In every job that must be done....

They say that cleaning a house while children live there

is like shoveling the walk while it's still snowing.

Some days feel like a light flutter and others feel like a

category 6 blizzard.
When I was a kid, I shared a

room with my two sisters.

Needless to say, it was difficult

to keep a tidy room.

I HATED when we had to clean it.

I knew if I ever got a genie in a bottle

(which I totally thought was possible until I was about 12)

that I would only need one of the three promised wishes.

Not money, not a bigger house, not the latest toy.

No. I wanted something much

more valuable.

I wanted so badly

to be able to snap my fingers like Mary Poppins

and have things magically put themselves away.

Oh to have that amazing power.

That would still be my one wish.

Imagine all the extra time.

So, while cleaning is not my favorite thing

I do love a clean house.

So this off track we did some deep cleaning in the basement.

You know the kind that only happens a few times a year.

The baseboards get cleaned, the walls washed, the mattresses vacuumed.

Every nook and cranny is attended to.
We went through clothes and shoes and discarded the things we no longer need.

We threw away papers and trinkets,

and got rid of the one-armed barbies and hairless dolls.

It was quite an undertaking.

I hate doing this but love the end result.

This is the first time I really involved the girls in this process.

You all know that it's so much easier to just do it yourself

but I feel it is important to teach them at a younger age so

that when they move out of my home,

they will know how to keep their home.

After three days and a few temper tantrums

(by everyone involved)

we had a very clean and organized basement and bedrooms.

Nothing was out of it's appropriate place.

The girls were especially proud of their efforts

and were very excited to show Daddy.

After we had the talk about how lovely their spaces were

and how important it is to keep things neat and clean,

the girls each promised me that they would keep things as they were.

I actually had some confidence in them.

I walked out of Makenna and Olivia's room and heard this conversation.

Olivia: "I love when our room is so clean".

Makenna: "Me too. Don't you think we should keep it like this all the time".

Olivia: "Yeah. We should...

.

.

.

But we probably won't".

I better get a bigger shovel.