Fall Break 2008

My kids just LOVE this time of year. I have them home for a week and a half, so we get to do the big jobs that I don't want to do all by myself. This year the jobs are: cleaning the walls, baseboards, doors and then touching up the paint where needed; clean the wood blinds, windows and window sills inside; organizing all of my storage boxes in the garage; reorganizing the pantry; cleaning out their closets; and purging the toys in the game room.
On Sunday after the kids went to bed I decided to reorganize the pantry. I couldn't find anything so it had to be done- again. I did it about 2 weeks ago, but apparently a tornado hit our pantry so you couldn't tell that I had worked in there. I also deep cleaned their bedrooms and removed clothes and toys they don't use anymore. I filled half of the trash can and half of the recycling can with all the things I found.
Yesterday we started downstairs. We cleaned all the walls, baseboards and doors. I love Mr. Clean Erasers!!! They get crayon, pencil, pen and marker off easily. I don't let my kids use them because they disappear... my kids don't move them or lose them! (Heh, heh, yeah right!) Justin and Trevor followed me and we scrubbed the walls, doors, door handles and baseboards to near perfection in less than an hour. Then they wiped around the windows, I vacuumed up dust and cobwebs, then I vacuumed the blinds. Can I just say how much I love my vacuum!
After that I let them take a break for a few hours. Before dinner I decided that we could knock out the garage too so I got the ladder and started getting the storage containers down. The storage boxes weren't a problem initially. I labeled everything well before we moved. HOWEVER, I made the mistake of letting Kent put some stuff away, and it became next to impossible to find anything quickly. We took down all of the boxes, the black trash bags full of stuff (Kent's idea) and various items that were just lying about in the garage. We brought it all in, and I got to work. I got out my handy-dandy label maker, and started sorting. By the time I was done everything had a place to go, and I was able to get 2 of those huge black trash bags full of clothes and shoes to donate.
This morning my back hated me... well, it hated me last night too so I took some pain meds for that... so I decided that we could wait until tomorrow to do the upstairs. Today the boys helped me take the boxes back to the garage so I could put it away. Aah! (Angels singing.) Now I can actually find the things that I need quickly, and I won't have any more problems finding what I'm seeking!
Tomorrow we'll clean the walls, baseboards, doors and blinds upstairs. Then we can start with the paint touch-ups. I am so excited! My kids, regretfully, are not. But that's okay. They're learning to work and getting to see how happy it makes their mother when things are clean. They'll even (grudgingly) admit that they love how they feel when the house is clean. They're learning to work together to get their jobs done. And when we're all done with everything they'll enjoy the reward- take-out dinner and a movie. (Please, please, please don't let it be Beverly Hills Chihuahua! Please!!!)
I think I'll have to purge the toys by myself. It's amazing how attached they become upon seeing toys they've ignored for over a year when they learn that I'm giving them away. This will probably be a good job for Friday night when the boys spend the night at Uncle Allan's house and Natalie is at dance... Hmm... Better get the supplies ready!
If I wasn't embarrassed to let the world see how how big of the dust bunny colonies had grown I would totally post pictures! But I am, so you'll have to use your imagination! I might post a picture of the garage, though. I'm happy that it's looking so much better. Now, if I could just figure out how to get Kent to clean his portion of the garage..... And his office... total fire hazard... Any suggestions?