Cleaning

Well, the time has come again, as it does each week, when I can't stand the clutter of my house and it has to be picked up. Try as I may, I am not perfect at putting each thing away after I am done using it or getting Kim to do so. We have been trying harder, but somehow our house always seems to get cluttery.

A few months ago, I had a great idea. I was getting sick of fighting to get Kimberly to put her things away. I am sure I am the only mother that has this problem, right? :) Anyway, I decided to make a game out of it. I made a kind of picture scavenger hunt for her and I still do it sometimes. I probably should do it more often. I just draw small pictures of the things that need to be taken care of (they often end up looking nothing like the actual item that needs to be taken care of, since I am not a great artist, and I get asked what they are, but oh well!). She thinks it is great fun to go running around the living room/kitchen/dining room finding the things on the list and then they have to get put away before the reward - a sticker. This little game has taken a lot of the headache out of getting her to clean up. It takes a little extra time, but it is worth it! She is always proud of her sheet with all of the stickers on it.