it became a team effort. Whether the clutter had just reached epic proportions or Jay and I were just both home and inside at the same time or the fact that we had two middle daughters trying to prove that they didn't need a nap, we finally got rooms picked up.
- The downstairs living room is vacuum-able. Since it was overtaken by Barbies, baby dolls and blankets during our little storm Friday night, that's quite the accomplishment.
- The upstairs living room is also vacuum-able, and all the books are back on the bookshelf.
- You can walk through the playroom. I don't expect much in that room, but there better not be any place for rodents to hide, and I need to be able to walk through the room in the dark.
- The clean clothes are all put away, including towels. Oh, but not socks. Socks are a contant epic battle, and right now the score is Socks-300; Mom-0.
- The bathrooms are picked up, both toilets and sinks cleaned, and one bathtub shower cleaned. My sinuses just wouldn't allow me to tackle a second shower.
- The dryer is out of my kitchen. Long story, but I'm so darn happy it's gone, and to a good home.
- The new-to-us washer is in the laundry room and runs batches of towels without traveling across the room.
- Two sets of bedding are washed and beds remade.
- Clothes are set out for the week.
- The kitchen was clean and sterilized, ready for jelly making. But, Jay needed cookies more than peach jam this week.
- And, it's all Jay, but he got the nest off the top of the chimney and discovered a problem with our sewer vents. Guess what his project is for next week?
- Maggie and Katie cleaned their rooms and sorted out the clothes that were too small or out of season. Maggie ended up with all her clothes in her dresser, which is quite the accomplishment.
- sweep the wood floors in the living room, foyer, landing, and both stairs
- sweep the kitchen and dining room and both bathrooms
- mop the kitchen and dining room and both bathrooms
- vacuum the few rooms with carpet
- move out the old-to-us washer that's in the kitchen
- finish two more batches of laundry
- finish picking up the foyer
- clean the downstairs shower
- DUST (B,ut no reason to bother until fall harvest and free dump week is done. All that traffic on a dirt road means everything gets coated anyway.)
- get the tubs of clothes in the upstairs storage closet, and
- get to the landfill this week, during "free dump week"
Now, if only I can get the girls to keep it up. What a dream! Any suggestions for a fun way to motivating them, if only for a week or two?
2 comments:
I have no idea what things you have tried to keep the kids motivated with cleaning, but here's our latest. We made a chore chart and the kids get allowance if everything is done. Some of the chores are daily, some rotate between kids each day, and some are weekly. The chores are the kinds of things that used to go undone frequently or that I did but hated--not things that they were already expected to do. The chores depend on their age and capability; the youngest has the least but his allowance is also half ($2/week vs. $4).
In practice it works pretty well and their chores all get done with a lot less arguing. Allowance is paid via a "debit card" from the Bank of Mom (an index card that I keep in my wallet with a running total for each kid). Allowance gets added up once a month now because weekly was too much for my brain. I try really hard not to limit what they spend their allowance on but candy and more Pokemon cards get a stern "really?!?" from me. ;)
Wow! You accomplished a lot ... and with a sinus infection?!? I had one sinus infection, and I think it still ranks as the sickest I've ever been and the worst I've ever felt. Yucky!
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