cleaning and purging, kids' edition
There's no school today. So far, I've slept in, answered a few phone calls, watched a bunch of Ellen clips on YouTube and made a feeble attempt to clean up the kitchen.
Then I tell the kids they need to clean their rooms. A little while later, Elliot comes through the kitchen pushing along a giant purple bucket full of toys. I tell her she can take that right back to her room. She says that she doesn't want all the stuff in her room and is going to put it all in the basement. I tell her that the basement is going to cease being a toy room shortly, and that if there's anything she doesn't want, she can put it in a bag and we will take it to MCC, but she is not just putting it all in the basement.
She was surprisingly excited by this and took a garbage bag and ran off to her room.
Then Tennyson comes up and wants to know what's going on. I tell him the same thing. He admits they play with next to nothing in the overflowing buckets downstairs and takes a garbage bag. I told them to start in their rooms, and then they want to sort through the toy room. Anything anybody wants they can put in their pile, and if there's stuff nobody cares about we'll get rid of it. Then cleaning will be easier.
I explained that they don't need to be emotionally attached to any of it. If they don't play with it, they are under no obligation to keep it.
Everyone is in. Well, maybe Mitchell a little less so, but that's okay. He'll get rid of stuff when he's ready.
Jordan just came and switched for a bigger garbage bag.
Then I tell the kids they need to clean their rooms. A little while later, Elliot comes through the kitchen pushing along a giant purple bucket full of toys. I tell her she can take that right back to her room. She says that she doesn't want all the stuff in her room and is going to put it all in the basement. I tell her that the basement is going to cease being a toy room shortly, and that if there's anything she doesn't want, she can put it in a bag and we will take it to MCC, but she is not just putting it all in the basement.
She was surprisingly excited by this and took a garbage bag and ran off to her room.
Then Tennyson comes up and wants to know what's going on. I tell him the same thing. He admits they play with next to nothing in the overflowing buckets downstairs and takes a garbage bag. I told them to start in their rooms, and then they want to sort through the toy room. Anything anybody wants they can put in their pile, and if there's stuff nobody cares about we'll get rid of it. Then cleaning will be easier.
I explained that they don't need to be emotionally attached to any of it. If they don't play with it, they are under no obligation to keep it.
Everyone is in. Well, maybe Mitchell a little less so, but that's okay. He'll get rid of stuff when he's ready.
Jordan just came and switched for a bigger garbage bag.
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