That’s me ... throwing myself a little countertop chocolate milk party. It’s also evidence of my early need for fun and gratification—and chocolate. Always chocolate. This was my dad’s favorite picture of me. It was lost for years, and he would tell me wistfully how much he wished he and my mom could find it. When my siblings and I were cleaning out my parents’ home after they passed away (within months of each other), we discovered it. I thought about how happy that would have made my father—to see that grinning chocolately face. (This one's for you, Dad.) It also makes me think of the lost memories in my home. I want to make this photo my inspiration to uncover those hidden treasures. I really regret that it was only after my parents were gone that we dove into the deep clutter. They would have loved sharing the memories with us and they could have answered our many questions. So I am musing on what Rock Your Chores games I can come up with to go deep on clutter in 2019. I am hoping some of you will join me. (Like will you come to my house and help??!) I can say with confidence that most of what I’ll uncover is probably more trash than treasure. That’s pretty motivating too. Less trash. More chocolate. Sound like a plan? Curator of The Happy Childhood Museum Part of my personal clutter crisis is that I am holding on to artifacts from when our kids were young. Do they want these dusty relics of their upbringing? No—well, not in their own beautifully uncluttered adult homes, anyway. So I hold on. Can I finally part with soccer jerseys and science projects? If you have let go of this type of sentimental clutter, please give me a kind word of advice, as I aim to find the true treasures in our deep clutter time capsule. The Disney movies on VHS, you ask? No way. Those are staying. This lady is a sucker for the tramp. This fox needs her hound. This beauty ... OK, enough of that.
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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! This Rock it Wednesday comes courtesy of a dear friend. She shared an idea she uses to inspire her to exercise ... and it involves ROCKS!! On brand, baby! From the lovely Lynne: "I have a wooden bowl that I put a rock in every time I exercise (bicycling, fishing or walking). When I get 10 rocks, I get a treat! It's fun to see the rocks piling up!" She sent me the picture above of her beautiful bowl of inspiration. It was handmade by her son in middle school. How sweet is that? Please don't say that anymore Before Lynne headed to the hills to be a bonafide mountain woman, she was my walking buddy. Over the years, we put in a lot of miles and covered many topics of great importance, from our deepest emotional scars to how we could really use a cold beer. One of my least favorite quotes comes from Lynne. When I would complain about getting older, she was fond of saying, "Just think about it. We'll never look better than we do right now." Thanks for that, Lynne. Really helpful. I refuse to believe that, by the way. Keeping hope, delusion and low-lighting alive. And you'll always be beautiful to me, friend. xo Here’s a weekly game for folks who have a list of someday-maybe tasks. I am with you! Someday we’ll feel like it, right? Maybe we’ll have time later. Someday. Maybe. Organize my tax records. Order vacation prints. Detail the car. Sign up for a fitness class. Research a new laptop. Donate old coats. Clean the junk drawer. Trim that tree. Start that crafty project. Fix that broken thingamajig. Sound familiar? Chores like these don’t necessarily have to be done, but still, we would like to do them. And it can be a real drag when we carry them with us mentally month after month. That makes it time for "The Put Up or Shut Up Jar." How it works Write down a few someday-maybe tasks you can think of—the ones that come easily to mind. You can always add more later as they come to you. Let’s be retro and use real paper, because scissors are involved. To add some fun (remember that’s why I am here), throw in a few happy things you tend to put off. Maybe that’s getting a massage, seeing a movie or having a beer with an old friend. Or finding the perfect gray boots (that's mine!). Whatever you’ve been meaning to do for yourself and haven't made the time. Cut your list into separate tasks and fold them up … like cute little fortunes. Find a jar to put them in or use a bowl or cup. OK, now comes the put up part. You saw that coming. Draw one item out. In the next week, that’s your chore to rock. Do one of these four things: 1. Just do it. 2. Make real progress on it. 3. For a bigger project, take the first key step to get the ball rolling. 4. Delegate it or hire someone to do it. If you do one of those four things, you PUT UP. Way to go! If you finish early in the week, keep the progress party going and draw again. Just restart the 7-day clock. (I may have just invented something there.) If you didn’t do any of those four things, well, here’s the SHUT UP part. It’s time to let that task go. You didn’t fail—you were given a sign. You don’t want it bad enough to move on it. That’s OK. We all have limited time, energy and headspace. One day in the future, perhaps this undone chore will get bad enough, urgent enough or appealing enough to motivate you to take action. But for now, let go of the guilt and move on with life and to things that matter more to you. Don’t put it back in the jar. It’s dead to you. Mamas against meanness Writing this post made me remember this fondly ... When my kids were young, we had a mason jar that was better known as “The Shut Up, Stupid Jar.” If they ever called each other stupid or told someone to shut up, they owed the jar a quarter. At the time, I was a single mom and my tolerance for petty meanness was low, very low. I didn’t make much bank over the years, so they weren’t stupid and knew when to shut up. At the least, they had to come up with more creative comebacks and insults. Those were the words of my feisty 4-year-old granddaughter, Quinn, one Saturday when her parents were introducing her to the idea of family chores. She, like her grandmother, is a girl who is all about the fun. We love to be together, and it’s often during busy holidays or weekends that we get that opportunity. But Gigi has stuff to do! So I try to make what I want to get done as fun as possible so she’s happy to join me. One Christmas holiday, I gave her a small clipboard with my to-dos. She got to be in charge of the list, holding me accountable. She was three and couldn’t read, but she faked it pretty well—a born girl boss. When it was time to make up beds, she agreed that I should be the hotel maid and she’d supervise. She didn’t pitch in, but she did order the housekeeping staff pretend pizza. Other times, we turn meal prep into “Quinn & Gigi’s Restaurant.” (Notice who got top billing?!) She helps plan the offerings and oversees the dining room. She makes adorable menus and takes the orders. She’s happily occupied while I get breakfast or dinner ready, and she’s also learning restaurant etiquette and customer service. She can really turn on the charm that one. Quinn’s also keeping up the family tradition of "The 10-Pick-Up Game." When she’s on task, she’s engaged and tenacious. Think the energizer bunny with red hair. The last time we played, she was all about the speed. So it doubled as a workout. Worker Boy I swear Quinn’s little brother, Cal, came out of the womb ready to rock his chores. As a 1-year-old, he was fascinated with brooms and vacuum cleaners. He preferred that aisle at Target to the toy section. His dad is super tidy, so I think it’s great he sees those as manly tools of the trade. Cal’s three now, and the last time they visited, he told me about all the various jobs he had to do at home and at Gigi and Pa’s house. Building stuff. Smashing stuff. Hauling stuff. He uses a very husky voice when he’s talking about his work ambitions. It’s adorable and a little unsettling too. “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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