Maid Service For Under $10

I know they should do it anyway, but sometimes my kids just need a little extra incentive- especially when they have friends over. The beauty of this system is that everyone participates.

I don't really care who I give the money to as long as the jobs are done.

This is a great system for kids ages 3 to about 10 years old.

Start with a big jar.

Write all the jobs you want done on slips of paper.

They cannot be "Clean the living room," but. rather they should be components of a larger job. Therefore, "clean the living room" becomes:

"Put away things that don't belong in the living room"

"vacuum living room rug"

"sweep living room"

"dust living room"

Each job is worth a quarter. The amount of money each kid makes is determined by the speed they work.

Jonah quit when he had 2 quarters. He's 5. I guess 50 cents was enough for him.

One of the friends decided she wanted a dollar, so she did 4 jobs.

Eventually, everything got clean.

And then we had ice cream.

Speaking Of Expectations

This yumminess was brought to the table by my very capable 12 year old.

He used this recipe- mostly.

I did not help in any way.

That is why we had dinner at 9pm.

But, it sure was good. And, by that time, it tasted even better because we were all so hungry.

We all decided that we did not like the bok choy because it was too bitter. The next time we do it, we will use spinach.

You Are Genius. And, I Love You For It.

A love letter to the absolute genius behind Oxi-Clean;

Dear sir or Madam,

Marry me!

I have long been a fan of your original Oxi-Clean, buying it in bulk from my local Costco. I was especially fond of your powdery goodness when my children were in diapers. Any leak or downright explosion could be easily rectified. The small stained clothing was simply placed in the bucket of Oxi-water solution I kept in the laundry room until the next time I washed laundry. The last task of laundry was to create a new, clean bucket of Oxi-water. Alas, we have outgrown the need for a bucket of Oxi-water, but our love affair with Oxi-clean lives on.

Imagine, if you will, a bathroom that I rarely enter. A bathroom that I avoid at all costs. Against my better judgement, I pulled back the shower curtain in said bathroom and nearly fainted. Let me just say that I have seen cleaner service station bathrooms. And then I saw the commercial for Kaboom Foam.

Marry me.

Kaboom Foam cleaned that disgusting mess as easily as the commercial showed. Sprays on blue, turns white, wipe, rinse. And it smells good, too!

So, from a grateful housewife, I have just one request:

Marry me? Pretty Please?

P.S. Feel free to send me a lifetime supply of your fabulous products for this completely unsolicited endorsement. My lifetime, not yours.

Dirty Dishes

Never once have I claimed to be a perfect house keeper. In fact, I tell my friends that they are welcome to stop and see me any time they want, but If they want the house to be clean, then they need to make an appointment.

My mom, on the other hand, cleans her clean house every day. She dusts her dustless furniture and scrubs her scumless tubs. But it wasn't always that way. I remember as a kid, we had to find the table so we could eat dinner everyday. I also remember PILES of laundry- which you would expect with 6 kids and various extras.

So, where am I going with this?

There are certain things that are expected at our messy house. All the kids except Jonah wash, dry, fold or hang, and put away their own laundry. Jonah is expected to put his laundry away in the drawers or the closet. Most of them can (whether they do it or not) clean a bathroom from top to bottom. The easiest thing of all, I think, is that every one is expected to load their own dishes in the dishwasher. They can all empty the dishwasher, and can all put away the hand washed dishes.

So, when kids come over and they leave their dishes on the table, I call them back, smile sweetly, and tell them that I will not put their dishes in the dishwasher for them. They will, invariably, look at me like I am off my rocker, and take their dishes to the dishwasher. I tell you, with out fail, I find those dishes right side up, on top of other dishes, with the spoon or fork beside them on the top rack. Really?

Am I really that strange to think that a child of 5 years or older should be able to take their own dishes to the dishwasher and load them so I wont have to?