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Teaching Them To Separate the Laundry

Let me start off by saying, "I don't like doing laundry." It's mindless and, like dishes, it is done daily. That is my life. So now and again, I try to come up with new ideas to make my life easier. I mean, come on, aren't we all?

With that said...

It occurred to me last week that all of my kids were old enough to separate laundry, even my two four year olds. They know what is white and what has color in it. I figured it was about time to make my life that much easier. So, I took out the big laundry basket under the desk and replaced it with two trash cans that I had NOT been using downstairs for the same purpose. (And yes, I do not separate dark and color clothes, deal with it)

I am happy to say that it has worked like a charm. The cool thing is one full bucket DOES equal one full load. It's nice and easy to ask the older ones to carry down a full basket and dump it in the washer. I think I may even type up an instruction sheet on the wall so they can start the laundry themselves without having to ask me ANY questions. (If I do, I'll post later!}

So there you go. The latest thing I'm doing to make my life and laundry just a little bit easier! Do you have any ideas for me? I know I could use all the help I could get!!!

My House Is Calling Me For Help!

This weekend will be dedicated to cleaning... how fun! Life has been a bit hectic and the house has been the victim of it all!

So, after watching Oprah last night... Into The Life of Hoarders, I have the need to organize. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Think clean and organized thoughts. LIke Peter Walsh said, "All you need to do is walk around the house with two bags, one for trash and one for donations. If you can do this everyday for two weeks, that's 14 bags, and you will de-clutter your house without it being overwhelming."

Sounds like a plan to me!!! Try it, you might make your life a bit easier as well. Let me know how it goes!

Rocky

Color Me This

Who left this on the counter?

If you have more than one kid, the dishes can get ridiculous. Just the drinking glasses can be horrific. They did for me. My four boys would use 3 to 4 cups each on any given Saturday. Forget about the “I didn’t leave that cup outside” arguments. It was crazy. The amount of yellow cups sitting on counters, tables, and the front yard sidewalk had tipped me over the edge.

What was I gonna do? Especially when we were going to add two more to the group. I decided to designate colors to each of them. In chronological order, J has blue, N has yellow, I has orange, Z has green, M has turquoise, and baby S has pink. I didn’t stop at cups. I have snack plates and bowls (thanks to IKEA) toothbrushes, straws, but the best one in the history of the world... TOWELS!

How many times have you said, in a not-so-pleasant tone, “Who left their towel on the floor AGAIN?” That doesn’t happen here anymore. If I see the green towel on the floor, I know who to blame. If I feel the blue toothbrush and it is dry as a bone, I know who to remind. If I see that yellow cup across the street at the neighbors, I know who is busted. It is a beautiful thing that I have created.

It makes life, everyone’s life, easier. It keeps the kids in check and it means less work for me. It’s good for them becuase it teaches them to take responsiblity for their own stuff. The downside is that when our three year old was a two year old, he couldn’t name the colors, but if you held up a yellow cup, he could tell you whose it was!

A Happy Mommy means a Happy Home!

Muthahood Ain’t For Sissies | Motherhood Ain’t For Sissies

Organizing The Perfect Playroom!

I am a very lucky woman to have one of these special rooms. If I didn’t, I would double-up, triple-up, even quadruple-up kids so I could turn a bedroom into a playroom. I believe in the “no toys in the bedroom” way of living. Why would I send my kid to a Matchbox-Lego-Barbie-TV-VCR-DVD-Computer-PlayStation filled room when they get in trouble?

By the way, we do have a computer for the kids in the kitchen, which is mine, and a TV/DVD player in the playroom. However, I am ANTI Nintendo, GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation, blah blah blah. I did buy the Ms. Pacman Plug and Play. (I’VE ROCKED ON MS. PAC MAN SINCE I WAS A KID, AND MY KIDS THINK I AM WAAAY COOL... SAY I’M A GAMER. THAT‘S RIGHT... A GAMER!!!)

Back to the subject at hand. Organizing the Playroom.
I started off by separating all the toys into different categories. Blocks, Legos, Cars, Animals, Super Heroes, etc. Then, I headed down to Ikea and bought these great shelving units (about $80) with buckets that slide in and out. So, If you want to play with blocks, you know where they are! I picked buckets I couldn’t see through. Why? It just looks messy when you can see the toys!! I know your asking, “Well how in the hell did you know which bucket had which toy?” Simple my friend, I labeled them. Then I realized I had a problem. Three years ago, I only had one child that could read!! Solution? I took pictures of the toys inside the buckets and taped them to the front! Check it out!

Now I know that probably seems SOOOO time consuming. It was. It took me days to get the damn shelves built, then separate and photograph all those wonderful little toys!!

THERE IS A HUGE PLUS TO ALL THE TIME I SPENT DOING THIS!!

My kids know exactly where everything is - even the three year old. I rarely get, “Mommy, I can‘t find my Buzz Lightyear!” Why not? Because it is in the Buzz Lightyear box, with the Buzz Lightyear photo on the front!!!! Get it?

The best part of my set-up is... cleanup!! My kids know where things go. When friends come to visit... they know what and where to put all the toys as well!! Slap a picture on your buckets and your world will change.

When the kids can clean up by themselves, Mommy gets to hang out a little longer!

Muthahood Ain’t For Sissies | Motherhood Ain’t For Sissies

Who Says a Three Year Old Can’t Vacuum!

I love Sundays. I love them for many reasons... our weekly family meetings, no cooking for mommy, and it is also Ice Cream Sunday. But I love them the most because we clean house as a family. If we do it together, it gets done faster. In the process, we teach our kids responsibility and cooperation.

My husband and I tackle the 1st floor ourselves. The four boys, on the other hand, have almost all responsibility for the upstairs. The playroom, bedrooms, hallways and their bathroom are theirs to clean. They also put their own laundry away. It is up to them to decide who will clean what. For the older boys (11 and 6) they alternate who will vacuum their bedroom or the playroom. They are responsible for making their own beds and cleaning off their desks. For the younger two (5 and 3) they make their beds, put their laundry away and vacuum their room. Then there is the bathroom. They work together to clean this room. “I’ll clean the toilet one yells.” “I’ll do the mirrors,” another one calls out. It works pretty well for us. And, one less bathoom for me to clean!

I remember a few years back my mother-in-law stopped by and I was a liitle frazzled. It was house cleaning day. (We had just started this weekly ritual a few weeks before and had not perfected it yet!) I told her I was having a hard time with getting the kids to vaccuum. She then told me, “Rocky, most three year olds don’t vacuum.” I had to stop and laugh at myself. “I know, I know,” I responded.

Were my expectations a little high for my gang? Probably.

But two years later... I have boys that know how to clean a bathroom and operate a vacuum and who do it without complaining!

Muthahood Ain’t For Sissies | Motherhood Ain’t For Sissies