Why can't C be for Cookie?

Today's blog post is brought to you by the letter "C".  As in, cleaning, clutter and crap galore.  I have spent the last few hours organizing my closets, washing clothes and purging.  It feels great to be done with my room but it sucks when you are knee deep in pants you'll never wear again and old bills that need to be shredded.  I need to let things go in more ways than one.

Once I finished my room, I decided it was time to venture in to my daughter's room yet again and go through all of her crap.  I swear that little girl is worse than I ever was.  I'm convinced my mother did some sort of motherly magic spell on me when she said, "just wait until you have kids.  You'll see!"  Those be fighting words mixed in with a little voodoo or something.  You better believe I repeated the hell out of that "magic spell" just in case there is a possibility it will work on her later down the road.  How much crap can one child accumulate?  I can only imagine the mountains of mess mom's of multiple children deal with.  My one little hoarder is plenty.  Well technically this house consists of 2 hoarders and a clean freak.  The clean freak would be my poor, germaphobic husband who has surrendered to the fact that he too cast a spell on his child when he complained about the mess I made.  I love to remind him that God is teaching him to love me more because our daughter is JUST like me.  I bet he prayed for patience.  ;)  (BTW, never under any circumstances should you pray for patience.  You will get trials and tribulations to teach you how to be patient.  God is funny that way.)  

Since I love a good plan and making lists, today I thought I'd share my rules on how I'm going to break my child of turning into her mother:

1. If it's on the floor, it's trash.  I've been doing this with her since she was little.  If there is too much junk on the floor, I will immediately grab the broom and sweep it out into the hallway and threaten to throw it away.
   
2. Whatever you decide to keep, you will take with you when you move out.  Ever since she started school, she has wanted to keep every piece of paper she brought home.  EVERYTHING.  I now say, "do you really want to take this piece of paper about the Pilgrims and a turkey with you when you move out?  I'll pack it up if you do."  She usually thinks about it and decides to toss it.   Maybe I'm mean because although I'll keep the homemade mother's day cards and sweet notes, I don't want 1000+ reading logs and math pages for the rest of my life.  I know 2+2 is 4 thank you very much.
    
3. Putting something under your bed is not putting it away.  This summer I did the meanest, funniest thing ever and it worked.  I told her that leaving paper under the bed attracts huge roaches.  While she was under the bed pulling out the above mentioned reading logs, I screamed, "ROACH" and picked up a crayon with a napkin.  LOL  She freaked out and started crying and her bed has been perfectly bare ever since.  Go Mom!!
4. If you haven't worn it in 3 months, you probably won't again so get rid of it.  This is something I don't do but I'm going to now.  Getting rid of things you don't wear is fun because it means you get to get new things.  :)
    
5. Use it or lose it.  This is a life lesson in itself.  Whatever doesn't get used will only start to fade or tighten up.  Take my knees for example.  Those bad boys pop like crazy if I sit still for too long.  Same goes for your talents.  If you don't practice, it could eventually begin to lose it's special.  

Fingers crossed this works and that the cycle will be broken.  Either that or I pray her husband will love her despite her messiness like mine does.   Here's to hoping.  :)