I try new and unusual was to get my children to submit to doing chores so it isn't just me yelling at them all day. Don't get me wrong, as fun as being 4 star general mom is, I occassionally like to spice up things to make my point. Last year I couldn't take the mounds and mounds of laundry I was being subjected to so each kid got 5 sets of clothing, one towel and a change of sheets and all the rest went into storage. You sould have seen the shock on their faces when they walked in there closets. It was a great month. One load of laundry a week, of course it wasn't a entire success. There was a couple times I would do laundry and I couldn't find any underwear from one of my children... scarey.
So this time I thought I would try and make a point about PUTTING UP your clothing once it is washed and folded. I watched a great chick flick one night and folded all the laundry. I had different pieces of furniture for each family member. My plan WAS that since they couldn't sit on the couch or the chairs, they would HAVE to pick up their laundry and put it up. It was a BRILLIANT idea, i thought. So marrily I folded, seperated, stacked. The next day... Nicole put up all her laundry... YEA.... So I did another load and filled in the gap. Day two... Nothing. Day three.. Well - I snapped. I walked in to find them curled around the laundry to watch TV. THEY ARE WATCHING TV!!! NOT PUTTING UP THEIR LAUNDRY. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM> > IT CAN'T GET ANYMORE OBVIOUS> Kinda like the time I would put all trash in their beds that I found in the house laying around (juice boxes, wrappers, etc...) that worked well. My children are oblivious to the obvious. 
Well I THOUGHT it was a good idea.
Well I THOUGHT it was a good idea.
5 comments:
Your kids aren't the only ones oblivious to the obvious. We have done this same thing - laundry on the couch, over the loveseat, stacked on the floor. They'd use those nice little piles like a drawer of clean clothes. Today we took a big black bag of trash and giveaway stuff from M2 and G's room. I threatened to take all toys away and make them check them out. And I have seriously considered the 5 outfit thing. I'll definitely be thinking on that one a little more...
Tracey, I do something that put a stop to that:) (Leave it to me to be creative or mean). Every kid has a basket, when I foled I am automatically sorting. I put towels in Tanner's basket as well as his clothes and Ethan's and Isaiah's I combine too. Anyway, when they head to the dinner table, I tell them "Ok, grab that basket of clothes and go put them away and then you can sit with me at the dinner table." They do it w/out grumbling because they are HUNGRY. If they hold out on me-no dinner. By breakfast the clothes are in the dresser because they are starving:)
CeCe
Ive done the basket before but not in combination with the food aspect. I will consider this... further... huuuummmm
Ooooo CeCe.... that is gooooooooooooooood!
After talking shop with you this weekend about cleaning... and seeing you in action, I am shocked to see your living room with the clothes everywhere! I figured you for a super-to-the-max clean freak! I understand the lesson for the kids but I just never thought your OCD would allow for such a lesson... :-)
mine consider the neatly stacked and sorted clothes as extra couch cushions. if they take up too much room, they have put them on the floor. suddenly, TV becomes a fond memory...
CeCe, I am really liking your idea! a lot...
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