The toy clutter is out of control. Like vines on brick, the Polly's and the dollies and the little matchbox cars are taking over my world one room at a time. And it has stressed me out to no end.
Until now. I have found the secret to a clean house. Wanna know what it is?
Someone please tell me why I haven't let this be okay before? It is genius, I tell you. And it is, quite simply, the best I can do. Gone are the days of putting toys where they belong. Just throw them in the middle and vacuum around them. I don't know how long uptight Emily is going to allow this to continue, but for now I am going to enjoy my new-found freedom. Merry Christmas to me.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
clean house secrets revealed
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63 comments:
Isn't it amazing how they can have toys from one end of the house to the other in no time flat!
Congrats on your newfound freedom! :)
Blessings,
Shilo
Oh my gosh, can I just tell you that I didn't even notice the toys in the first picture? That's crazy. I didn't realize until I saw the second pic and went back to look...I was thinking maybe you were going to say you stuffed them all in the black hopechest!
Good idea!
At least you vaacum. There's a habit I never developed. Yes, our carpet is disgusting and it's not just me--I think anyone who sees it would agree. Especially if they saw the part where MR Destructo spilled a whole bottle of soy sauce and I didn't clean it up. i keep thinking we'll just rip out the nastiness and enjoy our wood floors that are in dubious white-painted condition. Or so we believe from the corners we've peeled back to peek underneath.
My word verification is supestra--like the new super star. or maybe not.
Brilliant! Although I'm not sure it would work with a racetrack the size of three football fields...
Hilarious. I do the same thing! And honestly, if all the toys are in a pile, that's a form of organization. It's a lot better than having them scattered around the perimeter of the room.
All think pink and girliness of their room had me sighing. I love it. Want to know the real secret to toys being put away? The house fairy. What? She doesn't come to your house? She should. Give her a call. The house fairy can come at any time while the children are asleep (you never know when, this is important). If she comes and everything is neat and tidy, she'll leave you a small gift (book, piece of candy, small toy, etc-nothing expensive, but always exciting). If toys are left out though, she'll take them! You may, or may not get them back. If she comes again and all is clean, she might give them back, but you never know. It's genius, I tell you. Indy is quick to make sure his room is clean and any toys from other rooms are put away before bed in case she comes along. I never even have to remind him anymore.
Don't feel bad, if I made piles they would be 300 times the size of yours! Great idea though... all those dainty piles would fit in laundry baskets... which is where my clutter ends up... then the laundry ends up on the floor - on second thought, don't do that... bad idea :)
Love it...
but, I have to admit... I was admiring your adorable little girly room!!!
You are great..like a vine..so TRUE so TRUE!!! Her bedroom is very very cute!
-sandy toe
I use the same trick...not piling stuff, but vacuuming around it. Somehow it makes me feel like my house is cleaner.
I love it! Now can I do that with laptops, ipods, video games and clothes? :)
Whatever works!
As I looked at your pictures I didn't hardly see the pile of toys because I'm so fascinated with your beautiful home. That pink castle thing is just the coolest!
Brilliant!
Perfection. A little pile in the middle of an otherwise clean room. And the glimpses of your house are lovely...one of these days you ought to do a full house tour...just for fun!
Love it!!
Your rooms are all beautiful too by the way!
Well done! I think it's a great idea:) Just yesterday I decided it was time to go through toys and reorganize them (and I do NOT reorganize) but they are not working because the pieces for each toy are scattered throughout my house!
Better yet - get a beautiful cloth basket that you can throw them all in (still in the middle if you'd like) and it will look like it belongs there! and easier to push to the side if company walks in!
you crack me up! just so you know, i almost broke my finger trying to scroll down so fast to find out "the secret"!
Merry Christmas, indeed! Nothing like a good, condensed toy pile that screams "clean"! Great idea. :)
I guess the kids should be lucky they didn't get put in the pile, right? Tee hee.
Why didn't someone tell me this years ago?!! LOL! It would have made life much easier.
Cindy
Fabulous-I'm totally going to do it...my problem is all the plastic animals & dinosaurs. PS Love, love the garland over the little kitchen.
That is exactly what I do with my oldest and he actually appreciates that I don't try to put his stuff away. Once he sees that pile in the middle of his floor he knows that I have been in there and that he has to the end of the day to put the stuff away before I come in with the garbage bag. Severe but it works :o)
Great idea!!
LOL, I wasn't even looking at the pile. I was paying more attention to your home. It's so beautiful and cozy looking!!
Well, at least you didn't throw them out the back-door! Now that's what I would have done.
Sweet! I'm going to have to try that!
OH MY GOSH! That is the best tip I have received in a LONG time! I am trying this one TONIGHT! Thanks!
Sounds like the perfect solution. Now if you could figure out how to make laundry fold itself...........
I am right there with you girl. A tornado of toys rips through my house every...single...day. By the way, where did you get that princess castle??? My daughter would go nutso for something like that!
Why have I never thought of doing that before? Why do I feel I have to put everything in its place before I vacuum? DUH! You're just too smart Miss Emily :)!
Great idea! Even better is Stephanie's idea of putting them all in a basket or bin that matches the room. That's what I need to do!
Happy Christmas to you!
I have 2 kids that just turned 5 and 2 and a baby on the way due in April. We just moved into a 1970 new old house with tons of paneling and lots of updating to do! Fun to see what you have done with your new old house! It gives me hope! Where do you buy your furniture? I can't decide on paint colors for my paneled walls and I need help finding a great couch, rugs, tables, etc! Any tips!?!
What colors are your ornaments on your christmas tree? gold, silver, white? I have red and gold but, was wondering if I could add some silver in but, I wasn't sure if that was okay?
~ Ali
Where did you buy your fireplace screen? I love it!
Where did you guys buy the new interior doors? Our 1970 new old home interior doors are VERY TIRED and I loved seeing the post on your new doors?
Thanks! ~ Ali
Too funny that so many people mentioned using the laundry baskets, that's what I do for our basement (unfinished space that serves as one large playroom). When it gets really bad I take 3 of our baskets down there and they have to fill them up. I come down and check that everything is picked up, I vacuum and then even out the baskets. Next, each of them has to then put everything in one basket away. #4 kid, the 4yo helps out each of the "big kids" though he's about to graduate to getting his own basket. :)
Amazing! Great idea. Thanks!
Hi Ali! Thanks for the compliments. The fireplace screen and the doors in our house are all from Lowes because we're fancy like that.
We happen to live near the furniture capital of the world (woot!) so we are lucky to get some of our furniture on sale when it doesn't sell at the Furniture Market. The sideboard in our living room and our armoire were both from a local furniture store. Other than that, I shop at World Market and Home Goods. Also TJ Maxx and Marshalls and Hobby Lobby. That's where most things in this old house came from.
And mix up those ornaments FOR. SURE. I have adopted the Nesters philosophy for my house: There Is No Wrong. Do what you love, not what you think is "right". Good luck!
I have found with my girls (5,4,3) that once I pile all the toys up it is easier for them to tidy up. Don't know why but it works.
Good one! I thought you were going to say you hid them all in the pink pop up castle! :-)
Here's another trick...laundry baskets are your friend! Put all the toys in a laundry basket which you can push aside. Then you can make the rest of the room all tidy and pretty, and tackle the laundry basket of misc. stuff later. You can also hide the laundry basket in the laundry room when company comes and voila...instant clean! hee hee
Hey, I see a linky party in your future where we all post our kids rooms and solutions to clutter...or just show the clutter and everyone feels better! :-)
Someone mentioned a house fairy...do they have one for moms? Maybe if I got a prize when my house was clean, I'd be good. Surely, if someone took all the things away in my sleep that I didn't put away, that might teach me. :)House fairy - that is what I'll ask for for Christmas.
Toys? What toys? Looks clean to me! :)
The clutter is getting to me too. It seems to happen around Christmas because I know that more stuff is coming.
omygosh...today Monster Mommy came to visit me and I was trying to exorcise her with coffee and chocolate. I even tried to leave her at the post office with all the other MM's. Then she had the nerve to tell the girls they had to pick 5 of their stuffed toys each and get rid of them...as she was frantically rearranging their room...trying to declutter. The youngest started to cry and said in her most tender voice, "Mommy, it's much too difficult to get rid of any of them". Monster Mommy left and I comforted my youngest by telling her we would just find another place for them to sit & live.
Perfection, I tell you! I just LOVE all you brilliant women out there!!!
LOL that is too funny! Wow you vacuum are we suppose to do that? Humm, might have to try that one out. I try to keep one room clean but my sacred room was demolished today! Don't sweat the small stuff.
Oh, that's funny! I may have to try that in my scrapbook room. It looks like a craft store blew up in there.
Shannon
Your genius is showing again. This is really a present to all of us, dear Emily. You're giving us permission to let it be good enough and I, for one, want to thank you profusely.
WAIT!!
I'm feeling a Flyladyish movement coming along. Let's make a button that says "LIBE" (kind of like the word live...but with a b). Let It Be Enough. We could all think of ways to get jobs around the house done and then just let it be enough...you know? Now MY genius is showing.
Genius for sure. Why didn't I think of that?
When my children were younger, I would call this making a mountian. When they came home from school I would tell them they had a mountian to move. Then I would hear the groans.
I love it!!!
wow... genius. I have trod the path of the laundry basket, now I have full laundry baskets stashed in closets all over my house and I can never find anything until I have replaced it... but a simple pile in the middle of the room, now that might just work!
I am also a big fan of the house fairy idea. too bad I just spent the last three days putting every toy, book and article of clothing in its place...
guess there is a good likelihood of the clutter creeping out of the closet again in the near future, though. like tomorrow.
Oh, yes...the days of me organizing and organizing the toy closet have come a a halt. Now everything is just shoved in there, I cannot stand it...but that's just the way it goes sometimes.
You did a good thing by just giving in. Sometimes you just have to.
Your girls rooms are a.dor.a.ble!! My girls would die for those princess-like rooms! Who cares about the toys?! You'll be wishing for those toys in a few years...
Perfection! I'll be curious to see if you can actually handle it.
But can I just tell you that I didn't even notice the pile in the first picture right away. I was too busy thinking about how inviting your sofa looked and how I would just plop myself down there with a cup of coffee.
Merry Christmas!
Kimba
You are brilliant!
I so wish I could get to a place where I could do that. I think sometimes the only ting my kids will remember is putting their toys away and me cleaning!
*falls on floor laughing, nodding, and feeling better about severe mess at the His Girl house.*
can you PLEASE tell me where you got your darling princess tent??? my daughter is 16 months old, and I was wanting to get her one for Christmas. I waited too late, and everywhere is sold out, so I think I'm going to do one for her birthday in July. Your tent is the cutest one I have seen! Would LOVE to know where you got it!!! lindsaywagner03@yahoo.com
thanks in advance!!!
Hi Emily! Thanks for letting me know where to get the simple and classy black fireplace screen and the super cool interior doors! You cracked me up with the comment "cause we're fancy like that"! :) The interior doors are now on on my ongoing wish list for our 1970's new old fixer upper house! Lucky you living near the furniture capital of the world! Not a lot of furniture choices where I live! So its rare when I see furniture that I LOVE! :) I do have Hobby Lobby, World Market, Lowe's, Home Depot, Marshall's, & TJ Maxx's! Thanks for the tips!
Keep the updates on the house coming on your blog! LOVE SEEING YOU CREATIVELY UPDATE your home! I got a good giggle about the wood trim cornice boards on several of your windows! So much better with them removed! Glad you did the Boo Mama Christmas tour of homes...otherwise I would of never found your fun blog!
~ Ali
I love it! I wish I had thought of that when my kids were younger. They are now teens. Hmmm...I could go into their bedrooms and sweep everything into 1 pile. That just might work!
Wonderful idea! I'll give that a try!!
If you can't beat them...
Perfect!
I love it!
I simply cannot stop laughing. I am so going to copy your tactics for I can completely relate to the stress of three wee ones and the never ending mess. Maybe I'll even put a giant basket in each room of the house just to dump each room's mess in.
I have horrible ADD and the thought of trying to "organize" all of my kid's toys was driving me insane! There were some here, some there, and other's everywhere. SO, I started sweeping all of them into a huge pile in the middle of the floor (just like you) and it made it SO much easier to sort through them when they were all in one place!
GMTA!
Robin
http://alabamaslackermama.blogspot.com
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