housekeeping
oh no don't worry..no housework today ! I don't do housework weekends.... although I do quickly run the vacuum over the timber floors and wipe down the bathroom bench and around the bath..just to keep my home looking fresh.
But what is bothering me today is how on earth we cope with childrens mess..... I am not talking about the toys but the teenage mess. I have 3 kiddies... my son is 30 now and when he was a teenager he use to drive me near insane with his bedroom hygiene. I like to change the sheets * vaccum & dust the bedrooms once a week..his would take me a whole day...boys stuff - half finished models...dirty socks shoved under the bed and the ultimate was when I found a half rotten apple in his drawer ( the joke with that is that he was saving it for when the end of the world happenend).....so he is married now and his wife has inherited that problem. Then came ms*louisa who wasn't much better as a teenager - messy room but girls stuff just doesnt seem to have the *perfume* that boys stuff does..but the many hair things, girlie magazines, CD's and clean clothes tossed on the floor because they didn't 'go'.... she has moved into her own place and is now like her mother - ME!!!! and then there is my baby ms*sophie - just turned sweet 16... her room is done weekly - I enjoy getting it looking just so..nice and clean, fresh sheets and all clothes folded and put away. Well, that only lasts a day ! and then there is the obligatory clean clothes on the floor, dirty clothes tossed into the wash bin except they missed, books & CDs all over, school work in piles , hair stuff, girlie mags * oh the list goes on and on. What do I do?
I can either clean it each week and say nothing..... or leave it & let it go until she says she has hayfever to which I can reply 'well no wonder, with all that dust'.... I was advised once by an older friend...... just close the door and ignore it......sometimes I can but most times I can't
But what is bothering me today is how on earth we cope with childrens mess..... I am not talking about the toys but the teenage mess. I have 3 kiddies... my son is 30 now and when he was a teenager he use to drive me near insane with his bedroom hygiene. I like to change the sheets * vaccum & dust the bedrooms once a week..his would take me a whole day...boys stuff - half finished models...dirty socks shoved under the bed and the ultimate was when I found a half rotten apple in his drawer ( the joke with that is that he was saving it for when the end of the world happenend).....so he is married now and his wife has inherited that problem. Then came ms*louisa who wasn't much better as a teenager - messy room but girls stuff just doesnt seem to have the *perfume* that boys stuff does..but the many hair things, girlie magazines, CD's and clean clothes tossed on the floor because they didn't 'go'.... she has moved into her own place and is now like her mother - ME!!!! and then there is my baby ms*sophie - just turned sweet 16... her room is done weekly - I enjoy getting it looking just so..nice and clean, fresh sheets and all clothes folded and put away. Well, that only lasts a day ! and then there is the obligatory clean clothes on the floor, dirty clothes tossed into the wash bin except they missed, books & CDs all over, school work in piles , hair stuff, girlie mags * oh the list goes on and on. What do I do?
I can either clean it each week and say nothing..... or leave it & let it go until she says she has hayfever to which I can reply 'well no wonder, with all that dust'.... I was advised once by an older friend...... just close the door and ignore it......sometimes I can but most times I can't
posted by Miss Robyn | 12:01 pm
5 Comments:
I was the same as a teenager, my stepkids are that way, and my son! oh well ~ the things I've found in his room have been like a science experiment!!
I have them do a cleanup of their rooms once a week, but I like to go into my sons room everyday, to make sure there isn't anything left there too long, that might grow a head and walk outside. Sheets are done weekly and I make sure their windows are opened daily. In between cleans, I just keep their doors shut...I think I draw strength from sharing stories with other parents ~ and also remembering what my Mum had to deal with ;)
To clean or not to clean, that is the question all right. I find it easier to do it myself in times like that, but is it the right thing to do?? I just don't know, but at least I don't have to look at the mess caused by someone else. (Of course, my own messes are ok, because I know I'll get to it fairly soon, I hope) *smiles to you*
When the 3 girls were at home I would stress so much about their mess. I finally decided I would close the doors and not even go in their rooms for the dirty laundry. If it wasn't in the clothes hamper then it didn't get washed as I didn't know what was clean or not in their rooms! When they ran out of clothes and mom hadn't did their laundry they started at least putting away the clean clothes and putting dirty in hamper. I still kept their doors closed to the rest of it even though I knew what was behind them!Now 2 of them are wonderful housekeepers and the 3rd... well she is slowly getting there
My daughter was picky as a youngster....had to have vaccum stripes going the same way and wouldn't allow anyone to walk on the carpet to disturb the marks. Then she became a teen and turned into a messy slob. I simply shut the door. One rule was no food or dishes in her room because I did not want to encourage pests. She had been taught to do laundry so I didn't even worry about that. It made my life simpler, she got to "express" herself and I just quit worrying about it. She is in college now and gets cluttered due to lack of space...but she is back to being very organized. It all works out in the end.
I actually long for the days when I could at least SEE her mess, and her, on a daily basis. The days end too soon........
If I had any kids (and I don't) I would do exactly what my father did to me. If my room was starting to get messy, he would close me in there and not let me come out until I had tidied it up. Of course this only happened on weekends when he was home to enforce it! He started doing that long before I was a teenager, so by the time I got to those years, keeping my room tidy had become a habit. Not only that, my mum spent her last 20 years (and she died just before my 21st) in and out of hospitals as she had several bad strokes. So not only did I have to keep my own room tidy, I grew up helping to do all the housework for my Dad and two older brothers. And do you know, to this day, I never resented it. I think it was because knowing Mum was incapable of doing it, I was the only other female in the house, so I just did it. What today's kids need is shock treatment like that where they are forced to do stuff to survive...let's hope for their sakes it doesn't happen.
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