Okay, so this is going to be very hard to post...very embarrassing. But, it's time for a wake-up call. Upstairs is pretty much the kid's domain. The boys share the large room up there, and the girls sleep in one of the small rooms, and their toys are in the other small room. We call them the "purple and pink room" respectively. Now we only have one full bath, and that's upstairs, so my hubby and I do have to go up there to shower. But, for the most part, the kids rule all up there. Now, I have unfortunately let things get out of hand. They are supposed to clean their rooms daily, but I do not always check up on them. I forget myself, on really busy days. Sometimes I don't go up there at night either, because we read stories downstairs, and then the kids put themselves to bed. My husband goes up there everyday to shower after work, but I have been really stressed out lately, and he has been kind enough not to say a word about the condition of it up there. The kids seem to have it fairly descent, although not what I really want, when I go up in the morning to shower. (or they have their doors shut) But during the day, tornado's must happen, because this is what I went upstairs to this morning....brace yourself....
AAAHHHHHHH!!! It's horrible, I know. We've been on spring break the last two weeks, and I think this was slowly developing without me noticing the severity of it. When we aren't doing school, the kids have a lot more time on their hands during the day to make big messes like this. Hubby and I have been working so hard on the outside of the house too, that we must have just turned a blind eye to what was going on up here. The grass from the Easter baskets has overflown and is all over the floor of every room upstairs except for the bathroom. Toys and clothes are EVERYWHERE! The boy's room wasn't too bad, but I noticed at least half of the stuff in the hallway was theirs. Goodness gracious! NO LONGER!
I AM TAKING BACK THE UPSTAIRS!
I have already started working on it, and will continue on it all weekend until it's just the way I want it! Then, I will disciple myself to check up on their "cleaning" every night. Needless to say, we are going to be making a couple trips to a donation drop-off! Come back Monday, please, please, so you can see the clean, organized rooms I once had, and will have again!
Depending on how old the kids are, this should be a project they need to do themselves. You doing it for them gives them no room to discipline themselves and learn from their actions. (granted I know its just playing with toys but they need to be responsible for their own messes)I say let them do it themselves!! Give them a half hour to clean it up or else everything left on the floor (after that half hour) will be donated to charity. If your kiddos are too small then yeah mom has to do it but then keep an eye up there for messes. All in all our home has looked like that too. Your home is lived in :) It's normal!! Have a blessed weekend, I'll check back on Monday too. ~Amy PD Come to my blog and join the party!
ReplyDeleteWell, unfortunately, a 2 and just 5 year old, can't do all this by theirself. It's going to take me hours and that's way too much for them to handle! They are helping, but the whole point of me doing it, is so it can be sorted through, organized and so I fan figure out what we need to keep, and what needs to be donated. They can't do that by themselves. The boys are doing their room on their own, just like always, and I have told them that anything (expensive or not) that doesn't find a good home in their room, is going to be donated.
ReplyDeleteI can live with a house that is lived in, but I can't live in one that resembles more of a barn. Actually, I have an aunt who's barn is cleaner than my upstairs!
Yeah I was picking up after the kiddos when they were younger too, whew, but boy oh boy now that my oldest ones are 12 and almost 9, they do it on their own. Big difference when they're older. You're right a 2 and a 5 year old are too young. Sorry mom. I'm wishing you happy sorting!! :)
ReplyDeleteGood job for you!! You can do it, sweetie. I know it's so hard to post the pictures etc. But God gives grace to the humble, which I KNOW you are--and godly too! When I was overwhelmed, I failed to go the kids' area in the basement. Just going up there once or twice a day will help it stay picked up and let the kids know you care about them.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think you should help them. They are too young to be expected to keep up everything without supervision. But they aren't too young to help out and keep a workable system going. It's training that is going on also--not just a perfect house. Which reminds me, I am dealing with these issues in my own life, with my own kids. Love you sister!
I think pretty much every mom has had to deal with this at sometime in her life (I know my mom did LOL). It's just another reminder that, to teach our children discipline we need to be disciplined ourselves, and we need to keep them accountable for their respective responsibilities. Kids will be kids, for sure, but being part of a family means everyone learns to pitch in and help. Your little girls are too young for such a big project but not too young to learn "a place for everything, and everything in its place." I'm thankful that after years of teaching my own children, much of the lessons have sunk in. It takes time, but the effort is worth the trouble.
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