This morning I woke up with one goal in mind: Just get it off the floor. I know it’s not very lofty, but my nesting instincts are kicking in and I can’t take the mess anymore. I’m certain that an organizing expert would have a better plan, but I’ve found one that helps me find some peace of mind. When the toys seem out of control and it feels as though tackling pile after pile is getting me nowhere, I adopt the laundry basket method.
It’s the perfect tool for gathering toys, etc., that belong elsewhere and transporting them from room to room. You simply pull out what belongs in each room as you go and get it organized in that space. Admittedly, I have mostly just gathered this morning. I really want my carpets vacuumed and my laundry folded – I know that I will never get everything put away and manage these two main tasks.
So, for now, the floor is gloriously free of a mess (unless Ezra does his new normal terrorizing – pulling every book off the shelf, etc.). It’s a bit thrilling, to be totally honest. I know that this weekend the kids and dad can help me with the laundry method, I managed to organize my cookbooks and the bins in Ella’s room, and then maybe we’ll even dust and scrub. A girl can dream, right? Honestly, my daughter and husband are terrific about trying to get things picked up – it’s just that thing simply starting being put away randomly and a major clean up was required.
The funniest get it off the floor moment of the day? I decide to pick up some toys and clothes behind the rocking chair in my daughter’s room and discovered the real reason she changed her dress during rest time the other day: Chocolate pudding. Thank goodness she wasn’t here when I discovered an empty pudding cup, spoon, and a dress dotted with dried up pudding behind the chair. Ugh. I guess that’s what she did while I snuck my own nap in.
We live in an apartment and it’s the living room/kitchen/dining room and a long hall that everything else is down so I do the ‘throw it down the hall’ method. Whatever doesn’t belong in the living room gets thrown in the dining room, whatever doesn’t go there goes in the kitchen or down the hall and from there it gets thrown into the appropriate rooms and then I put things away in the rooms. I also can’t clean my bedroom while Nate is awake because every SINGLE THING I put away he pulls right back out.
I got quite the chuckle out of the chocolate pudding find. 🙂 My version of the “floor” is my one kitchen counter – it doubles as a homework station, mail station, and to-do pile station. Did I mention it’s also a kitchen counter?! So I revel in those moments when I get it cleaned off, knowing it’s temporary until the next wave of activity hits.