Things are about to change around here again! This time definitely for the better.
We are putting the finishing touches on Grandpa's new room, and if everything goes as hoped, he should be moved in by Wednesday at the latest. Here's hoping...
That means we'll be back in ours! Hooray!!
It's been about 2 1/2 months since I last slept in MY bed. In MY room. It's been so long that I don't miss it any more. I've actually forgotten what my bed feels like.
There is a long list of positives that will result from this new arrangement. But I will only mention four here today.
First and foremost, everyone will have their own space again. This has been a large contributor to elevated stress levels around here, so I am more than relieved to have some designated private space again.
A second and enormous benefit will be getting back the arrangement for putting everyone's clothes where they belong. No more will I be finding things like my sweaters and shirts in Grandpa's drawers. Everything in his new room will be entirely his, so that will lesson his opportunities for confusion in this area significantly. In fact we are not even giving him drawers. (Except in his side table.) To better facilitate him finding his things with ease we are just using a simple shelf system and shallow baskets so that everything is easily visible.
A third but closely related benefit is that since everyone's clothes will have proper places to be put away again, I may be able to get my laundry situation somewhat under control again.
I currently have all but given up on the laundry. It's everywhere it's not supposed to be, clean and dirty all fraternizing on the floors I haven't swept because there's too many clothes on them! I stopped folding it because there is nowhere to put it away. I stopped washing because there was nowhere to put the clean clothes; all my baskets, beds and couches are currently full of people. (The baskets obviously are full of clothes, not people!) But of course that doesn't stop the dirty pile from growing. And growing! And GROWING to the point that it now looks like some giant monster vomited dirty laundry all over my pantry. I literally cannot get to the peanut butter or spaghetti without wading through our unmentionables! (Eeeeww, Judy, that's just gross!)
I am kidding, but it is taking over in there.
I wash the essentials as needed. As in, the person in the shower is waiting for a towel to come out of the dryer, and the kids have to swim through the unfolded baskets in search of clean underwear. It's truly pathetic. But I can now see the light at the end of that long, dark, stinky laundry tunnel. End of rant.
On a more successful note (!), I have finally found a phrase that clearly conveys to my big kids how I want them to make a room look when they pick it up. The floor at least. I now tell them:
"I want you to pick up everything off the floor except the furniture and large household items. I want the floor to be ready for me to sweep, and I will assume that any items left there when I sweep are trash. So if you would like to keep it: Pick. It. Up!"
So far, this has actually worked remarkably well. For a few minutes anyway, before someone (usually Kit) inevitably scatters something (like the newspaper Grandpa is still reading) across the floor again.
Yeah, she's quite the spitfire!
Good ole' number four! Ah, how long we've waited for a second bathroom! Indeed, it will be nice when only the five of us are sharing a bathroom again instead of six. Yes, ironic isn't it! All of the benefits the rest of us gain by one person having an entirely new space that the rest of us do not get to use are, well, numerous. (Potty emergencies will be easier now at least.)
Hopefully a few other wrinkles will get ironed out by this new arrangement, and perhaps a healthy routine based on forward progress will emerge. This is opposed to the current one which is based solely on making it through the day without getting swallowed by the laundry oozing out all over the floors!
And since babies and their feet and Lego cities are way more awesome than laundry, I have included pictures of these instead!
We are putting the finishing touches on Grandpa's new room, and if everything goes as hoped, he should be moved in by Wednesday at the latest. Here's hoping...
That means we'll be back in ours! Hooray!!
 |
| Yes, I do believe applause is in order! |
There is a long list of positives that will result from this new arrangement. But I will only mention four here today.
First and foremost, everyone will have their own space again. This has been a large contributor to elevated stress levels around here, so I am more than relieved to have some designated private space again.
A second and enormous benefit will be getting back the arrangement for putting everyone's clothes where they belong. No more will I be finding things like my sweaters and shirts in Grandpa's drawers. Everything in his new room will be entirely his, so that will lesson his opportunities for confusion in this area significantly. In fact we are not even giving him drawers. (Except in his side table.) To better facilitate him finding his things with ease we are just using a simple shelf system and shallow baskets so that everything is easily visible.
A third but closely related benefit is that since everyone's clothes will have proper places to be put away again, I may be able to get my laundry situation somewhat under control again.
Where I Deviate for a Brief Laundry Rant
I currently have all but given up on the laundry. It's everywhere it's not supposed to be, clean and dirty all fraternizing on the floors I haven't swept because there's too many clothes on them! I stopped folding it because there is nowhere to put it away. I stopped washing because there was nowhere to put the clean clothes; all my baskets, beds and couches are currently full of people. (The baskets obviously are full of clothes, not people!) But of course that doesn't stop the dirty pile from growing. And growing! And GROWING to the point that it now looks like some giant monster vomited dirty laundry all over my pantry. I literally cannot get to the peanut butter or spaghetti without wading through our unmentionables! (Eeeeww, Judy, that's just gross!)
I am kidding, but it is taking over in there.
I wash the essentials as needed. As in, the person in the shower is waiting for a towel to come out of the dryer, and the kids have to swim through the unfolded baskets in search of clean underwear. It's truly pathetic. But I can now see the light at the end of that long, dark, stinky laundry tunnel. End of rant.
Making Myself Clear
On a more successful note (!), I have finally found a phrase that clearly conveys to my big kids how I want them to make a room look when they pick it up. The floor at least. I now tell them:
"I want you to pick up everything off the floor except the furniture and large household items. I want the floor to be ready for me to sweep, and I will assume that any items left there when I sweep are trash. So if you would like to keep it: Pick. It. Up!"
So far, this has actually worked remarkably well. For a few minutes anyway, before someone (usually Kit) inevitably scatters something (like the newspaper Grandpa is still reading) across the floor again.
Yeah, she's quite the spitfire!
And Now Back to My Original List
Good ole' number four! Ah, how long we've waited for a second bathroom! Indeed, it will be nice when only the five of us are sharing a bathroom again instead of six. Yes, ironic isn't it! All of the benefits the rest of us gain by one person having an entirely new space that the rest of us do not get to use are, well, numerous. (Potty emergencies will be easier now at least.)
Hopefully a few other wrinkles will get ironed out by this new arrangement, and perhaps a healthy routine based on forward progress will emerge. This is opposed to the current one which is based solely on making it through the day without getting swallowed by the laundry oozing out all over the floors!
And since babies and their feet and Lego cities are way more awesome than laundry, I have included pictures of these instead!
Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!
It's amazing how quickly laundry gets out of hand! Before I had kids, I read somewhere that when you have kids, you have 7 times the amount of laundry. I believe it!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was little, my mom used to tell us, "Clean your room and in 10 minutes I'll be coming in with the broom." She'd sweep up all of the toys that were left on the floor. I eventually lost all of my legos this way, but I also learned a lesson!