My daily checklist posts have been random to non-existent lately.
It’s not that I’m not doing anything. I’m just not doing everything. In the midst of summer fun, one surface cleared or one item of trash thrown away feels like a huge accomplishment, so my brain is censoring any nagging guilt over all the things I’m not doing.
Of course, when I write a checklist post, I’m reminded of all those pesky details that I’ve skipped over. Hence the beauty of my “blogging as a form of accountability” concept.
Today I:
Emptied dishwasher.
Cleaned kitchen. (What? No applause?)
Prepped bathrooms for kids to clean, and gave in to 4yo who desperately wanted to clean one of the bigger bathrooms. Drew names to see which boy got to do the half-bath that is usually hers, and then cleaned the bathroom with her.
Spraying vinegar/water mixture everywhere? She’s really good at that. Seeing large items of clothing on the floor that need to be picked up? Not so much.
My first answer to her when she wanted a bigger job was to say “no.” The half-bath is just her size, doesn’t get as dirty as the constantly used other bathrooms, and gets more between-Tuesday-cleanings since it’s our guest bathroom and I wipe it down whenever we know people are coming over.
However, if she wants a bigger job, and we can do it together . . . I hate to squelch that.
But then I find myself struggling between “helping” her to see that this is a big and serious job, and not wanting it to be such a horrible experience that she never wants to do it again (ever . . . in her whole life).
(Realizing at this point how lame my daily checklist is.)
Oh! And last night . . . I actually remembered to have the kids pick up the living room before they went to bed! Such a simple concept, but so out of my normal thought processes.
--Nony
::applause::
Does that help? 🙂 I can say that only because I KNOW that feeling, that feeling where one thing cleared off is a major accomplishment and yet nobody seems to notice.
And for the record, I am writing this as I sit at my horribly messy desk rationalizing that reading a few inspiring blogs before I clean it is ok. ::sigh::
I'm not only applauding, but I'm also cheering that you let/helped her clean the big bathroom! You're right that this is a prime teaching moment, and with my skills, it'd probably go horribly wrong… I am not yet brave enough to have the 3YO help me with much in the way of cleaning other than picking up and an occasional dusting but man, do I need to get on the ball there. This is where we can help them learn to clean! But since it's something I never ever learned myself, I'm struggling with how to go about it.
YAY! I'm definitely clapping for you! I finally got ALL of the laundry done, other than blankets (need to go to the laundromat for that one), dishes are done, and I will be going through the kids rooms in a little bit looking for toys to donate. You're definitely an inspiration, thank you!
Still working my way through, enjoying the drama and relating to the struggle. I was happy that I’d be able to click on one of your first affiliate limks, but dissapointed that it no longer works. Thought you’d want to know, since I know you suggest that we read through your blog chronologically, and I’ve been impressed at how you’ve taken the time and effort to update and add limks all over the place to make things easy to fond and explore. I’ll be looking for other links to click as I keep making my way!