A nice clean room.
We're talking floor swept, bed made, clothes put up, no paper piles, things dusted, everything just-so clean. I wish I could claim it as my room, but it's not.
It's my son's.
Poor kid, MLB has been afflicted with ADHD and Asperger's, so he has a hard time concentrating long enough to play with one toy or.... he obsessively fixates on one thing. He doesn't have the focus to clean up without someone riding his hiney, nor a clue why it's necessary to clean up. On top of that, he is loved by a pair of grandmothers and a bunch of aunts who find all sorts of gifts to show it. (Paw-paw & the uncles wisely stay out of it.) So my kid has a ton of stuff!
I know, I know, I know....
To help him & my sanity, I clean up his room completely once a month while he's at school or at my mother's.
I'm not just talking the pick-up he's (supposed) to do before bed. I'm talking that get the broom & duster, use-it/lose-it overhaul. Once a month I swap out toys. (Cool lamp, huh? Got it at my church's rummage sale.)
Yeah for just 1 day a month! 'Cause the rest of the time it's THIS:
To help him & my sanity, I clean up his room completely once a month while he's at school or at my mother's.
I'm not just talking the pick-up he's (supposed) to do before bed. I'm talking that get the broom & duster, use-it/lose-it overhaul. Once a month I swap out toys. (Cool lamp, huh? Got it at my church's rummage sale.)
The day my son took 6 different puzzle boxes and dumped all the pieces in a big pile on the floor, putting together none of them & leaving me to sort through them during a power-outage? 
That was the day I decided he had TOO much & it must be hurting his brain to decide which to play with. In between stuffed animals, toys, crafts, books & geegaws, I was able to fill up twelve (12!) 50 qt. bins, and still leave him 2 snugglies, 60 of his treasured books, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, Play-Doh, musical instruments, Thomas the Tank, and a dozen other things little & big. The rest get rotated out every month. Keeps his room cleaner and keeps me saner. Gives him something to look forward to and gives me an easy (sneaky) way to cull out toys he's outgrown. (Bless them, my folks let me store all 12 in their basement. I need a basement.)
That was the day I decided he had TOO much & it must be hurting his brain to decide which to play with. In between stuffed animals, toys, crafts, books & geegaws, I was able to fill up twelve (12!) 50 qt. bins, and still leave him 2 snugglies, 60 of his treasured books, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, Play-Doh, musical instruments, Thomas the Tank, and a dozen other things little & big. The rest get rotated out every month. Keeps his room cleaner and keeps me saner. Gives him something to look forward to and gives me an easy (sneaky) way to cull out toys he's outgrown. (Bless them, my folks let me store all 12 in their basement. I need a basement.)Yeah for just 1 day a month! 'Cause the rest of the time it's THIS:
Now head back over to The Other Mama to see more "neat" things in today's Friday Favorites.
Isn't it great? I do the same for my youngest son, who also has ADD. Once a month I send him to his best friend's house for the day and PURGE!! It's sort of therapy for me, because I can toss stuff instead of tossing him!;)
ReplyDeleteOh the things I find...toys that have been disassembled and reassembled into new things; dessicated, half eaten sandwiches; the occasional alive creature that goes straight out the bedroom window into the garden; and a month's worth of dirty socks stuffed behind the bed!
I know that feeling of a clean room. I just can't recall it recently. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat job!!
I should try cleaning one room totally at a time. Otherwise I get SO overwhelmed and sidetracked.
ReplyDelete