Neat Freak Rule #79: Find Something That Needs to be Done and DO IT (Teaching Initiative)

With Christmas creeping up on us like a freight train, my house has been in complete disarray. Bags with gifts that need to be hidden and wrapped, random toys and blankets and items strung all over the house, shoes kicked off, coats on the floor, not to mention incoming Christmas cards and cookie platters from neighbors…sometimes I look around and want to freak out. 

But I don't. On the outside.

Instead, from time to time, I have the kids stop what they're doing and ask them to spend 5 minutes picking up. If I'm not in the mood to bark orders, I'll tell them to "find something that needs to be done and do it." 

Most of the time I delegate: "Ryan...please take out the trash and recycle bins, Kaylin…empty the dishwasher, Jason…put away this pile of laundry." But it occurred to me recently that they might not see the mess that I see because I'm always micromanaging HOW and WHAT they clean. Is it possible to train their eyes to see what I see? 

I have no idea, but I'm going to try. The first few times I heard, "Everything's done!" before they'd even started. Now that they realize I'm not letting them off the hook that easily, they take more initiative to find things to pick up, put away, load/unload, or otherwise tidy.  

Considering the fact that I'm not the primary one making these completely unnecessary messes (*cough* JASON *cough*), I don't feel the need to constantly be tidying what others destroy. Until everyone is officially in the habit of picking up after themselves (will that day EVER come?) then we all need to tackle the tasks together. Plus, it goes faster when everyone pitches in!