Getting It Together

Now that I've been back to work for a while (and the pukes are gone), John and I have been trying to get a little bit of order in our lives.

John is spending his weekends replacing some of the insulation in the attic, putting down plywood, and going through the junk in the basement in the hopes of putting some of the crap downstairs UPSTAIRS. So what if it just looks like our basement crap has been SHIFTED to different spots of the basement? It's shifted with PURPOSE, OK?

In doing MY part of this task, I've been helping him go through the crap and decide what to keep and what to give away/throw out. I'm just not the clutter hog that I used to be, and I really don't have a problem getting rid of most of it. OUT! OUT, I SAY!

I've also decided that it's time to step up the children's chores a bit. First, I need to be a bit more firm in the chores getting done WEEKLY. This is hard when on any given week/weekend we could have any given list of activities going on--sometimes *I* don't have time to get chores done, how can I keep on the kids? So, I don't bark at them to clean when *I'm* not cleaning. (One thing that HAS to get done: the bunny cages have to get cleaned. Many empty threats of getting rid of the bunnies are happening lately.... I wish they weren't so darn stinky!)

Anyway, last weekend I decided to teach both Keith and Mary how to do the dishes. Not just unloading the dishwasher (which both of them have been doing for ages), but ALSO loading them, and washing the stuff that can't go/won't fit in the dishwasher, and cleaning off the tables and counter tops, etc. Guess who's the biggest help here? Keith! He absolutely LOVES to help me do the dishes! He just can't wait until it's his turn. But Mary. Oh, MARY. When it's her turn I'm guaranteed to get a temper tantrum with red face, tears, and lots of "mumble wumble" under her breath. Oh, the poor, little Cinderella! This confirms the fact that I should have shown her how to do the dishes ages ago.... Man, I'm mean!

I'm forcing us all to make a habit of this. Eat dinner, wash dishes, then PACK LUNCHES (if time!), then get ready for bed. NOW the kids have ALL THIS EXTRA TIME in the morning to just GOOF OFF instead of having John get onto them about packing their lunches....

It's been...wonderful. Really, really wonderful. A clean kitchen every night. And the kids are ready more quickly in the morning. And...well, we may actually get to put the Christmas decorations away in the attic by spring (*cough*).

Wish me luck in keeping this habit going. Next step: more forceful insistence on the weekly chores. Again: baby steps.