5 Steps to a Clean Bedroom in 10 Minutes

I recently read this hilarious post with tips on how to get your kids to clean their bedroom in just 10 minutes. Impossible? Read on and try it yourself. I'm simplifying the steps here for my future reference.

Step 1: Clear and Make the Bed (1-2 minutes) - the room will look neater already!

Step 2: Put All Clothes on the Bed (2 minutes) - don't sort, just pile them up. Yes, on the nice, neat bed.

Step 3: Gather Items that Belong IN the Room (2 minutes) - put in a basket to put away afterward

Step 4: Get Rid of the Garbage (2 minutes) - and collect items that do NOT belong in the room

Step 5: Separate the Clothing (2 minutes) - put clean clothes away, dirty clothes in the hamper

Here's a problem though…if there's not a place for everything in your child's room, they will never know where to put certain things. For instance, in Jason's new room, I dumped out a bunch of stuffed animals to use the mesh basket for his laundry hamper. There is now a pile of stuffed animals in the corner. Do they belong in his room? Probably not, but we no longer have a playroom, so I have no idea where to put them. That is a problem I need to solve in order for his room to be "clean".

Getting Settled Back Into our Same Ol' House

To say that we got a lot done this weekend is a massive understatement. We had virtually nothing planned for the 3-day holiday weekend and I was thrilled. Equally relieved to have a little downtime and excited to tackle some projects around the house.

Over the past few months, as our potential cross-country move lingered in the air, the to-do list grew and grew. After Christmas, I spent so much time decluttering to prepare the house to be on the market, all other tasks fell by the wayside. It just seemed silly to organize anything, when I knew I would just be packing it up and moving as soon as the house sold, so closets and cabinets slowly turned into one disaster after another.

The garage was so crammed with empty boxes (and some that I'd already started packing) that Mike has had to park outside for months. It became our dumping ground for keeping the house realtor-ready and it was a nightmare! 

Since taking the house off the market, the empty boxes are gone, but I still hadn't unpacked anything. Until this weekend, that is. I suddenly had to make space for things that I've been doing without…beach towels, 3 large boxes of personal pictures, board games, etc.

I started this weekend with a very long list of things in my head. Tasks that seemed daunting, but I wanted them done. I figured that if we had gone through with the move to Dallas, we would have had pictures to hang, curtains to put up, furniture to arrange, closets to organize, and plenty of boxes to unpack. 

We are no longer moving, so finishing up the loose-ends around the house seemed doable. We needed to settle back into our home again. 

Saturday morning, I went to breakfast with some friends while Mike played baseball at the park with the kids. We relaxed when I came home, then I started asking favors. "Let's move Jason's bed into his new room" and "I wonder how long it would take to fix Ryan's dresser drawer?" Before long, Ryan and Mike were working upstairs while I tackled tasks downstairs. 

After church on Sunday, we went to Lowe's with a list. Jason awoke at 5:30am with the rising sun in his new yellow room. He desperately needed shades on his windows!  And while we were there, I wanted to gram rods to hang my bathroom curtains…and the laundry room lightbulb was out…as were lights in other parts of the house…and Kaylin wants to paint her room…we were there for more than an hour. When we got home, we had plenty to keep us busy! Then the projects continued today. 

Here are a few before and after pictures of work we did…

Before: The old playroom (new schoolroom) closet

After: The new schoolroom closet

Before: The shoe/utility/outdoor closet 

After: Some shoes still on the door (moved the rest to their bedrooms) and games/hobbies/crafts

Before: The upstairs schoolroom

Afte: Jason's new room (the lighting in both pictures is horrible!)

Before: The old schoolroom closet (it had become a hiding space for junk when people were coming to see the house)

After: Jason's new closet

We got so much done this weekend! The garage is cleaner than it's ever been. We brought donations to Good Will, I made appointments for a guy to come fix my windshield next week and for someone else to give us a quote on new garage cabinets, Mike fixed a cabinet door that Jason's been using as a step stool, all of the boxed I had packed are now empty and given away. I still have many pictures yet to hang, but I'm considering completely changing how I have displayed pictures in the past…so that might take another couple of weeks.

Our weekend wasn't all work and no play. We went to the movies, went to lunch after church on Sunday, Mike played baseball and basketball with the kids, we played Go Fish and Memory and baked cookies, we had sleepovers with the kids complete with pillow fights. Kaylin even painted a canvas for her new room.

It was a full weekend…tons accomplished mixed with plenty of fun activities. We will finish up school this week and take the month of June off before jumping into our new school year after the 4th of July weekend. 

During our short break from school, I think we're going to repaint Kaylin's room and give her a bigger girl theme. I'll finish decorating Jason's new room, maybe hang some pictures in Ryan's room. I'll have plenty to keep me busy!

Reduce Summer Stress with a Daily LIST

I love getting random ideas that help my family!  Last night, I was watching a new show on TLC, when I heard the dad tell his kids to "make a list". They had things to do and, instead of telling them what to do or making the list for them, he had THEM make their OWN list. He approved it, sent them on their way, then told the camera that he, "...loves being the 'Yes Man'" and just wants to be the rubber stamper. No micromanaging? No begging, bribing, or nagging? Genius!

This morning, I tried it on my kids. I took Jason to run errands and left the big kids at home to do their chores and get started on their schoolwork. Before I left, I had them make a list.

I learned from this dad that "clean the kitchen" wasn't specific enough, so I forewarned them that they'd need to include details like, "Load the dishwasher, wipe counters, vacuum under the table", etc.

By making their own list, I believe my kids will learn responsibility, independence and (hopefully) won't be as resentful for the work they're given. 

After I got home, almost everything was done and my kids were beaming with pride. By making a daily list, I really think they'll learn to have a sense of accomplishment after each item is crossed off and an end to the work, instead of constantly having to check in with me or, worse, feeling micromanaged and nagged after every little task.

With everyone getting out of school this month, I think this list thing is going to be the way to go in our family. We're only taking a month off of homeschooling, not the whole summer, so the kids can know that they will need to make a list and get it all done before playing with friends. And maybe this will keep the doorbell from ringing at 8:15am for weeks on end while we're trying to tackle spelling words!