Operation: Black Bag

I'm not an organized person, I never have been and I've never claimed to be.

But seeing Lola's room just about KILLS me every fucking time I look in there. It looks like Toys R Us exploded in her tiny room which annoys me on multiple levels: 1) she has WAY too much crap, 2) I suck at maintaining a house and keeping it clutter-free and 3) I feel like when i DO declutter the house (which happens every 6 months or so) no one helps me keep it clutter-free so I don't bother either.

It's a vicious cycle. The house clutter builds up, causes MAJOR arguments about who is responsible for what and I end up throwing shit out because there IS too much shit.

I remember when I finished high school and couch surfed for the summer because I had no where to live. Everything I owned had to be kept in a small bag which is why I think I am SO not a pack rat.

So when I see my kids' rooms look like a Pixar threw up in there, I want to pull my hair out in frustration. But my kids are picking up OUR bad habits - yes Big Daddy you are a messy little bastard too - and I am no better.

But I don't want my kids becoming entitled little slobs who expect someone else to clean up their crap or think that it's OK to live in clutter.

So yesterday, Lola and I - for what better damn well be the LAST time in her young life - went into her room and purged.

I was SO beyond mad when I went in there - and YES I saw it building and I know it's my responsibility as a parent to catch these things but I was self-absorbed in some personal shit I was going through so I didn't care as much about the state of her room - and took my broom, sweeping EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING out into the hallway. There was no way I could sort through the shit on her floor within her tiny little room so my best bet was to get it all out into a common living space where it would HAVE to be dealt with.

See? A lot of shit, right? You should have seen what this looked like when it was IN her room. FML.

We started at about 10 a.m. yesterday and went until about 5 p.m. I had to take multiple Twitter breaks to yell at someone other than her. The best part was that I had promised myself that I wouldn't swear on Twitter yesterday:

19hours ago omfg (that doesnt count as a swear btw) getting rid of *doh* stuff in Lola's room, blog to follow & Im swearing a LOT irl fml

19 hours ago i dont UNDERSTAND how *doh* stuff piles UP and the CHAOS that happens *doh* fml i picked the WORSt day to not swear on twitter

19 hours ago taking pics too. JUST to remind me AND Lola of the *DOH* stuff that she collects. You're never gonna believe this *DOH* stuff she has!

19 hours ago baileys in my coffeE is JUST what I need, i go through this EVERY 3 months like clockwork, gah its ME who needs to change :'(

18 hours ago hey so far so good, replacing swearing on twitter with *DOH* ... hmmm... its only 1030 am tho

18 hours ago i think you may be my favourite twit!! RT @mommylok: @MOMmagRocks Don't try to change who you are! :)

18 hours ago @abandofwives hahah trust me i probably wont make it through the day, decluttering Lola's room & swearing like CRAZY irl

18 hours ago @abandofwives ironically MOM is known for the blatant swearing and inappropriate behaviour yet I am trying not to swear today. wtf right?

17 hours ago taking a break fr Operation: Declutter fml at the rate im getting thru this *DOH* stuff i wont b done till 2morrw #stillhaventswornontwitter

15 hours ago you know what I've found? the only way I will win this bet is if I just stay OFF of twitter today #noswearingonTwitterforaday

12 hours ago EXACTLY! fuck listen to IceT #MOMsaysso RT @FINALLEVEL: If you're gonna #UNFOLLOW me.. Just do it. No need to get dissed on the way out...

12 hours ago noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!! FUCK! i cant go one day w/o swearing on twitter! gawddamit. I was doing SO WELL!

Poor kid, I felt bad when I yelled and caught myself so I tried explaining to her that she couldn't live in a pig sty like that.

"Ok mommy, I won't live in a Pig's Sky any more."

See? Lola is so damn cute and adorable and SWEET, and it isn't her fault that her room ended up that way.

It was mine.

I don't want her growing up with my bad habits. Just because I didn't have any one to show me how to be organized or take care of a home doesn't mean I can't LEARN these things and give my kids the best life tools possible.

So, we turned on some music and worked together while I showed her how to separate her toys into bins (she labelled them) and we got through the pile of crap in the hallway.

This was at about 2 p.m. Surprisingly I only filled one black garbage bag but told Lola the next time her room ended up looking like that, I would take as many black bags as I needed and EVERYTHING would be going in the garbage.

And I mean it, much to Big Daddy's dismay.

But you know what? Letting our kids think it's OK to build up such clutter and crap and then WAIT until it looks like THAT is a recipe for disaster in life on so many levels and I won't be that MOM who does that to her kids.

So we whittled away and I think letting Lola choose what to keep and what to toss and really be a part of the process helped her see that Mommy doesn't wave a magic wand and the house automatically cleans itself (and if anyone out there HAS one of those wands, send me one to feature and I will try it out... you know, for research purposes ;)

In the end, her room looked FABULOUS and she was happy.

And my hallway was back to good by about 5:30 p.m. ish...

Cheers!

t.