A Neat and Clean House vs Children

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-17-2007
A Neat and Clean House vs Children
2597
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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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 1:26pm
well, i'm glad us foodies and chef-wannabees are all different because I LOVE when I come home after I've had my meal in the crockpot the whole day while I'm at work.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-08-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 1:31pm
My definition of functional, competent and independent involves not needing to rely on others to do what you can do for yourself. Obviously if there is something one CAN'T do, that person is going to have to rely on others to get that particular task done. But there is a reason why, for instance, older people who used to be able to do things like clean their own gutters or shovel their own snow, but no longer can, sometimes refer to the aging process as a gradual loss of one's independence. Several of our neighbors are at that stage right now, and they are not particularly happy about it.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2000
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 1:35pm

I've never had someone who was available to turn a crockpot on for me after I left for work. I was gone for typically 9-10 hours when I WOHFT and nothing that I ever made could cook that long and still come out right. Mine has a warming feature. I'm sure that meals that require shredded type of beef/pork it's fine, but for any kind of chicken dish I've ever made, it overcooked the chicken. Plus, most recipes (not all) that I've come across call for canned soup which I don't like to use. I've just found that for me personally, crockpot cooking is more work than just preparing the meal from start to finish, or letting it simmer on the stove or in the oven all afternoon.

Obviously many people are quite successful at crockpot cooking, but for me, it just doesn't work well. But like Savcal, I love to cook and just haven't found that many crockpot recipes that taste very good. Some, but not many. Which is why I rarely use it b/c I like variety in cooking.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-08-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 1:43pm
Our family's very favorite crockpot recipes are a Moroccan lamb stew which I make in the crockpot and come home and serve over couscous, and a Belgian recipe involving dredging and browning the stew mean first, then putting it in the crockpot over a bed of sliced onions and cooking it to death in beer. I serve that over either rice or noodles.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2000
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 1:57pm
That sounds delicious! Can you share the recipe when you have a chance? You can post it on my FB page or email me through FB (I'm going on vacation tomorrow so will probably miss if you post here). See, even though I've looked, I haven't found that many crockpot recipes that have worked for me. I have a few, but not many.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 2:08pm

Me too, on the cook top.

I don't have double wall ovens but a couple of years ago I did get a pretty large toaster oven and it does make it nice having two ovens on holidays. The rest of the year I rarely use my regular oven, only my toaster oven.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-17-2007
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 2:15pm
That is my habit too.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 2:16pm
I love to cook also and yes, I'm lucky to have someone here who can turn on the crockpot for me.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 2:18pm

That is very true.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2009
Fri, 07-30-2010 - 2:18pm
i have a recipe for short ribs that I do by first searing the meat, then putting it into the crockpot with beer.

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