Works For Me Wednesday- The Cleaning Inspector

I must admit I read about this idea in a magazine once. Some poor, worn out mom was tired of nagging, I mean always asking her kids to pick up their rooms. So one day she came up with the idea that an inspector needed to come visit and check out the state of her kids rooms and leave a report. I really had no idea such a thing would work, but I was willing to give it a try with my 6 and 8 year old. I told them that they needed to pick up their room because Inspector Gerard (in my house funny sounding names work best!) was coming to check their room. I told them he would be here later, when they were out playing. I think I mentioned something about how I hoped he didn't condemn the place etc., etc.
Immediately my children began putting away, dusting, vacuuming. It was amazing. They wanted a good report from this Inspector Gerard. Later when they were finished I checked their room, wrote up a quick report on a piece of paper (he did find a pair of shoes under the bed that needed to be corrected:) ) signed the report and stuck it to their door. When they found the report they quickly put away the shoes, smiled over all the "stars" they received and then we celebrated passing inspection with a mug of hot chocolate.
Now, really, I don't think my kids really fell for Inspector Gerard, they knew it was me. But it was just the added excitement that helped motivate them. So hats off to Inspector Gerard, he'll be visiting again soon.

For more helpful hints head over to Shannon's at Rocks In My Dryer!

Don't Make Your House An Idol

A new friend of mine recently said something to me that I have latched onto. She said, referring to her newly built home, I will not make my house my idol.

That is good advice. Don't you know people who do this? The state of their home rules every living moment. To the point they can't relax or let their kids play. I remember next door neighbors of ours when we lived in Virginia who literally lived in their basement because the mother didn't want the kids to mess up her house. I got to walk through part of it once. All I can remember is white shag carpets (yes I am dating myself), huge gold colored vases, more white this time the furniture and I think several pictures of Elvis on the wall. This was definitely more of a shrine than a home. Kind of like the houses you went to where all the furniture was covered in plastic (really not a bad idea when you have sticky fingered toddlers running around, ahem)!

At this point if my hubby is reading this he's going to think this is just another excuse to not do housework... But really no. Everyone likes a tidy, clean house. I think the point is that things will spill, get broken, fall apart, etc. and you need to just take it with a grain of salt. A home full of love and happiness beats a dust and smudge free house any day.

So don't make your home an idol. That's all I have to say:)