A Neat and Clean House vs Children
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| Tue, 07-27-2010 - 8:35am |
For those of you who like a neat and clean house, how do you keep it that way with children?
I find that if I am tied to goal of having a neat and clean house, I become a raging shrew against my children as they proceed to undo all the neatness I have worked so hard to attain. If I made a "neat and clean house" my goal, my children would not have their messy projects that take days/weeks to complete. My children would not pick up a book (casually left out)as they walk through the family room and browse through- discovering once again the mother actually knows about a few good books. I would let them watch more tv/computer time, as they don't make things as messy when they do. I would squash their ideas if I thought it would make too much of a mess. I wouldn't let them cook/experiment in the kitchen- as it is usually more work for me to clean up after they have "cleaned up". So, how do you inspire creativity and imagination in a neat and clean house? Are you on top of them to put things away as soon as they are done even if it is temporary? Where do you put the legos?....... Have you ever allowed them to take over the living room with all of their toys arranged in a city complex (thomas the train things were the Metro, legos and blocks were the buildings....)? How long would it stay up? Would let it be up for the summer so they could add to and change tings around as they got new ideas? Or allowed them to take over half of the family room for a month+ while they build and live in a beaver lodge (using all the empty shoe and other boxes and some that weren't empty)? Even if you have to walk around it everyday to get to the kitchen? Or do you require that all toys be put away everyday?

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“Clearly," said Arthur,"you're an idiot- but you're our kind of idiot. Come on.”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief
Kitty
Proud member of the Rainbow Poop Debate Squad
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Kitty
"If you can't annoy somebody with what you write, I think there's little point in writing."-- Kingsley Amis, British novelist, 1971 t .
Kitty
Proud member of the Rainbow Poop Debate Squad
************
Kitty
"If you can't annoy somebody with what you write, I think there's little point in writing."-- Kingsley Amis, British novelist, 1971 t .
And I never argued that either. It could happen in the front yard, back yard, walking. It could at the movie theater when coming out anytime, but especially at 2am, it could happen at the Target parking lot, sadly and unfortunately it could happen anywhere.
What I did say is I excercise careful precaution everywhere but yes I take the door advice given by two law enforcement professionals.
Our neighborhood continues a zero crime rate month to month year to year so yes I do feel safe going out for a glass of sweet tea and sitting on my front porch. If I didn't we would have never bought in this neighborhood (or we would have already moved for sure because that is high criteria for us in purchasing a house)
If I used THAT logic then I'd never go to a movie theater, mall, grocery store or even the parking garage at the hospital for dr appointments
Edited 7/30/2010 9:46 am ET by polkadotandflipflops
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Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness.
– George Orwell
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Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness.
– George Orwell
I thought about googling it, but the kids are home and I was afraid of what would pop up on my pc screen.
Long ago ( before kids), when the internet was young, we were looking at furniture from Hooker Furniture. DH wanted to see their website and googled it. It turned out they didn't have a web site yet. Others did though. Some very interesting furniture (among other things) turned up on the the google search.
I use my crockpot occasionally.
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