all to myself and you know what I did?
I did the dishes. In silence. And it was lovely.
And here was my revelation.
I actually like cleaning. With a few stipulations of course.
I like cleaning by myself.
Okay, I guess that is the only stipulation.
Here’s why…
*I like cleaning when it is not going to get messed up. If I swiffer the floor with the kids around, it is dirty within 30 seconds of finishing. And of course, picking up toys while they are around is totally pointless.
*I like people to see the finished product, not the “in progress.” I like to clean when Stephen is not around and have him come home and notice something has been cleaned.
*It is therapeutic for me to clean in silence. Is that weird?
While all these things are great in theory - or my dream world - I am a stay-at-home MOM. And that means I have children around. All the time. So I am trying to find ways to clean and pick up with the rugrats around AND do it joyfully.
Even when they spill apple juice on my newly swiffered floor.
Do you have any brilliant ideas for cleaning with little ones around? Do tell! Please!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
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You are not weird...I like cleaning in silence too! ;) Unless that just makes us both weird! Sometimes it is just nice to have quiet.
ReplyDeleteMe too! But some wise person once said that cleaning with kids around is like shoveling snow in a snow storm. It pretty much doesn't get better no matter how old they are, it just evolves. My goal is to keep them and their stuff out of one or two rooms so they always stay clean!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if your little one is big enough yet but I usually assign them a task they can't mess up too badly while I handle something else close by. (For instance I'll let him wipe the fridge door of prints after all he made them while I'm wiping the counters.) Also they love to swiffer don't ask me why.
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