So, recently our Mommy has been on a little kick...she wants to throw everything in the garbage.
This makes us sad...we like lots of STUFF!!
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| "Don't throw our STUFF away!" |
Anyway, when she put this poll on her blog, she was a little dismayed at the results (that's right, we know the word "dismayed"), but a little happy because she wasn't alone in the chaos that is called our Home.
Whoa! You guys are really messy! We don't feel so bad now about the state of our basement (although every time Daddy goes down there, he sighs and shakes his head...that can't be good).
Since it looks like you guys could use a few tips, that's what we have...a few tips. Seriously folks, we're taking baby steps.
Mommy has done a couple of things that have really simplified her life and we're going to share them with you...for free. We thought we could get paid, but Mommy said that was unethical...whatever that is.
- Living Area - The only thing Mommy can do right now is hope that Summer gets here fast. Our jackets have taken over and it's gross. Mommy and Daddy clean up every time we go to sleep, but it's not enough. We like to call this area Our Second Playroom. The one thing that Mommy did do to organize this area is put these cool hooks up in the coat closet. She hangs our school bags and Hailey's dance bag there and she says she "loves it." She says it gets them "outta her face." Seriously, Mom...they're just hooks.
- Kitchen - Mommy has followed through on her New Year's Resolution and kept up with her meal planning. We have 3.5 months of meals on our fridge and she's pretty proud of that. She moved a few things around too. She read somewhere that people should have access to the silverware and glasses without disturbing whoever is cooking (which is usually her). So, she moved the silverware into a different location and all of the utensils that were previously kept on the counter into a drawer. It's much neater and no one bothers her while she's cooking...that's always good. She also labels our leftovers with the date (omg...she uses this dorky labelmaker)...this is kind of "much" to us, but whatever...she likes it.
- Dining Room - This is our main eating area, but it doesn't get too messy. Mommy and Daddy got these shelves for our art stuff, so things have gotten a little nicer in here.
- Play Room/Family Room - fuhgettaboudit...always messy.
- Master Bedroom - a lost cause.
- Garage - we don't have one.
- Guest/Kid Bedroom - the one thing that we've noticed about our bedroom is that Mommy doesn't keep a ton of toys in here. There are a lot of books, but she mainly has us use our room for sleeping...not playing. She also throws clothes that don't fit into the hallway when she gets annoyed at our drawers (we share a dresser, so space is a precious commodity...we each only have one drawer for our everyday clothes). Then she puts the clothes into a bag in the guest room...it makes it easier when we're switching sizes because she can do it gradually. The guest room is pretty much neat when we're having visitors and becomes a "catch-all" when it's just us. We don't go in there too much unless there's a garbage truck coming down the street...that's pretty awesome.
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Most of you said "it's all a mess" which is disturbing to us! Your poor children!
Anyway, we just thought we'd share the baby steps that Mommy has taken. We're pretty sure she'd be happy if she could get rid of all of our toys, but that ain't happening...no way, no how.
Tell us about your baby steps...what keeps you sane on a daily basis?
15 comments:
Love the makeover! :) But I can't see your picture on the top. Did you see my one on the marcia unplugged blog? I'm feeling particularly chuffed about it :)
I also see you've been tidying up the blog - nice!!!!!!!
I have so much to say but my best tip is restrict the mess. Mine are only allowed to "play" (mess) in the open areas, so no bedrooms or bathrooms. I like that a little more than half the house is always a sanctuary.
It may be mean but my sanity is important, isn't it? :)
PS I reloaded a million times and NOW (finally) I can see the pic.
I finally cleaned yesterday - the dust bunnies were freaking scary monsters : )
Playroom -UGH! it makes me dizzy just thinking about it
Oh that face! I'm proud of your organization skills. I guess you saved them until now because they certainly weren't there when we used to share a room!
Good one, Manda
I "Spring Clean" at least 50 times in a year...doesn't take long for stuff to get back to the way it was. Of course when you have a husband and 3 year old daughter who have absolutely NO idea how to put stuff back where they got it...what can else can be expected? I'm OCD though, and big on organizing. I drive myself crazy trying to keep this place clean :)
I am cracking up at your sister's comment! : )
Our house is pretty much always a bit of a mess. We are working on paring down the "stuff", but it's definitely a process. The kitchen and laundry room are our catch-all rooms, so if I could get a system in place for those rooms, I would be much happier.
I'm not a good cleaner. We also don't have a family room so a lot of toys are in the bedrooms or in the living room. Hence the fact I love nice weather so we can play outside!!
The meals thing is impressive.
I'm in the "throw it away" category. We got rid of a few stuffed animals (I felt bad for a sec after Allie said all day "horsey outside!!" yes, in the big blue trash can)
Besides the nights I just don't want to put their toys up, I also just clean up after they go to bed. If I'm really tired there's kind of a triage deal (kitchen is always first, etc)
We have toys in bedrooms, living room, and a toy room. Three kids' toys are an explosion. The area in the living room is behind the couches which means we don't actually see it.
The girls share a room and one dresser. We put in an extra shelf in the closet for their shirts and dresses, they each have their own rack. We had to put their pj's in a plastic drawer system in E's closet. Girls just have too much stuff.
My house is a mess. I can't find time to pee, much less clean every nook and cranny. I have asked for a maid service for my birthday though.
It is what it is. Oh well.
Our guest bedroom is the catch-all too (in addition to being hubby's office space). Cuts down some on overnight visits from MIL though! :)
That room is next on my to-do list. Going to build a computer workspace and install a Murphy bed so that it is a full-time office and I can reclaim my dining room table from his paperwork!
I was just thinking the other day that I need to put up hooks for the kids' coats and backpacks - right now they just thrown them down in a pile in the corner of the living room, which drives me nuts but its also a pain to get them in/out of the closet every day when they can put them on themselves while i'm busy getting ready to go out the door, too.
I totally stole your cubby idea for the kids' art stuff. I was going to wait until we were done with the living room remodel but I couldn't stand it anymore. Its sooooo much better now!! woo hoo!
3.5 MONTHS of meals planned? Hell...we don't even have tomorrow figured out! (we sometimes go a week or two planned but not lately)
I don't have many toys in the kids' rooms either. Mostly books. The only "Toy" is the doll house.
We totally need to clear our the storage room in our basement and weed through stuff and organize it all better! Out of sight, out of mind right now...
3.5 months' worth of meals planned...wow! You crazies oughtta be impressed with your mother. You could live at my house where we pretty much wing it every night. You think your house is a chaotic mess? You'll appreciate your mama so much more after you've been here, trust me on that!!!
Sounds awesome. you rock!
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