How do you find the balance between

[Aubrey]

wanting to purge (i.e. throw away all your kids' stuff that they never pick up that you inevitably step on in the middle of the night)

 

& feeling all warm & fuzzy about just letting them be kids. Help them keep after it, but mostly just enjoy the creative energy while it lasts?

 

Because I'm tellin' ya. Right now I want. to. throw. it. all. away. And the house is really not that messy.

 

I'm talking toys, books, dishes, maybe even FOOD. :lol: I'm in the mood to run this place like a camp: you've got one plate, fork, cup, spoon. Eat off it. Clean it. Or starve. :mad: (whispering) It'd be hard to sell this one to dh. ;)

 

It just seems like anything I can come up w/ takes more of MY energy & time, kwim? Some of that would ease up if I'd train them in a couple of things, but that. takes. more. time. too. And then you have to stay on top of them.

 

<sigh> It's harder right now w/ baby & dh in school, but after typing it out...it sounds like just basic parenting. *slurp* That's the sound of me sucking it up. :D

 

(Ftr: this is primarily coming from frustration over a lost library book.:glare:)

[Sharon H in IL]

:iagree:

 

Kids. Can't live with 'em. Can't shoot 'em.

 

At least you still have your sense of humor. On those kind of days, mine is the first thing that gets tossed.

[battlemaiden]

I could have written this Aubrey (except for the dh in school- substitute dh at sea).

 

I also have a hard time balancing throwing perfectly good stuff away because it feels wasteful. Even if we only occassionally use something, we do use it and don't like being wasteful.

 

I know that set of plastic food and dishes gives loads of pleasure and creativitly to the kids, but if step on one more plastic cracker I'm going to lose it. Okay....not really, but for some reason that food ends up everywhere. Come to think of it, they are usually bringing me wonderful "snacks" so I guess it is teaching them hospitality. I guess it can stay.;)

 

Jo

[Aubrey]

I could have written this Aubrey (except for the dh in school- substitute dh at sea).

 

I also have a hard time balancing throwing perfectly good stuff away because it feels wasteful. Even if we only occassionally use something, we do use it and don't like being wasteful.

 

I know that set of plastic food and dishes gives loads of pleasure and creativitly to the kids, but if step on one more plastic cracker I'm going to lose it. Okay....not really, but for some reason that food ends up everywhere. Come to think of it, they are usually bringing me wonderful "snacks" so I guess it is teaching them hospitality. I guess it can stay.;)

 

Jo

 

Yep. When I was sick this week I requested NPR & plastic fruit to throw at the radio (in case I needed it, ya know, for AIG or something).

 

On a positive note, I looked the missing book up on Amazon, showed the dc what it looks like & asked if they'd seen it. They say I definitely returned it w/ the rest of the books last week. I'm going to have *them* call the library, lol.

[lwilliams1922]

I'm famous for boxing things up.

 

I think there is a magic number somewhere.

 

That is the amout of time I can look at, pick up or step over something before I'm just tired of it.

 

Once i reach the magic number the offenders get boxed. The box goes somewhere like the attic, basement, garage, back of closet,... The kids THINK it went to land of far away where unwanted belongings get sent to.

 

A year or so later i may come across it and bring out a few things they'd be happy to see. Some things clearly we could do without and can get donated or trashed. The kids are happy, almost like getting something new. HOPEFULLY they will so excited it will get put away.

 

My current dilema is laundry.

 

I just can't see why dd (and DH) cant seem to get the dirty clothes in the proper place. It would only back fire if I put the clothes on the floor in a magic box. So sometimes I will wait to do laundry and when I do I will just wash what is in it's proper place.

 

I hear dr Phil in the back of my head saying 'Now how's that working for you?'

 

uhhhh... well.... I learned DH and DD are willing to reuse clothes with no problem :( It only bothers me.

sigh....

 

Gosh I love DH but it would be so cool if he would just put the light clothes in the light bin and the dark in the darks bin.

[lwilliams1922]

Yep. When I was sick this week I requested NPR & plastic fruit to throw at the radio (in case I needed it, ya know, for AIG or something).

 

On a positive note, I looked the missing book up on Amazon, showed the dc what it looks like & asked if they'd seen it. They say I definitely returned it w/ the rest of the books last week. I'm going to have *them* call the library, lol.

 

 

we had a library issue 2 weeks ago.

I know I gave the book to DH to return. I was 99.9% certain.

I even ordered a copy from amazon so we could have our own, but the library called so I was on a 2 day search turning everything upside down.

 

Well turns out DH did return the book but to the other library. They entered it as returned and it got to the right place.

[Frontier Mom]

Oh, boy is this a never-ending dilemma at my house. I can take it for a while but then, for no apparent reason, I blow it and cannot stand the mess any more. It has to go!!

 

I usually find when life itself is getting overwhelming, I tend to try to control the things I can control. When I can't control certain "life happenings" I tend to try to control my dwelling spot. I don't know if it is that darn nesting instinct I'm always reading about but, for me, it becomes more of a way to blow off some aggravation. I let myself go with the decluttering, organizing and other cleaning. I usually feel better because, if nothing else, the things I can control have been "conquered."

 

Don't know if you are in this boat, but has been an observation of my desire each time. Hope you get it figured out.

 

BTW, this is usually the time I get bunches decluttered and my life is soooo much easier, at least in the short term.

[mrsdash]

:iagree:

 

Kids. Can't live with 'em. Can't shoot 'em.

 

At least you still have your sense of humor. On those kind of days, mine is the first thing that gets tossed.

 

THAT'S FUNNY!!

 

I have had the warm and fuzzies and I've thrown things out. Yesterday I stood between the sink and the trash can with a cup and a fork, wondering which direction to put them. I think we just get really tired.

[joannqn]

I'm in the mood to run this place like a camp: you've got one plate, fork, cup, spoon. Eat off it. Clean it. Or starve. :mad: (whispering) It'd be hard to sell this one to dh. ;)

 

I read about someone doing this in a magazine. I think it might have been Family Fun. The mom bought clear dishes and everyone decorated their own set. Each person in the family had exactly one of each item and they had to wash their own. Because they were decorated, there was no question about who didn't wash their dishes.

[melissel]

I hear ya. You're in a small space, too, right? Can you organize it at all? Buy some stackable wire cube shelving and clear bins at Target and organize vertically? That's the only thing that has helped me, although I too have reached the point where I'm putting stuff away in bins for rotation purposes.

 

I think you have a lot on your plate, and there's not much of a solution for that except...well, time!

 

Oh, and FYI, my library reshelves returned books and neglects to log them often enough that I expect it to happen periodically. You might call and ask them to look on the shelf for the actual item. We've had it happen several times, and once I found myself doing the very same thing--ripping the house and car apart for an audiobook that I had actually returned the week prior. So it might all be OK :grouphug:

[sassenach]

I feel your pain.

 

I semi lose my mind about once a month over this stuff. I grow a second head and EVERYONE cleans. I'm sure my flipping out will make for great therapy sessions one day. I filled 2 bags last month, and yet, the kids still have so much stuff EVERYWHERE. I'm about a day away from closing this place down.

 

I know it's partly my fault. I'm terrible at maintaining the house. It fluctuates between totally clean and completely thrashed. I never seem to keep it steadily in the middle for any length of time. I'm sure there's a time management lesson somewhere in there...

[Renai]

I also have a hard time balancing throwing perfectly good stuff away because it feels wasteful.

 

Jo

 

One word: Freecycle. There is always someone out there who wants/needs toys for their children. We've even had start up childcares asking for donations. In fact, someone just picked up a few things from my house a couple of hours ago. That way, you are not being wasteful. And it feels good knowing someone else can use it.