"I don't understand the quick clean."

I have developed a system that I use with the kids... the quick clean.  I am sure I am not the first to think of this, in fact Fly Lady suggest you work for 15 minutes on a task and quit when the timer goes off.  Who knows?  I may have stolen the idea from her.  I don't have a specific time limit though.  I just go by what I feel, might be 10 min., might be 30.  Last night, Jackson made the comment that not one inch of the house was clean.  We had been really busy doing lots of fun Father's Day things.  So I suggested a 20 minute quick clean. 

We usually do this while Jackson is not home.  Most often it is to clean up after the day so it will look presentable when he comes home.  I set the timer and the whole family works for the entire time.  Sometimes if the kids are struggling keeping on task, I add minutes.  Before I start the timer, I often give them a list of expectations and even some specific jobs for the younger ones.  Most often I tell them the floor has to be ready to be vacuumed by the end of the timer.  Usually there is a reward at the end, like staying up to watch a show or play a game.   

I knew this would be a challenge for Jackson.  He believes in starting in one room and completely finishing that room before you move on.  I explain the idea behind the quick clean...  Do tasks you can complete quickly, putting things where they belong.  This quick clean was to straighten the living room, family room and kitchen.  We sometimes work on only the upstairs, or only the kitchen, even the backyard or the car... whatever needs cleaned up quickly.  The timer provides a definite end for the kids, and it's almost like a game. 

The quick clean begins and Jackson goes to work in the living room.  The timer ticking away... We even add 5 minutes when the kids start fighting and stop cleaning.  The timer goes off  and I walk into the living room to find the coffee table by the front door, the love seat in front of the coffee table, the ottoman up on the chair and Jackson on his hands and knees where the love seat is supposed to be.  I try to explain to him that you don't clean behind or under furniture in a quick clean, but he says it needed to be done.  1 hour later, he finally finishes the living room! 

The plan was to finish the quick clean, get baths and showers and then watch a show we had recorded about dangerous stunts.  Had we stuck to the plan, it would have been about 8 when we started the show.  We couldn't watch it until the living room was put back together, so we didn't start it until after 9!  All Jackson could say... "I don't understand the quick clean".        

Stuff, Stuff and more Stuff

I was talking to my mom the other day about the drive to have things.  No matter how much I have, I want more.  I am always wondering if I could cure this problem with this thing.  I want things to hang on the walls and things to put other things in.  The strange thing is, I feel like I have to much already, and I can't figure out how to break this cycle.  We had a yard sale this past weekend.  I was impressed by how much was gone after one day of selling things in the driveway.  What I really wanted to do though was take that money and go shopping. 

I look around the house thinking, "If I had some piece of furniture, or some box to store these things in, it would look a lot neater".  That never works though, and I should know this by now.  In our last house, the front door opened into the living room.  I would walk in and drop my bags, jackets, etc. on the ottoman.  It was a large one that accompanied a love seat, so it held tons of stuff.  One night I was complaining about something Jackson left out.  He pointed out that every time I went shopping, I left the goods in the bags in the living room, this apparently drove him nuts.  I, of course, had a great excuse, I almost always have kids with me, or the phone is ringing, or I have to use the bathroom as soon as I get inside.  In all honesty though, I probably did this before we even had kids.  I will probably continue long after we are empty-nesters.  It's just what I do.

I got the brilliant idea that if we get an entry bench, one with hooks and storage, it will give us a landing place and keep things looking neater.  For Christmas that year my mom gave me just the piece I had been longing for.  Our entry organization was on the way.  It has never been successful though.  We have since moved from that house.  Still have the entry bench.  Now it is in the family room.  As I look over my shoulder at it, I see the bench is covered in stuff... library books, papers(that Jackson neatly stacks when he gets tired of the chaos), two bags that I carry things for the baby in, 6 hats hanging from the hooks, a jacket or two(even thought it is 88° outside), and various other things.  And, who knows what is contained in the cabinet beneath the bench? Although everything is within the structure of the entry piece, it almost always looks terrible.  This tells me that no matter what kind of furniture I get, I will probably not become the most organized person, and our family is definitely not going to stop piling things anytime soon. This realization should cure the furniture wants... but if I only had one of those cube things with bins...