Tidy up time Posted by Jenny Hansell I'm a messy person. I've been that way most of my life. The problem is, now that I'm the mum of a toddler, the messes are multiplying to a degree I could have never imagined. Faced with a sink full of rejected dishes ("No cereal! Want egg! No egg! Want yogurt!), a living room paved in plastic, a backyard full of yard sale 'finds,' and piles of paper on every surface, it is time to change my ways. If I could maintain a neat and organized environment, I know I would feel more calm and in control. More importantly, how will my daughter Abigail learn to pick up after herself if I'm not modeling the same behaviour? Suggestions Come up with your own definition of what's organized: what does a clean kitchen look like? Your standards can't be based on a magazine, your neighbor, or your mother. *Don't attempt to clean the whole house, or even a whole room, at once. Try cleaning for just ten minutes a day. Don't try to clean out the whole fridge, for example. Start by removing three moldy containers of leftovers and putting them in the sink. *Be true to your own nature. If you are a creative, flexible, multitasking person, clean that way. Instead of spending hours on end cleaning every room, set the kitchen timer to seven minutes, turn on the radio, and invite the whole family to run around like crazy cleaning everything they can for seven minutes. Do that every day and by the weekend, you won't have much more to clean, so you'll have time for the things that matter most. Helping mummy, not very successfully!!!!! Tidy-Up Songs Tidy-up, tidy-up, put the toys away. Tidy-up, tidy-up, we're finished for today. Oh, tidy-up, tidy-up, put the toys away. For we'll get them out again The next time that we play. Twinkle, twinkle little star, Time to clean up where you are. Put your toy (or whatever you need to clean up) back in its place. Keep a smile upon your face. Twinkle, twinkle little star, Time to clean up where you are.