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 Photo by Joel Filipe on Unsplash This chores game pays off BIG when it comes to tackling disorder.
 You know that satisfying feeling you get when you create fresh neat rows of mowed grass? You don’t have to overthink it. You just proceed—row by row—until the job is done. I like to apply this strategy to systematically clean a messy room—to make the chore more fun. I call this game, “Mow the Lawn.” It keeps me from bouncing around and getting distracted. It also works great when you’re not sure where to even begin in places like cluttered closets and garages. (For me right now that's an oxymoron. Got some mowing to do!) How it works Start in one corner of the room or area. Decide which direction you’re going to mow through the mess. Proceed in rows, back and forth, until you’ve covered the entire room. Unlike mowing the lawn, you’ll have to leave the row to put items away but just return to where you left off and keep mowing along—until the job is in the bag. What I like about this game:
 Girls can kick some grass When I was a kid, girls did not mow the lawn at our house. It wasn’t until I was a single mom with no manpower around that I ever yanked a starter cable. Somehow I made that sound a little dirty, and this is a clean blog about cleanliness, so don’t go there, OK?! Anyhoo, I remember how rewarding it felt to get the job done. Confession time: Now I have a handsome hubby who does the mowing. I could do it. I totally could. He knows that. But instead, I am a weirdo “mowing the lawn” in my kitchen. That’s me. I taught this make-chores-fun game to my 5-year-old granddaughter, and we mowed her messy bedroom in a matter of minutes. She happily sang, "mowing, mowing, mowing..." as we worked away. I recommend that for upping the fun and weirdo factor!  “Little things make big things happen.” —John Wooden For years, OK, make that decades, I let my clothes fall where they may in the bedroom. If you thought that sounded sexy, you’d be terribly wrong. So not sexy. More like the dressing rooms at Old Navy on the Saturday before school starts … lots of poor choices, empty hangers and inside-out jeans. We’re talking clothes clutter. When I’d finally get around to tackling this fabric of my life, it was a serious time suck. That changed when I started playing a morning edition of “The 10-Pick-Up Game.” How it works Each morning before I leave the house, I pick up 10 items in the bedroom—clothes or otherwise—and put them where they should be. I don’t overthink it. Every flip-flop, dirty sock and coffee cup counts. It takes just a minute or two, and then I get on with my day. I am also not a morning person, so believe me, I am not always chipper about it. I just do it. I’ve been playing this a.m. game for a few months, and it’s like I am a real grown-up. I don’t have to ground myself every weekend until I clean my room. Not to be overly dramatic, but how does life-changing sound?!? And a funny thing has happened. Now that the room tends to stay clean, I am more likely to hang my clothes up at the end of the day. Who is this person? She’s someone who’s happier. Sometimes it truly is the little things.  Finding little ways to make chores more fun. This post is the first in the RYC’s Pebbles category—small steps that can pave the way to success.  This game started my make-chores-more-fun mission in life. My little sister and I would play this when we had a particularly messy room. It relies on the power of progress. You see results and build momentum. If you know anything about sports, momentum is something you want on your side. This is a great collaborative game to play with kids. Not too long ago, I taught "The 10-Pick-Up Game" to my 4-year-old granddaughter. Suddenly, cleaning the playroom went from torturous to triumphant. Grown-ups can rock this game solo too. It might seem silly at first, but it works. Trust me on that. How it works You have a messy room or area to clean. Pick a home base, such as a bed or chair. Pick up and put away items, counting from one to 10. Once you hit 10 items return to home base. If you’re playing with others, wait for them to complete the round. This is an important part of the game: Look around at your good work. Relish the progress you’ve made. Decide if you need to go for another round. Repeat until you have completed the job. What I like about this game:
This game has stood the test of time. Let me know if you give it a try. I’ve actually used a variation of it to change a lifelong bad habit. More on that later. |
Hello!I am Margie Reece. I am here to help you rock your chores and have some fun doing it. Categories
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February 2020
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