But for a moment, I just wanted to relish in what a nice day we had. After I thought it over, I think I realized why it was just so darn nice:
the house is clean.
That's it. We had friends over on Sunday, so that resulted in a cleanin blitzkrieg on the main floor. Then today, after breakfast, I cleaned the kitchen. After lunch, I cleaned the kitchen. For the past couple of days, I've had the kids go through the main floor to do a quick pick up just before quiet time and bedtime. Since there are very, very, VERY few toys out, the place gets picked up rather quickly.
And everyone is happy.
I've come to realize that I am a very visual person. Clutter drives me nuts. Unfortunatley, not enough to always keep it at bay. I live with it, until I realize how nice it would be to live without it, but when its here, I'm uneasy. Like being jacked up on caffiene without the benefit of breakfast. Edgy, yet unable to accomplish anything. Not the best place to be.
Wow. I wish I realized this one earlier! But for now, it works for me!
Now, off to the market to purchase some chicken to make an afghani inspired dinner for the hubs. I think I"ll have some tamer options for the kids as well. :) (Yes, Kathleen, they will be encouraged to eat the good stuff, but I do want James to eat tonight! ;) )
4 comments:
I hear ya on the mess. I can't wait until we move and I will banish all toys to the playroom, never to be in my sight again (unless I dare enter the playroom). I keep telling myself that then I will be able to keep our house neat. I hope I'm right.:)
I honestly think it will work! Right now, the kids have legos and trains out. That's it. That's all they want! They'll go bounce downstairs on the mooon bounce, or run around and chase each other, right now they are painting, but --its amazing -- the really DON'T need all those toys! Unbelievable! :)
So did you get rid of most of your toys? Or just put them away somewhere? I'm very tempted to give away at least half of the toys when we move. I don't even think they play with half of them!
Here's the thing, ladies, I often pick up toys that are randomly hanging about (IN EVERY ROOM!) and I put them in bins. I then take the bins and put them either in my room where they won't see them, or in the basement guest room where I can lock the door. Now, if they ask for a specific toy that they have noticed missing, then I will give it to them. If not, after a while, I begin to get rid of them.
The trick is "out of sight, out of mind". However, I think back to my own childhood (being one of only 2 kids) and I remember a lot of my toys. I do not want to rob them of toys that they really enjoy. I just try to get rid of all the silly clutter toys that they never seem to have much interest in.
One thing that drives me crazy is McDonalds Happy Meal toys. UGH! I HATE those plastic pieces of crap. So on the rare occasion that they do get McDonalds, I always take the toys out. For a while there, we had WAY too many cheap McD's toys. Limit the clutter before it even comes in the house!
A main stay for us is anything Little People. And each kid has their own "special" toys that I would never get rid of. It's just all the random silly little toys that can easily be taken without them noticing. i.e. the snatch and hide method. After a while, sort through the toys that have been hidden for a while, and get rid of a bunch! This is a year round thing, but it kicks into high-gear a few weeks before Christmas to make room for the new stuff. Out with the old, in with the new!
And now I am done making Lauren-sized comments on your blog! ;)
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