This week I decided it was TIME to get the house back in shape & since the kids are out of school for the Summer, I decided to put them to work helping me. The kids in question are 9 and 11, so they are big enough to really help with a lot of the organizing & cleaning around the house.
Ever since school got out almost 6 weeks ago, our kitchen table has been buried in papers, art supplies, books & other things that don't even belong in the kitchen. The chairs have also gotten more than their share of messes.
Today, the kids & I finally sorted through all their books & papers. We found homes for the art supplies & then I let Maggie take the worst chairs out on the deck to wash them down with Murphy's Oil soap while Morgan got to give the table a total scrub. A trick I learned a LONG time ago was that if I want them to willingly help, I either have to bribe them or the task I want them to do needs to be something they LIKE doing. Washing the table & the chairs down with Murphy's Oil soap is one of those things my kids LOVE to do....maybe because I only let them do it 3 or 4 times a year & it sometimes involves using a spray bottle too.
Tomorrow, I may break out the pledge & "let" them dust.
1 comment:
Can you come help me sort through my papers? I still have all of my notes from AP High School classes! Gasp!
Anyway, thanks for commenting on my guest post at OurLifeUpstate! I hope you will stop by my blog for more tutorial fun!
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