Friday, April 20, 2012

Stemming the tide

"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing."  ~Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller's Housekeeping Hints, 1966
Which should, in my case, read
"Tidying the house while the kids are awake is like trying to stop a flood with a kitchen sponge." ~Mrs Accident, Every Damn Day, 2012
When there was only the one young Peanut in residence, I could tidy faster than she could mess. It was worth the effort.


But now she's bigger and has an accomplice, sidekick and muse in Bug, it's futile.


Especially on rainy days, and especially when Peanut upended every last container in the playroom looking for her dolly. Which I had thrown out, because she looked like a cheap hooker. (I like my hookers expensive, thanks.)


So tidying is done once a day, during their concurrent afternoon nap.


I do try to get Peanut to help, and she has cleaned her whole room very effectively many times, but the playroom overwhelms her. Heck, it overwhelms me!

This was her contribution to tidying the playroom yesterday.



One dog, on one shelf.


But it's a start, right?

12 comments:

  1. Ha! I love it! One dog on one shelf... oh that is precious! And i hear you on cleaning up... and I only have one! :)

    THanks for the note on my blog and you make a good point about toddlers still being at "parallel learning" stage... I hadnt ever heard it put that way, sounds like you have more early childhood development education than I do. :) Thanks for the insight and God bless on your next round of my little pony. :)

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  2. We don't have any human children, but there is the dog-son. He has a basket that holds (the remains of) his toys and pulls everything out of it looking for the special something that has taken his interest at that particular time. He spreads the bits and pieces all over the house. I've tried teaching him to put them back in the basket, but he's just not interested. Humpf. Spoodles. ;)
    ~S.

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  3. Great job with putting away the dog....
    A house full to the brim of kids and mess is a blessing from heaven...it does not last forever...and it means that you have been blessed with children who are playing with all that stuff.
    You and I both know people who would give their left arm and their right leg just for a small pile of baby toys to be strewn on the floor.....let alone a whole room full.
    When it gets you down...dont let it.........its only stuff...we have a one game out , then put it away and the next one can come out...it dosnt always work, but it helps as we have a small house....
    revel in it....and laugh about it.............and put it away a bit at a time..............xx

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    1. I don't mind it really, if I did I would stop buying them so much stuff and be far stricter! The problem with one-out-and-one-away, is that Peanuts games tend to run on. She'll be playing ponies, then get out the blocks to build a stable, then add the other farm animals, then have the pirates be horse riders, and before you know it, everything is out! I don't want to stem her creative tide.... but I would like a mop to clean it all up after ;)

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  4. That picture of the lone dog on a shelf is fantastic. Love it. It's like tidying up as performance art.

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  5. Damm it looks like a tornado swept through there looks like they had a whole lot of fun. Wish we had a playroom for everything and then I wouldn't have to deal with 3 different rooms looking like your one. Starting with the youngest peep I could tidy her room and come back 10min later looking almost like yours. Then there's the middle one his is usually ok unless of course his little sister gets board messing hers and thinks his should look the same. And then there's Mr 9, let's just say you can thank your lucky stars you don't have a boy who's in to LEGO........aaaaaggghhhh I hate lego all those little bits and pieces it drives me insane I find it everywhere. But ya just have to let them be kids and have loads of fun because we know it dosnt last for ever and at the end of every day everyone pitches in and helps to clean up good bonding time for team work. Feeling your pain! Jodie

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  6. ha, love this post. It reminds me of my house and my daughters attitude to tidying up!

    I try and be relaxed but have a problem with Lego on the floor - Lego seems to be designed to cause maximum pain when trodden on!

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  7. Love it! And I so relate. My kids' playroom overwhelms me. On another note, I've been meaning to comment for ages and let you know how much I love your blog. I've been reading for a few years since coming over from my friend Givinya de Elba. I missed you during your hiatus. And I'm glad you're back! Like Givinya, you're witty and clever and down-to-earth. Keep it up!

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  8. OH! It's like trying to push custard uphill with a pointed stick.

    Love the colourful mess though, and the dog - Ell-Oh-Ell!

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  9. Thanks for the kind comments at my blog! Parasites coming up!

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  10. I got chills just looking at those texts on the rug. These photos look eerily like my place...just throw in a hundred matchbox cars and a train set.

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