21 Jun - Master Bedroom

Kids come by clutter habits rightfully, but just because it is the Master Bedroom it doesn't mean that it is all my mess.  A year or so ago I moved all of the girls clothes down to my bedroom because I got so tired of them constantly emptying their drawers and closet.  Then when I would go upstairs I would find the clean and dirty clothes all mixed up.  It got really frustrating.  I was able to keep this under check for a long time, but in the last while it has fallen apart.  Clothes have now become my hate relationship, there is no love/hate in this relationship, just hate.  We are constantly looking for shoes and clean clothes. I tire of hearing every morning, "I can't find any clothes".  My response is always, "Look on the floor" and make them go back in and look.  Imagine this - they always come out in clean clothes!!!  But they have to search for them.  During that search the room gets messier.  This is also the case with in the boys room.  I am getting tired of washing clothes 5 times to the 1 time that they wear it because the clean and dirty clothes are all mixed up together.  Hopefully with them helping me they will someday take some pride in what they own and will eventually learn to take care of it.

It has been a really challenge to get the kids to help today.  They have there moments and they all help a few minutes at one point or another, but it was like pulling teeth to get them to start helping.  Taking that one day off is causing us to go back and retrain them in how to help with being prodded.

I now have them doing their ROR.  They have pushed it and pushed it.  They have tortured and teased each other. Mom is at her whits end.  The timer is now set and they have 20 minutes left to get the living room done (they all have to help because they all helped pick on each other, especially picking on Kristen who has the living room, and her whining and crying in return).  If they get it done in the 30 minutes they were given then they get to go to the pool on this 90 degree day.  If they don't, then they get to sit up on their beds for one hour, preferably with their eyes closed.  So far there is some progress but there is still too much fighting and bickering.

Back to the Master Bedroom - here are the before and after pictures.

 Before

(Those two baskets were full of clean clothes.  

I will give you 3 guesses where they now are and the first 2 don't count.)

After

(What you can't see is that there are few more clothes to be hung up and put away, but the majority of the clothes are now put in their proper places - dirty to the laundry sorters, clean to the closet and drawers.) Take a look at the before picture - did you even know that there was a chair there - I didn't move the chair - just the clothes :)  I can now go to bed tonight without having to climb over a mountain of clothes!!!