Friday, September 14, 2007

making a to-do list

Thanks to Wende & Alana for the great idea of a to-do / done list in the side bar.....i have adopted it, and hope to see progress as time goes on. Because I was away for 4 days for the funeral, I am not very far along in this week's tasks. Now I have a busy weekend ahead (after the 3 soccer games and farmer's market visit that are my usual Saturday distractions.) My floors are littered with child related clutter....legos, backpacks, blocks, matchbox cars, polly pockets, crayons, socks/shoes, dirty laundry, clean laundry...it's a big job clearing them all and it will last for oh, about 5-minutes or so. I still need to do the master to-do-list....can I put "make a to-do list" on my to-do list?

3 comments:

Alana in Canada said...

of course you can put "to do list" on the "to do list." Call it "the detailed to do list" or something.

How old are your kids?

Starting when mine were about three, I'd set a timer and "race" with them to tidy up the living room/play room. My son is very good at it--his "reward" is to drape the blanket and fluff the pillows on the couch (he loves to do that). But I haven't been as consistent with my daughter, unfortunately and she often gets "lost" in playing with the stuff. So, I have to be there with them for that: but it's great to do it together. (Less matrydom for me!)

So, once you get it cleaned up, call the kids in and say: this is the way it's going to look every night before bed. And then start doing the 15 minute tidy. I have to start doing it again with my kids. (They're now seven and almost ten).
Hope that helps.

Poppy Frock said...

Alana,
My kids are 8,6,5 & 3 (boy,girl,boy,girl). They do like to help, but often i'll be cleaning in one room only to walk into another and find disaster has struck!

We have been trying to quick-pick up the living room and their bedrooms each night before storytime, and straighten the bedcovers in the morning....unfortunately, I've never been very good at keeping on an overall cleaning schedule--I think it is the one thing i need to work on above all else--establishing and maintaining housekeeping routines.

Alana in Canada said...

I need routines and such-like too!
Four kids is an awful lot to keep track of.