(no subject)

[lizzybennet]

Flylady tip of the day:


Take 15 minutes and scrub your stove top! Soak the knobs and drip
pans in hot soapy water while you clean the stove top. Some elbow
grease and hot soapy water will take care of a lot! Don't become a
perfectionist and try to get it as clean as the day it was new. Just
do the best you can and then scrub the drip pans and knobs. Don't
scrub the knobs so hard that the numbers and words scrub off! LOL!

Now, it did take me longer than 15 minutes to do this because I had to let my drip pans soak for quite a while. However, I'm pleased with the results:




I've also picked up all the toys in the toy room and put them in boxes. I'm now facing a conundrum. I like to keep the toys sorted: a box full of Pokemon toys, a box full of robots, a box full of Star Wars guys, etc. However, this makes no difference to the kids. They usually destroy my hard work with in a few days. But, when there is no method to the madness, they just don't play with their toys because they can't find what they want. Maybe I need to find a way to enlist them in this process and teach them to put back the box when they are done with it? It has been a while since I've done a big clean like this, so maybe now they are old enough to keep things where they go...Yeah, keep dreaming, Tina. Still, I do need to go through all the boxes of toys because I want to seriously reduce the amount of toys we have. Time to have a yard sale!

That being said, Josh's birthday is on Sunday (I cannot believe he is going to be four!!) and I'm not sure what to get him. I just don't want more toys. I'm thinking a bike. Any other non-toy suggestions? btw, he's having a birthday party with friends from school, so its not like he won't get any toys :)

Comments

[julieo.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you've seen it yet, but there are some FlyLady related tools just for kids! They have the Riley Challenges and the House Fairy helps kids with their rooms. Let me know if you have any questions about where to find this stuff if you wanna look. Oh! And the student control journal might help them too!

I'm totally all about flylady. If it gets annoying, just let me know. :)

[julieo.livejournal.com]

Also, your stove looks AWESOME!!! Good for you!!

[ouwxgirl.livejournal.com]

Do you have the toy boxes labeled? If not, maybe you can label them with a picture of the toy along with the name (not sure if Josh can read or not yet). I remember seeing that on Jon and Kate Plus 8 and it seemed to work well with them.

[hopeness.livejournal.com]

I also recommend labeling the toy boxes with picture cue and word.

As for birthday toys, I like the idea of a bike, or what about one of those easels that are a chalkboard on one side and a bunch of new art supplies?

I think Flylady is great if you take her with a grain of salt. A lot of her ideas got me jump started, but her routines didn't always work for me.

[heidial.livejournal.com]

Your stove looks beautiful! Come to my house and do mine! Do you remember when you all lived at home and did all the cleaning chores? Now that you're all gone, I have todo them all myself and I don't like it! My house isnt nearly as clean as I'd like it to be.

Nice to Read

[(Anonymous)]

It was nice to read some of your China blogs ... found you thru Anna's blog ... One of the easiest ways for me to keep track of my children (provided they have a blog and update it ... I'm not holding my breath over JaNae or Ian) ... Why do you like livejournal better than blogspot??? -- Anna's Pops :0)
http://truckingpilgrim.blogspot.com

[themenow.livejournal.com]

I was thinking the same exact thing - snooty women do it with shoes - plastic box with a polariod of the shoes in the box. It's a great way to organize. And then the kids see what needs to go where. You can help them label the boxes and take the pictures too.

[themenow.livejournal.com]

*ROFL*

I had to laugh at this because my mom will never, ever tell me this. Never. Ever. This has to be the funniest thing I have ever heard a mom say to her daughter. I'm going to email this to my mom and tell her that I'm sure she's glad I'm gone because the house is much cleaner *lol*!

I wish I could get my mom on LJ. I think she'd have a blast. I always look forward to your posts and replies.

[mysteena.livejournal.com]

Boxes labeled is a good idea. I've written the names on the boxes before, but never put the picture. Like Wendi says, I could involve the kids in that and it would be more fun for them. Thanks!

[mysteena.livejournal.com]

I'm beginning to think this too about flylady. Today's tip is to start keeping post-it notes on your bathroom mirror reminding you of what you need to get done, appointments, etc. I do not want post it notes junking up my bathroom mirror, or any public space in my house. And, since forgetting appointments and other obligations is not a regular problem for me, I feel that is one bit of advice I can forgo.