Turkey Weekend

It's been a busy few days at Casa de Shown. Wednesday was a marathon baking day for me. I started after breakfast and washed the last dish about 7:30pm. The fruits of my efforts included: 8 pies (4 regular, 4 mini), 9 loaves of pumpkin bread, one cake, and 5 dozen rolls. Thank goodness it was chilly enough that the garage became my walk-in fridge!

Carter was bored and came over to play with the boys for awhile. He stayed for lunch and then headed home. Jerry arrived a few minutes later. He took a half day to go pick up Roz. It was a long six plus hours in the car for him. The boys were already in bed when he got back with Roz.

Roz got up early and headed to church to play a traditional early morning game of football. She jammed her finger when catching the ball. While she was in the kitchen getting ready to ice it she passed out. We're guessing a combination of things (hunger, tired, pain, etc.) led to her little black out. At that point she hadn't even been home 12 hours! She's been fine since, although her finger was a little swollen and bruised.

Roz and I headed to CVS for a few minutes of freebie shopping before heading to Grandma Linda's to watch the Packers and have Thanksgiving dinner. We had a quick lunch, watched the game, and hung out. Hayden and J.D. both managed to take great naps. While the little boys were napping the bigger boys went on a walk with Grandma Linda. They had only been gone a couple minutes before they came running back all excited that they had seen a "dead raccoon" in the cemetery across the street.

Pa and I joined Grandma and the boys and headed over to check it out. We rode in Pa's truck over to the raccoon who wasn't dead after all but critically injured. Our best guess is the poor thing got hit crossing the road. Except for our short observation and this picture I snapped we left him (or her?) alone and went back home. Tenderhearted Wesley remained concerned but there really was nothing we could have done. After Hayden woke up we let him open his birthday gifts. We decided to add a small birthday celebration for him to the Thanksgiving activities. We had a delicious dinner with all the usual trimmings then topped it all off with cake and pie. We tried something new this year that will have to become an annual tradition. We made our own butter!! It was so good! Just put heavy cream (we used whipping cream) with a dash of salt in a jar and shake it. After shaking it for about 25 minutes you'll get a clump of butter and the liquid is buttermilk. Roz, Little John, and I took turns shaking it and just when we thought it wasn't going to work it finally did! We had enough butter for all 17 of us to have butter on our rolls with a little left over. The kids especially thought it was great. I originally read that you're suppose to let everyone take a turn shaking the jar and if you want as you pass the jar you can say something you're thankful for. Unfortunately, we kind of forgot about it and had to just do it quickly while we were trying to finish up getting dinner ready. Maybe next year we can make more of an activity of it. Try it for your Christmas dinner!!

Friday we set up our tree. Roz, with a little help (and I use the term help loosely) from the boys put the tree together in the morning. After she got of work in the evening we decorated it.
Wesley had the honor of putting the angel on top of the tree this year. Since Roz is now officially an adult she passed the torch to Wesley. Who apparently is almost too big for Daddy to lift! Guess we should have given the job to someone smaller (or at least lighter)!

Saturday we made our own turkey. There's no such thing as too much turkey! We'll eat it for several meals using it in all sorts of casseroles and soups. While the turkey was cooking we cleaned out the garage, getting it ready for winter. We need that snow blower handy just in case. We've been spoiled with the great weather so far but I'm guessing at some point we will have snow!
Jerry did a great job hanging up all the bikes. It's much easier to get around the third stall without all the bikes in the way!
We brought in the basketball hoops and hose and folded up all the strollers. We're stocked up on salt already too! After last years ice fiasco we wanted to be prepared. We actually bought our salt on clearance last spring. But I just got an email reminder this week from myself to "BUY SALT". I set up the reminder when we had all that ice and there was no salt to be found! Jerry says it's like my past self is talking to me!
It's always great to have Roz home. We managed to visit with her despite the fact that she picked up a several hours of work at the Pig both Friday and Saturday plus spent time with friends and did some shopping too. She caught a ride back to EC today about noon. Right now we're all enjoying a quiet Sunday afternoon. Our regular busy weekdays will seem like taking it easy after this weekend!

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

A Prayer of Thanksgiving
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Lord, behold our family here assembled.
We thank thee
For this place in which we dwell;
For the peace accorded us this day,
For the hope with which we expect tomorrow;
For the health, the work, the food
And the bright skies that make our lives delightful,
For our friends in all parts of the earth and our friendly helpers . . .
Let peace abound in our small company.

Happy Thanksgiving
from
The Showns!

Saturday Fun

This past Saturday we headed to downtown GB to watch the Holiday Parade. The last time we went Wesley was only two. It is usually pretty chilly but not this year. The boys were peeling off their jackets because they were too hot! In November! It was crazy!
We were sitting near the end of the parade route which wasn't too bad except the large balloons turned before they got to us to avoid some overhead wires. Unfortunately, we also had some rude "neighbors" that chose to stand in the middle of the road and block the view for rest of us. The boys were disappointed that there wasn't very much candy being thrown (they are spoiled by our parades where buckets of candy is the norm!). Although J.D. was very happy with the squishy ball he got from the local cable company.

We ended up cutting out a bit before the end. Partly because the boys were getting antsy and partly because we had a couple other places to go before naptime.
While we were waiting for the parade to start we went and walked a little bit on the trail down by the river. It really was a beautiful November day! There were a few artistic sculptures down along the trail. We took this photo for Grandma Molly:
I don't know if you can see it but that huge bird is attacking a poor helpless frog! Wesley thought it was neat... the bird, not the frog carnage!

After the parade, we headed to Wendy's for lunch. We ate. That is about the nicest thing I can say about Wendy's. To say they were a bit overwhelmed would be an understatement. And I'm pretty sure some health codes were being broken because I know for a fact that the faucet wasn't working in the women's restroom. I don't even want to think about what that means for the lady who prepared my burger.

But the service at Wendy's seemed top notch compared to our next stop. Jerry and I now remember why we avoid shopping at Best Buy like it's the plague! They have the worst customer service! Jerry and an employee actually got into a little shouting match while other shocked shoppers looked on. The only reason people shop at that store has to be the prices. We were there long enough that each of the boys had to go to the bathroom, some twice!

Anyway, we walked out of there with what we wanted which was the cheapest computer we could find. Since both Jerry and I have been blogging one computer just wasn't cutting it. It's a PC (boo!) but it was cheap and since we don't plan to do anything too stressful to it (you know like install stuff or put photos/music on it) we are hoping it will last for at least a little while and not become the world's largest paperweight like all our past PCs. At least it has Windows 7... which is supposed to be better...

Thankful Tree

This week we are making a "Thankful Tree". After Bible time each day we are each going to say something we are thankful for and write it on a leaf. The only rules are you can't say the same thing as someone else and you can't say the same thing each day. After we've written our name and what we are thankful for we then take the leaves and hang them on the "tree".

The leaves are just some fall coloring pages I printed from the internet onto colored paper. I used red, orange, and yellow paper. The tree is just a branch stuck into a jar. I put dried corn into the jar to weigh it down and because it looks festive. You could use beans or rice too. I added a little bow to make it prettier as well.

The boys enjoyed helping me cut out and put the string through enough leaves to get us through Thanksgiving Day. It's a little bare right now but by Thursday it will have plenty of leaves! It's kind of a reverse of the trees outside!

Fall Cleaning: Living Room

This should be one of the easier rooms in the house to clean. If you are like most people you probably do a pretty decent job of keeping up with the living room since that is the room people see most often when coming to your home. And this is a great time of year to clean the living room since a lot of people are moving knick knacks and furniture to bring out the Christmas decorations anyway.

1. Take down all window treatments and wash them (if possible). At least shake them out if you can't launder them or take them to the cleaners. Dust or wash the blinds.

2. Wipe down ceiling fan, if you have one. Remove all the (removable) parts of the light fixture(s). Wash glass shades in hot soapy water and dry. Wipe down the remaining parts of the fixture that cannot be removed.

3. Dust the ceiling first, then dust the walls. Use a rag or an extending duster. A regular (dry) Swiffer also works nicely.

4. Wash door (front and back), door knob, and frame. Don't forget the top of the door and the door frame.

5. Wash window(s) inside and out. Don't forget the sill and frame. Brush window screen with a dry, stiff brush.

6. Vacuum any upholstered furniture. Don't forget to take cushions off furniture and vacuum under them.
7. Move each piece of furniture and vacuum under it using the vac tool to get along the wall. Dust any parts of the walls (including the baseboard) you may have missed before you moved the furniture. Dust the furniture (top, front, back, and sides) before returning it to it's place. Clean any decorative items and lamps on tables. [You can move all the furniture at once or do it one piece at a time.]

8. Dust any remaining items hanging on the wall. Wipe down frames/mirrors, clean glass with glass cleaner. Remove any items from wall shelves, dust the items, and the shelf.

9. Wipe any heating/cooling vents. Wipe light switch plate.

10. Go around room and wipe baseboards with a damp rag.

11. Vacuum floor/rug. Use vac tool to get along the edge of the wall.

12. If you need to declutter: Don't put back any items you don't use or belong! Keep only a few items on top of tables or shelves. This makes it much easy to clean on a regular basis.

13. Nothing should be stored loose on the floor (books, videos, toys, etc.). Find a home for these items-use baskets, drawers, or shelves. We store the kids books in a basket inside of an end table that has a door. We also keep a small basket of toys out as well, but most of the toys are in the basement. If you do keep a lot of toys in the living room figure out a way to keep them tidy. Kids can't be expected to put away their toys if there really is no place to put them!
14. If you have a front entryway, clean that as part of the living room. If you need tips on cleaning out a closet, follow the tips in the master bedroom post. We don't use our front hall closet for coats... we converted it to homeschool storage by adding shelves. We hang our coats by the back door. When we have guests we just put their jackets in the master bedroom. If you lack storage somewhere in your house, seriously re-think the extra space in your front hall closet. At our old house we used the front hall closet for toy storage. Get creative and think outside the box closet. Toy storage, homeschool supply storage, or even extra pantry space are all good options!The living room cleaning checklist can be found here. Want to keep it looking great?

• Pick up toys and clutter daily or twice daily.
• If you get something out, put it away.
  
• Dust and vacuum once a week.
  

If you have a family room, just follow these instructions. I'm not going to do a separate post for halls or entryways, but don't forget them! The last room we have left is the kitchen. We saved the hardest for last. I'll save my kitchen post for the first week of December. Then your whole house will be clean and ready to go for the Christmas season! I am planning on doing a whole post on organizing the paper that can clutter up our homes and lives after the new year!

Four For H

Today is Hayden's fourth birthday! He woke up to balloons and signs in the kitchen and then had an otherwise normal day. While he napped I got out his gifts and set out his cake. Which the brothers all declared "very cool". Hayden liked it as well.

I have to admit that I kind of steered him in the direction of this cake when it was time to choose his birthday cake this year. I had seen the cake on BettyCrocker.com (if you need cute cake ideas they have lots!) and I just thought it was so cute. So when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted and he said a car cake again I told him, "You had that last year. How about a barn cake this year?". Thankfully he agreed. It was definitely one of the easier cakes I have made. Thanks to a fellow mom of twins who sells cake decorating stuff I was finally able to find truly red food coloring! And I got a great frosting recipe as well! Tastes just like a bakery... YUM!

We had homemade pizza for dinner (stuffed crust for the grown-ups and half cheese/half pepperoni for the kids) before moving on to the cake. This was the first birthday Roz has been away from home so we opened up the old video chat.

Not only did Roz (and Jeff) join us, but the Showns and my parents did as well. We had a few technical difficulties but it really is amazing that we had four computers so many miles apart all connected to sing "Happy Birthday" to a sweet little boy!

After the chat and a piece of cake Hayden opened a few presents. Hayden was very pleased with his gifts and so were his brothers. Community property laws, you know.

This will be the last birth story of the year... so if you are interested in reading it here's Hayden's! It's a good one! Right, Mom?! Full of adventure and another ambulance ride! Hayden's labor ended up being longer than any of the other boys but only because they tried to stop it.

Happy Birthday Hayden!!

Hats and Mittens

Keeping track of hats and mittens for five little boys is a real challenge. Actually, I'm surprised we don't lose more mittens and gloves! Earlier this year when the winter gear went on clearance I went and bought several sets of gloves, mittens, and hats.

The problem is multiplied by the number of people we have and the fact that we have to keep track of more than one pair of gloves for each person. We have lighter weight gloves for when it's not too cold and super thick, waterproof mittens for playing in the snow. Each person has at least two pair plus a hat. Except for me, I don't have a hat... I look silly in a hat. I only wear one if I'm shoveling (which isn't often) and then I'll only wear it if it's dark!

We've tried storing these items in a basket but then it's a pain to find the matching sets. If it takes each person 2 minutes to find matching mittens we'll always be 16 minutes late wherever we go! Sometimes, when we're out and about especially, we just stuff them in the kids sleeves, but that's not a very good long term solution. One of my friends, who also has six kids, custom built lockers in their back entry. Since we don't have lockers, I had to come up with a better storage solution for our back hall. I considered my options all summer then last week I found one of these plastic shoe organizers on clearance.
I already had two of these in the house, but one is Roz's and holds her shoes and the other is in the front hall closet full of homeschooling supplies. I think this will help us keep track of gloves, hats, and mittens this winter. I especially like that you can see what's in each pocket and it doesn't take up any extra space in the closet! And look... we even have some empty pockets!! I put the boys stuff down lower so they can reach to both retrieve and put away on their own. Having the clear pockets was helpful so I didn't even have to label the pockets with names.

Now if I could only think of a better way to organize the boots than to just line them up outside in the garage!

Mild November Saturday

Saturday was unseasonably warm for November. To take advantage, we headed out on a little family bike ride. As a quick side note, I have to tell you how we got our "new to us" bike trailer. I am a member of the local Mother's of Multiples club (secretary in fact). :) Each spring and fall the group hosts a multi-family rummage sale. We've gotten lots of great deals over the years!

This past spring, I saw this bike trailer and I thought to myself if it was $25 or less I would get it. I mentioned this to another mom and she said there was no way that trailer would be priced that low (it was a nice trailer). Imagine my surprise when I saw that it was exactly $25 and it already had a SOLD sticker on it. Argh! It ended up my other deal seeking friend, Erica, beat me to it!
A few weeks ago, Erica decided that she didn't want the trailer after all and asked me if I wanted it. So Jerry took her a check and picked it up this week. What luck that we were able to actually try it out this weekend! I thought we'd just have to put it away until spring.

It worked out great for everyone... except Jerry. I rode my bike pulling JD and Hayden in the trailer. I didn't even feel them back there unless we were on a hill! Wesley, Eli, and Justus rode their bikes and Jerry... well, poor Jer ended up on Roz's bike. (He doesn't have one!) Despite the fact that we only made two stops, the school playground and Grandma Vern's house, Jerry managed to get a couple comments on his "nice, pink bike" courtesy of a couple smart alec kids at the park and my aunt. I won't even mention that he ended up getting left behind for a few minutes when the chain fell off. Oops, I just did!

The boys had a great time riding their bikes, playing on the playground, and visiting Grandma. I am looking forward next spring and summer when we'll be able to ride to the library, park, or just for fun. Maybe by spring my legs won't hurt anymore! Just kidding, they already feel much better today. While everything was fine during our bike ride, I was really feeling my leg muscles about midway through the afternoon. Thank goodness for ibuprofen.

Only in Green Bay

Jerry taught children's church this weekend. Here is Wesley's little assignment:

(click to enlarge if you can't see Wesley's secret message)

Isn't it sweet that he wants EVERYONE to have faith? Obviously, faith wasn't the only thing on his mind though. Well, it is Sunday...and football season... and we live in Green Bay!! This season I guess being a Packer fan does require a little faith!

Medical Update

A couple months ago Wesley's regular dermatologist was booked up so we were scheduled to see one of her partners. This ended up being a BIG blessing in disguise. The "new" doctor said if the squaric acid wasn't making a difference by now we should try something else. So she decided to apply "beetle juice" (aka cantharidin) to his warts and we also increased his oral medication (Tagament-the antacid) to three times a day.

The cantharidin goes on just like the squaric acid. And needs to be washed off several hours later just like the SA too. It also blisters quite a bit, but since it is not causing an allergic reaction like the SA it is more localized to just the actual warts and not itchy or painful at all. No more tears in the night and dose after dose of Benedryl! The skin around the warts is not affected, which was a big problem with the SA. Overall, a much better treatment to deal with for Wesley.

The best part? I don't know if it was the increased Tagament or the beetle juice or a combination of the two, but his warts improved dramatically... even more than all the previous squaric acid treatments combined! He has since had another treatment and goes again next Friday for another.

The bummer is that it costs more, a lot more. But if it works it will be worth it! I have taken pictures along the way but Wesley has asked me not to post them. Maybe when it is all said and done I will post some before and after pictures. Who knew there were so many strange "natural juices" out there to treat warts!? It has definitely been a learning experience for all of us.

If things keep going as well as they have been I am hoping a few more treatments will do the trick and Wesley will be rid of these warts for good! Then we can move on to the next medical issue... JD has his first eye exam with the pediatric ophthalmologist scheduled for next Friday. Unfortunately, we noticed his eyes are starting to cross a bit here and there. I'm guessing it's accommodative esotropia... we'll see if I'm right next week.

Speaking of eyes, Eli had a re-check this week and his "bad" eye slid back a few notches without the patch therapy so we are back to the eye patch 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. So the good 'ol blue eye patch came out of storage and is again in use. Eli seemed to take the news well and, thankfully, hasn't complained about wearing it. Yet.

Fall Cleaning: Laundry Room

The laundry room can be a challenge. Some of you might not have a laundry room at all. At our old house we had a laundry area in the unfinished basement, but I still tried to keep it tidy. I didn't really have walls to dust, but I'd still get the cobwebs and complete the rest of what is included in the checklist below at least yearly. Personally, I spend a lot of time doing laundry, so it's nice to have a tidy area to work in! Even if your laundry area is in part of storage area, garage, or basement you can still give it a good cleaning once or twice a year and keep it neat.

How it should look!

How it usually looks!
At least those clothes are clean!

1. The first step is to get the clean laundry put away. I need to work on this. I get the laundry done, but I am really bad about putting it away. Our goal right now is to clean the actual room so the first thing you want to do is get the clean clothes out of the area so they don't get dirty while you clean.

2. Dust the walls and ceiling. Wipe down any decorations. Wipe any vents or fans. Wash any rugs and curtains. Lint gets all over in a laundry room. (If your laundry room is in a bathroom follow the bathroom cleaning checklist.)

3. If you haven't already, clear the tops of the washer and dryer. Wipe down all sides of the washer and dryer. They get dusty! You may also want to wipe out the inside of your dryer, especially around the door area where lint can build up.

4. Clean any counter tops and wipe out the sink, if you have one.

5. Wipe down the outside of cabinet doors and drawers. Empty each cabinet and drawer, wipe down shelves and replace like items together. If you store cleaning supplies in the laundry room, safely dispose of any that are really old or stuff you know you'll never use before returning them to their spot. If you need to dispose of household chemicals, you might want to find out about proper disposal. In our county you can take chemicals to a county facility where you leave what you can't use and others can take it if they need it. And it's free! (A great way to get a little bit of paint for small projects by the way!)

6. Organize what's left. Place it on shelves or in cabinets. Use bins or storage containers for items you use most often. If your laundry room doubles as another room it can be a challenge to get it organized. Sometimes laundry rooms are the back entry or part of the basement or even in a bathroom. Our laundry also happens to be a half bath. Try and keep like items together. Cleaning supplies in one cabinet, laundry supplies in another. Some other things I keep in the laundry room include: batteries (regular and rechargeable), light bulbs, shoe polishing supplies, and bug spray.

7. You might want to take the time to clean our your dryer vent. Not just the trap in the dryer but the actual vent that goes to the outside. If you get a lot of lint built up in there it can be a fire hazard.

8. Clean any mirrors or windows.

9. Sweep and scrub the floor. If you are really motivated (I wasn't this time) pull out the washer and dryer to clean behind them and look for any lonely socks that may have dropped back there when you weren't looking! If you haven't moved your dryer in years it would be a good idea to do this, like I mentioned before, lint can be a fire hazard.

Here are some other laundry room tips:

• Have a designated place for dirty laundry. I highly recommend a 3 bin laundry sorter or two! This is how we store all our dirty laundry. I requested these for Christmas a couple years ago and I can tell you they are worth every penny.
  
• Have a designated place for clean laundry. If you are really good... put it away immediately. If you're like me, you'll use a laundry basket and the top of the dryer. Whatever you do don't mix clean and dirty laundry! That just makes more work for you!
• Have a rod handy to hang clothes on hangers right as they come out of the dryer. I refuse to iron so this is really important for Jerry's wrinkle-free work clothes. This can also be used to hang items to dry when necessary. We just have a rack on wheels that I got at Walmart for under $20. It's held up surprisingly well.
• Keep a trash can handy. For lint, used dryer sheets, and candy wrappers that you wash.
  
• Create zones. A pet supply area, cleaning supplies, laundry stuff, a place for tools, etc. Keep like things together so you can find them and so they are tidy. Baskets and containers are your friends!
• The junk drawer. Above is our "junk drawer" for lack of a better name. We have a basket for the rechargeable batteries that are "dead" right above a basket of the charged ones. I keep a few screwdrivers in here to open the back of any toys to replace batteries. This is also were we keep tapes of all kinds (electrical, duct, clear package, etc.). I have another drawer between the washer and dryer where I keep the lonely socks that have lost their mate. They keep each other company there until their mate comes along. If you don't have a spare drawer you could use a small basket.
• Keep a small container for junk. I keep mine right on the counter. If I find coins, rocks, beads, screws, or buttons in a pocket or the washer I toss them in this container. Every couple months I dump out the container and put the stuff back where it belongs. In the meantime if we are missing something small that is where I usually look.
  
• Get it out! If you don't use it often, don't keep it in the small amount of space you have in the laundry room. Like I said, I rarely iron so I don't keep the ironing board in the laundry room. There really isn't a good spot for it and I'd rather use the precious space for something else or nothing at all!
• Go vertical. If you have brooms and mops that you keep in the laundry area get one of these organizers from the home improvement store to hang them on. Then they won't be flopping all over the place and in your way.

A printable laundry room checklist can be found here.

Another Poll from Wesley

Wesley's math workbook has him ask his friends (& family) a question each month and then graph the answers. This month's question is: What's your favorite kind of apple?

If you have a minute, could you please leave him a comment with an answer. You only have three choices: red, green, or other!

Thanks a bunch... or should I say bushel!

Singing with Non-Readers

We start each school day with Bible time. We read a short Bible story. We usually read from the Golden Children's Bible because the pictures are awesome! We then review the AWANA verses that the boys are memorizing. The last thing we do is sing a song together. We are one of those "can't carry a tune in a bucket" type of families, but the boys seem to enjoy it anyway! Last year we learned one song a month (usually a hymn) and this year we are doing the same.

It's hard to learn the words to a new song if you can't even read! So this is what I do. I type out the words for those of us who can read and the add a few visual clues for those who cannot. Sometimes I do it with clipart, sometimes I just draw the little pictures myself. Even just one or two pictures per verse seem to help them remember the rest.
This month we are learning Take My Life and Let it Be and I just drew the pictures myself. I'm no artist, that is for sure, but the boys can usually figure out what I'm trying to get across. Sometimes I have to explain a little, like the pitcher is for pour!

This year we are using Volume One of Hymns for a Kids Heart. I highly recommend it. Not only do you get the CD with both children and adults singing the hymns but a book that has stories about the men and women who wrote them.

There are always groans when we start a new song because it is a new challenge and they are sad to see the "old" song go. But we stick with it and by the end of the month the new song is an "old" favorite and we move to the next. They aren't gone forever though... sometimes we pop in the CD and sing the songs we learned previously just for fun!

Fall Cleaning: Kid Bedrooms

Here's where we part ways! If you "see a fork in the road, take it" kind of thing. I'm pretty sure what I do in kids bedrooms isn't what you will do or want to do in kid bedrooms, and you know what... that's okay! I'm not saying you have to do it my way. I'm just tossing out there what I do and if you can pick out an idea here and there that works for you, great!

My intentions aren't to get you to do things the way I do them. You should get your rooms organized and cleaned your way. If it truly doesn't bother you to have clutter or dust... carry on! BUT if you do want things neater or cleaner then do something about it! What I hear the most is that people do want to change; they do want a cleaner, more organized house... they just don't know where to start. Well, the first step to is to start doing things differently than you are now. That works with anything... saving money, getting healthy, or organizing your house!

Now, onto the kid's rooms... they are a bedroom so it's going to be very similar to the master bedroom except for the toys... ahh, the toys! So use the master bedroom checklist (and blog post) for the cleaning part, I'm not going to repost the whole thing again here. You should know the drill now anyway, clean the WHOLE room... top to bottom... every surface.

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Fall Cleaning: Kid's Bedroom(s)
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1. Window treatments 2. Bedding, flip mattress 3. Ceiling fan and light fixture 4. Ceilings and walls 5. Door and door frame 6. Blinds 7. Window and frame 8. Vacuum carpet including under furniture and along wall 9. Dust furniture front, back, and sides 10. Dust stuff on walls and shelves 11. Clean mirrors 12. Vents and light switches 13. Baseboards

14. Don't put back any items that aren't used or don't belong! Keep only a few items on top of dressers. This makes it much easy to clean on a regular basis. Group small items together in baskets or containers so you can pick them all up at once when it's time to dust. Empty each drawer and return only necessary items. Donate and toss appropriately.

16. Closet time: Take everything out of the closet. Wipe down shelves, dust the ceiling and walls. Vacuum. Have 3 boxes ready as you go through the closet: trash, give-away, and storage. Only keep the items that currently fit. Store clothes that are too big or too small somewhere else. At the very least get everything off the floor and vacuum, dust the closet corners, and look through the clothes to donate any unwanted items or remove items of the wrong size.

I like to hang all shirts. I find that folded clothes just don't stay tidy with little kids around. If we had a bit more closet space I would hang pants too but since I have four kids sharing one closet I don't have the space. We fold pants and keep them on shelves in the closet. Pajamas, underwear, and socks go in drawers. We have one five drawer dresser in the boys room and one three drawer plastic cart on wheels in their closet. Drawer 1 of the dresser is Wesley's underwear, drawer 2 is Wesley's jammies, drawer 3 is all older boys socks, drawer 4 is twins underwear, and drawer 5 is twin jammies. The three drawers in the closet are Hayden's undies and socks, jammies, and pants. All shoes are in a large laundry basket on the floor of the closet. I color code the clothes on hangers. Go ahead... call me crazy, but it's nice to know at a glance whose stuff is whose.

clothes on color coded hangers
(in the closet at our old house)

J.D.'s closet set up is a bit different. I don't really like it but it's what we've got. He's got two closets in his room. One with two rods and the other with just shelves. His clothes go on the bottom rod in the hanging closet (and in his drawers). I keep a few out of season shirts for each boy and spare hangers on the top rod. The shelves hold baby toys that are currently out of rotation, crib bedding, cloth diaper supplies, and a few odds 'n ends. The bottom of the closet holds a huge draw string bag that I made out of a sheet. This is where we keep all extra stuffed animals that aren't being cuddled with.

17. The easiest way to keeps kids rooms clean is to keep toys elsewhere. Don't store toys in the bedrooms at all. Bedrooms are for sleeping! I know this may sound radical to many of you, but toys are what usually create the messes in kid's rooms. If you must store toys in the kid's rooms, don't keep every toy they own in there, just keep a select few (we do have a small toy box in the baby's room with baby toys). Rotate them. Use containers to help keep things tidy. If you're overwhelmed reading this, think how your kids feel. Seriously, kids have too much stuff!

If you are honest with yourself, I am sure you will admit your child(ren) have way more than they use or play with on a regular basis. Christmas is coming and that means new toys are coming. The first step is to not get them so much in the first place. Unfortunately, we didn't learn that lesson until Roz was older but the boys are benefiting from our new ways.

This year consider cutting back on the "stuff" and putting the money you save in a savings account instead. Wouldn't it be wonderful to hand your child a bit of money when they buy their first car or set up their first apartment? They will appreciate that a lot more than another Barbie or Match Box car. For me, it's sad to see a child opening gift after gift on Christmas morning (or a birthday) as they just toss aside the new toy and move on to the next package. "No time to look at it kiddo, hurry up, there's more to open!" What are we teaching our children? Anyway, if you choose to get rid of some toys, consider donating them. This year, especially, it could really make a difference!

So, where are all the toys if they aren't in the kids rooms? You can read about my toy storage solutions here. 18. Nothing should be stored loose on the floor (books, videos, toys, clothes, etc.). Find a home for these items-use baskets, shelves, drawers, plastic storage containers, or even cardboard boxes.

19. Again, if you haven't vacuumed under the beds do that now and if you store stuff under the bed make sure it's stuff you really need and you have a way to get to it if you need it.

Want to keep it looking this great? Here's how in about 5 minutes per day:

• Make the bed(s)*. EVERY day.
  
• Put dirty clothes in the hamper, never leave them on the floor. Ever.
• Put trash in the trash can.
  
• Keep clean clothes hung or folded and put away.
  
• Put stuff (especially toys) away. If it doesn't have a home... make one!
• Dust and vacuum once a week.
• Train your children in the above! It's their room, they can keep it clean!
  

*In the kids rooms we do bed making a little bit differently. We only use a bottom sheet and a blanket. The blanket gets folded and laid at the foot of the bed and the bed is made. Easy for little kids and less stress for mom. Read more about it here in my original post about organizing kid's rooms.