Chaos, Clutter, and Cleanliness

Getting organized again has been one of my biggest challenges and something I am constantly trying to achieve.  When I started parenting my young grandchildren, it was like having triplets in the house only I did not have a chance to get used to them gradually as most parents do. I got them all at once, plus, a brother only 2 years older. They were not triplets, but other than the oldest one, they didn’t have even a full 15 months between them.  They thought like twins and triplets. Anyone who has been a parent of multiples can understand this, I am sure.  While I was cleaning up one mess, there was usually another being made and another. I am sure being planned.

Nothing that is marked childproof works with multiples. The reason for this is each are thinking with different parts of their brain at all times.  I did not realize this at first, of course. My husband and I went through 3 different childproof gates, each more complex than the last and, of course, more expensive. Each time we were scratching our heads when they would figure a way out, around, over, or through it in a matter of 1 or 2 days. On several occasions, we even talked about contacting childproofing companies to see if they wanted to hire the children to work for them and said if they could make anything safe for our grandkids, Houdini couldn’t escape it.  Toys were the same way. They could break anything or take it apart, and they were just 1, 2, 3 and 5. They are now 4, 5, 6 and 8 plus I have the added bonus of a 3 yr old again for a few months.

Socks were a challenge. I have always hated mating socks. But then I had an epiphany. I decided to color code. I had 3 boys and 1 girl. I went to Target, ß-my favorite store, and surveyed the sock selection. The oldest boy was in school and needed both black and white socks, but I was able to get them in the same style. I got 9 pairs of each for him. For the two youngest, I got two different color bottoms they were basically white socks with colored bottoms making them easy to match.  For my granddaughter, it was easy. She loves pink so she got white socks with pink bottoms. Sock mating is now a piece of cake, so easy now, the 3 and 4 year old can do it for me. Children from the ages of 3-5 love to be helpful, and this is a safe job for them to do without much supervision required.

About a year into my adventure, a friend of mine introduced me to a website that over the last couple of years has helped me take better control of my situation. The basic concepts of this site are talked about in many self-help home organization books, and I am not telling you that you can’t get this help from any number of the other sites that are out there. I am telling you this site appealed to me and my need to control the instant chaos that had seemed to descend upon my household. The website can be found at www.flylady.net  it is run by Marla Cilley. She has found a way to attract over 29 thousand followers. It is a fairly simple concept which can be adjusted to suit almost anyone’s schedule. She has books written by both her and others as well.  The bottom line is your house did not get messy overnight. It isn’t going to get clean overnight. Also, you can do anything for 15 minutes, or if need be, adjust your time and clean for 10 minutes, whatever it takes.  Even doing a quick, non-stop clean-up for 10 minutes in one room 5 or 6 times a day, gives you about an hour’s worth of cleaning time. On her website, she talks about hotspot fire drills and 5 minute room rescues, but my absolute favorite would have to be swish and swipe.  With 4 of the little angels being boys, and boys, of course, standing up in the bathroom to do their business; a bathroom can get stinky really quick if you do not stay on it very regularly. Who here likes to clean bathrooms?  Well with the daily swish and swipe, the task becomes a lot less daunting simply because you are basically giving your bathroom a wipe down every day, and it always smells fresh. At least as fresh as a bathroom can at a given moment.   Here is a link to the swish and swipe routine page just in case anyone is interested:  http://www.flylady.net/d/habits-of-the-month/july/.  If you decide to sign up for the website, then happy flying. It isn’t necessary to sign up to gain the helpful hints which are offered there.  The emails can become overwhelming but there are ways to manage those as well. I just know it has helped me to bring my somewhat chaotic, suddenly child filled world, back into focus so that my house isn’t always topsy-turvy.