Skip to main content

how to clean your room

i was discussing this sort of thing w/ my MIL recently and she said there were some books she had when the boys were young that explained things to kids that adults often tell them to do w/out giving them explicit instructions. so i thought about it and decided to write my own.  i mean, really, if i expect shane to clean his room, i ought to tell him HOW i want him to clean it, so he knows what i expect.  so i wrote them out.  keep in mind, these are 9 year old instructions. they would have to be adjusted accordingly.  i actually don’t expect him to do much less than i would expect of myself.  (bummer for him!)

How to clean your room:

  1. strip your bed.
  2. put all dirty clothes in the laundry basket
  3. put all clean clothes in the closet or dresser
  4. put all shoes in the rack on the door.
  5. pick up everything off the floor and put it on your bed to sort.
  6. start by throwing away anything that’s trash.
  7. return anything that doesn’t belong in your room to where it does belong.
  8. put anything remaining on your bed away
  9. dresser: put away or throw away anything that doesn’t belong; run yellow duster over lamp and dresser surface.
  10. desk: put away or throw away anything that doesn’t belong; run yellow duster over surface and computer.
  11. shelves: put away or throw away anything that doesn’t belong, straighten up books/toys.
  12. under your bed: remove anything that doesn’t belong and put/throw it away.
  13. behind your door: put/throw away anything that is there.
  14. closet: make sure all clothes are on hangers and the floor is clean.
  15. pick clean sheets to put on your bed.
  16. empty garbage can
  17. vacuum floor.
  18. return vacuum and duster to their homes.

Comments

  1. twinmommyMay 5, 2009 at 8:14 AM

    I might have to print this off for future reference... somehow I'm pretty sure we'll be having those same conversations here in a few years.

    A great reminder that we need to set clear, explicit expectations for our kids!

    ReplyDelete
  2. RachelMay 5, 2009 at 11:57 AM

    So...I have printed off these directions. Not to give to my son as he has my genes and is a neat/tidy freak...TG! (very proud ;D) BUT for the girls! Thanks Rachel...and good luck with this. I told my David about this and he laughed and said 'good luck with that one...it'll never work'
    We will see huh?!?! SMILES!

    ReplyDelete
  3. BrendaMay 7, 2009 at 7:31 AM

    A couple questions, does he have to remake his bed, because it doesn't say so. And do your duster and vacuum really have a home?

    ReplyDelete
  4. rachelMay 7, 2009 at 7:34 AM

    haha! yes they have a home! the duster lives under the bathroom counter in the 'cleaning supplies bin' and the vacuum must be docked (behind a livingroom chair) so it will charge. that's it's home. ;) no, shane doesn't have to remake his bed. dave is the bed maker in our family. shane's bed is a bunk bed and the way the mattresses fit into the frame it is VERY hard to get the sheets on. i can barely do it... which is how dave wound up w/ the job. it's the bed his dad made for him and his brother when they were kids. i figure he's been making that bed a good share of his life, so he's got lots of experience!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

all comments are moderated. unkind comments will be deleted.

you may like...

someone googled this stuff and found me!

these are as is... spelling errors and all. how to use a bathroom scale seriously? how hard is it? if you want step by step instructions, read this . washing machine doesn't empty bummer dude rachel's restroom i seem to remember someone predicting, when i was in high school, that i would go into the portable restroom business some day... "locks of love" site:blogspot.com because i'm totally the authority on that sort of thing. my hair is still in a ziplock bag waiting to be mailed. http://rambling-rachel.blogspot.com/ i think you typed this in the wrong place does 2 year old talk with imagination is there any other option? SLUDGE IN WORM BIN yummy. diapers to bed well, considering the other option... yes, please! imagination and 2 years old once again. 2 year olds do like to use their imaginations. loose change in my washing machine what priceless wisdom are you looking for here? how to get some? where did it come from? what to do with it? duh! rachel joe
4 comments
read more »

“you should have your head examined!”

… i just did! yup, yesterday i had the thrilling experience of sitting in a hospital waiting room for 2 hours, followed by another in a trauma room.  no, i don’t think i had suffered any sort of major trauma – i think that’s just what room they had left to stick me in.  i mused about where we would go if they had to kick us out because a ‘real’ trauma situation arose.  thankfully, we didn’t have to learn the answer to that.  i guess i was a traumatic as it got during that window of time. backing up, i wound up in the hospital yesterday because micah threw some clothes on the ground.  the night before i had been folding laundry in the living room.  i had a couple of stacks of ‘hang up’ clothes that were draped over the baby gate in front of the fireplace.                         yes, it’s a christmas picture, but i knew i had it in my stash.  at any rate, there’s the ugly baby gate that the clothes were hanging on.  also notice the wood mantle above it that the nativity set is on. 
2 comments
read more »

light n’ crisp waffles recipe - everyone's favorite!

i got this recipe from my dad. i have no idea where he got it, but these are the waffles i’ve been eating as long as i can remember. they are so delicious, easy, and HEALTHY! OHMYGOODNESS, i cannot help but go on and on about them because they are so incredibly fabulous! if you want to see my picky eaters eat, come on waffle night! i think last time I made these, layla (all 33 pounds of her) put away 4 quarters of a waffle. that’s one WHOLE 10 square inch waffle. (and yes, i did just pull out my waffle iron and measured it!) anyway, here it is, without further ado… 1 cup flour (I usually do 1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat) 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 1 cup rolled oats 2 tbsp baking powder* 1/2 tsp salt 2 eggs 1/2 cup oil 3 cups buttermilk put all dry ingredients into a bowl, break in the eggs, add oil, then stir in the buttermilk. *t he amount of baking powder is not an error, but is the secret of the crisp, tender result! let the batter stand for a short time (15-30 minutes) to allow t
Post a Comment
read more »

beef stew recipe

another taken from the betty crocker cookbook, but i mess with this one so refer to the disclaimer … 1 tbsp olive oil 1 clove of garlic, pressed (or some good shakes of garlic powder) 1 lb. stew beef 3 cups of hot water (I probably use closer to 3.5 or 4) 1/2 tsp salt 1/8 tsp pepper 3 medium carrots, cut in thick coins 2 stalks celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 1-2 medium potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces 1 small onion, chopped 1/4 tsp salt 1 bay leaf *optional: 1/2 bell pepper of your choice; 1 turnip; 1/2 tsp browning sauce (whatever that is) 1/2 cup cold water 2 tbsp all-purpose flour heat oil in large pot. cook beef and garlic in oil about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown. add hot water, 1/2 tsp salt and the pepper. heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. cover and simmer 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until beef is almost tender. stir in remaining ingredients except cold water and flour. cover and simmer
Post a Comment
read more »

white chicken chili recipe

was just chatting about recipes w/ a friend and realized that i have talked about this recipe, even photographed a bowl of it, but haven’t ever posted it on here. what a shame, because it’s one of my family’s absolute favorites! i got the recipe from my betty crocker cookbook, and it’s one of the first things i ever made for dave and i after we were married. i even have the date written down next to the recipe and a smiley face, indicating we liked it. =) i actually don’t mess with this recipe too much, so here goes… i usually make a double batch so i can freeze some and still have leftovers. it freezes really well, so it’s a nice thing to have on hand. 1/4 cup butter 1 large onion, chopped 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped (or pressed) 4 cups of cooked chicken (chopped, cubed, shredded, whatever – sometimes i just throw in a couple of the cans of chicken they sell in a 6 pack at costco, if i have them on hand and don’t have any cooked chicken handy) you could also use turkey 3 cup
Post a Comment
read more »