How to Get Your Kids to Clean Up Their Toys in 24 Hours

If you think this is going to be one of those "try this trick on your kids and in 24 hours flat, they'll be rushing to clean up their toys like it's the best thing in the world" posts, than you're wrong.  Sooooooo very wrong.

Just as the title says, this post will tell you how to get your kids to clean up their toys is only 24 hours time.

Here's the timeline:

6:59 AM: Wake up with the baby and give her a bottle.  While you're sitting on the couch, half asleep, you look around the living room and realize that there isn't even a path across the room because of all the toys on the floor.

7:15 AM: The kids awake (grumpily, of course) and make their way to the living room.  You inform them that they need to get their toys picked up right away after breakfast.

8:42 AM: The kids are finally done arguing and complaining about breakfast and are ready to move on to the next fun activity.  You throw away more food than you gave them (how do they do that?), and clean the kitchen quickly so you can supervise the toy clean-up before they get anything else out.

10:32 AM: You've been directing clean-up for almost two hours now and so far they've picked up 4 toys and dumped 5 more out.  You realize that they're still in their pjs and you need to run to town to pick up milk and mail a package.

11:19 AM: All three kids are dressed and ready to go so you all head out the door to run errands.

12:01 PM: You forgot to mail the package, but at least you remembered to get milk.  Everyone is grumpy as they walk in the door because they're hungry and it's lunchtime NOW.  You throw a frozen pizza in the oven and instruct the kids to each pick up 5 toys in the 15 minutes it'll take for the pizza to bake.

12:16 PM: The pizza is done, but the kids haven't picked up one toy yet.  You threaten to eat the whole pizza yourself if they don't hurry up.  Wailing and gnashing of teeth occur (mostly because they've seen you eat a whole frozen pizza yourself and know that you're really not kidding), and they agonizingly pick up their five toys apiece although you can tell that it's physically painful for them.

12:26 PM: The pizza is GONE, and you only got one piece.  The living room is still a mess, but now it's rest time so you lay them down for naps and caution them to be quiet for 1 hour.

2:30 PM: Rest time didn't go well so you tacked another hour onto their "naps" which means that you spent an extra hour yelling down the hall to "be quiet and go to sleep!"  The kids get up, and you tell them that before they can play with their toys, they need to clean up what's already on the floor.  You assign them specific jobs ("You pick up the tractors and put them in that box, and you pick up the blocks and put them in that box) because that's how a smart mom gets her kids to clean up messes.

5:18 PM: 2 tractors and 4 blocks have been picked up and the kids have spent almost 3 hours playing with the toys they were supposed to have cleaned up.  Of course, every time you tell them to quit playing and pick up, they feebly lift a toy several inches into the air and whine that they are picking up.  You inform them that bedtime is at 7 and if the toys are not picked up very soon, they will miss supper.     

Source: Proverbs 31 Ministries

6:14 PM: After much screaming, yelling, arguing, and crying, there is finally a small clean spot in the middle of the living room floor.  The kids happily proclaim that it is officially clean and, because you're so sick of fighting, so you tell them to go eat their supper so they can go to bed early.

7:04 PM: Bedtime.  'Nuff said.

7:33 PM: You flop down on the couch, exhausted and turn the tv on.

7:48 PM: The mess in the living room is really annoying you, plus you just can't fathom having another day like this one tomorrow.  You decide to do a quick cleaning and organizing spree of the kids' toys.  Then tomorrow, you will keep a close eye on them so you can make sure they pick up what they were playing with before taking something else out.

9:27 PM: The toys are all organized in the right boxes and stacked neatly on the shelves.  You step back and admire your work.  Time for bed!
 
The next morning...

6:59 AM: You wake up with the baby and gaze admiringly at the organized toy area in the living room.  You promise yourself that you won't let it get messed up today.

7:15 AM: The kids wake up and come out to the living room.  They survey the beautiful clean-ness of the toys, and the 5 year old turns to you and happily exclaims, "See, Mommy!  It's all clean now!  The cleaning fairy must have fixed it while we were sleeping!" (side note: This is not an exaggeration.  This is a direct quote from this exact scenario.)  You explain that Mommy worked very hard to clean it last night, and they need to keep it clean today so Mommy doesn't go completely insane.  Then you go into the kitchen to make breakfast.  

7:22 AM: You come out of the kitchen to tell them that breakfast is ready.  Every. single. box. has been dumped out and the shelves are cleared.  You officially go insane. 


Okay, I lied.  The actual title for this post should be "How to Clean Up Your Kids Toys Yourself in 24 Hours with a Maximum Amount of Stress"

How do you get your kids to clean up their toys?

Purging

After spending 2 hours this afternoon coaching, threatening, and yelling at the kids to clean up their toys, I've decided I'm done.

I'm done with little random toys all over my house from one end to the other.  I'm done with trying to find space for all the toys.  I'm done with spending an hour and a half every week organizing toys.

That's right, I watermarked that mess.  Just so everyone would be clear that it belongs to me.  Because that's important.  *Sarcasm implied* 

It's time to purge.  Be afraid, little toys.  Be very afraid.

This weekend, I am going to send the kidlets off to play with cousins or relatives of some sort (I haven't decided who to beg bribe threaten nicely ask yet) so I can spend the day purging toys to give to Goodwill.  If it isn't educational, imaginative, or doesn't go with a set of toys the kids love, it's gone.  No more worrying about offending a well-meaning relative when they come to visit and that push-the-buttons-and-watch-me-light-up toy is gone.  I don't care anymore.  I cleaned off a shelf in my bedroom closet which will be used to store about half of the remaining toys.  And, FYI...that shelf isn't as big as you think it is...

But wait, why stop there?  If I'm going to purge the toys, why not keep going?  I decided to make a plan and of course, that requires that I blog about it.  Amiright?  So here is my official purge list:

Kids' coats and winter gear-No child needs 4 winter coats and 18 pairs of mittens.  It seems that the more mittens they have, the more they lose them.  The ones I do keep will have yarn sewn to each mitten to connect the pair so it threads between the sleeves of the coat.  Presto! No more lost mittens.

Hubby's farm gloves-seriously...three drawers stuffed full of ratty old gloves that he hasn't touched since we got married?  No.  Just no.

Dishes-There are dishes in my kitchen that I have never used.

Blankets-I swear they multiply when I'm not looking!

Bathtub toys and kids' towels-They play with the same 2 toys every time they get in the bathtub and I wash towels often enough that the bottom half of the stack hasn't been touched in over a year.  

My clothes-I'm hoping/planning/working on losing weight so I have a lot of clothes in limbo.  Seriously though, if I don't love it, it's gone.  IF I lose enough weight to fit back into the clothes I wore before getting pregnant with Princess, I will buy myself new ones.

Kids' clothes-They do not need 20 shirts apiece.  I do have a washing machine, and I wash their clothes weekly.  10 shirts is the maximum they need.  The same goes for pants.

Kids' shoes-Going on the same theme as the clothes, they simply don't need 12 pairs of shoes apiece.

Books and movies-I'm having a hard time fitting them all on their shelves so it's definitely time for a purge there as well.  Most of them, I can get at the local library so I don't need my own copy.

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Cleaning House

If you've been around my blog for a while, then you might remember the 31 Days series I did last October called "31 Days to a Clean House".  Shortly after finishing the series, things went downhill.  First, I got a ton of Christmas orders from my Etsy shop (not complaining about that, by the way!  It was awesome!) and was so busy cutting, pinning, and sewing fabric into cute little outfits that housecleaning got sent to the bottom of my to-do list.

And then I got the best gift for Christmas ever and, between the crazy hormones, morning sickness, and fatigue, it completely threw me off my game for 9+ months.  Most days, I could barely get off the couch to take care of the older two kids let alone do any cleaning.

But yesterday, I pulled out my Control Journal and started following it again.  I also helped my older sister set up her own Control Journal and we're keeping each other accountable and on track.  Everything is easier when you've got someone to do it with!

I'm only 2 days into it, but things are already looking better around here.  And seriously, I spend 30 minutes to 2 hours cleaning every morning and that's it.  What's not to love about a system that keeps your house basically spotless with little effort on your part?
 

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31 Days-Daily Chore List

How do houses get messy so quickly?  If I don't stay on top of things, my house turns into a declared disaster zone within a few days.

Since I'm a born procrastinator and dedicated list keeper, the best way for me to stay on top of the housework is to have a daily chore list.  It covers the basics, takes 15-20 minutes to accomplish, and gives me the satisfaction of crossing things off a list.  I do have other lists of chores to do to keep up with the deeper cleaning.  But, with a preschooler, toddler, and a new baby in the house, if I can get my daily chore list done everyday, I call it good enough.

I wrote my basic chores on a sheet of paper (this was before I had a working printer so everything was handwritten) and put it in a sheet protector in my Control Journal.  When I finish a task, I cross it off with a dry erase marker.  I call it my morning routine, but let's face it...if everything on the list gets done by evening, it's good.

"Hot Spots" are any place in the house that seems to accumulate clutter.  For me, it's the coffee table and the computer desk.

Writing up your own list like this will help you keep your house clean without spending a lot of time cleaning.  Just pick the things that are essential and need to be done everyday.  Don't make it too complicated or long, the point here is to keep it simple.  If you're feeling ambitious, go ahead and make a Control Journal to keep your house sparkly clean, but if not, give yourself a pat on the back for starting with the basics.

Want to see a complete list of the posts in the 31 Days to Simplify Your Life series?  Click here.



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31 Days-5 Uses for Old Newspapers

I always have a stack of old newspapers in my kitchen.  We are lucky enough to get two free local newspapers a week and they never go into the trash without being reused for something else first.

Here are some of my favorite uses for old newspapers:

1. Cleaning up grease after cooking.  Rather than use paper towels, I wipe up grease from cooking with crumpled sheets of newspaper.  Works just as well and it's free!

2. Lining garbage cans.  I always have a newspaper at the bottom of our garbage cans because it makes it easier to clean up the bottom in case of spills or leak plus it absorbs smells.  When the trash bag gets changed, so does the newspaper.

3. Easy clean-up after peeling vegetables.  Anytime I have to peel vegetables, I lay out a few sheets of newspaper and peel the vegetables onto the newspaper.  When I'm done, I simply fold up the newspaper and throw the whole thing in the garbage can.

4. Lining refrigerator drawers.  I hate cleaning out the fruit and vegetable drawers in the fridge, but it's a lot easier if there's newspaper lining the bottom of the drawers!

5. Packing to move.  Newspaper is hands down my favorite thing to use to wrap fragile items when we're moving.  I've moved a total of five times since I turned 18 so I know this works.  I put a sheet in between bowls and plates to keep them safe while moving them.  Stuff a piece inside of mugs and cups and then wrap the outside.  Wrap breakables in a few sheets of newspaper.  Crumple newspaper to fill the empty spaces in the boxes to prevent things from shifting during the move.

Do you have any other uses for recycling newspapers that you can add to the list?

Want to see a complete list of the posts in the 31 Days to Simplify Your Life series?  Click here. 



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