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dcforensic
They all have different personalities and all make messes. I feel like all I do is clean and it gets trashed five minutes later. Im a stay at home mom and my husband thinks I stick to schedules too much and I am always cleaning but it doesnt seem to help. Any ideas how to keep everything tidy.
Answer
Three under three is certainly going to put you in the position of cleaning all the time. While organization is a good goal, applying it will be very different at home than in an office -- or a home without children.
Keeping everything tidy is not a reasonable goal and you'd do well not to put that kind of pressure on yourself. With three toddlers, you'll maintain more of your sanity if your goal is to keep up with them.
I had three under three. Now I have three in college. The "mess" doesn't go away, it just changes shape.
Keeping a schedule (this happens at this time, that happens at that time) can be daunting with three little ones. A routine (this happens after this -- regardless of the time -- and then we do that) might be more accomodating for everyone, especially you.
Mornings can start when everyone wakes, not necessarily at 8AM. We eat, we clean up, we watch a program, we play outside, we snack, we play outside some more, we eat luch. This doesn't have to happen by the clock to go smoothly and successfully.
Do remember, "Stay at home Mom" doesn't mean you have to stay at home. Check into your local resources for playgroups and parks. Network with other moms about scheduling playgroups and exchanging babysitting.
Children cannot mess up what they can't reach, see, or know is there.
Keep breakables and other valuables up and away. If necessary, put them out of sight completely. While it may seem like you'll never see your things again, the reality is that the days are long and the years are short. This means you'll be bringing your things down and back into view before you know it.
Safety devices work in theory. In practice, small children are geniuses. Block outlets, unused radiators and cords with furniture. All lower kitchen cabinets should be child proofed with one exception. Here you would keep plastics the children can play with. Cooking around kids is dangerous. Cook in advance (when they're sleeping) and reheat later; tell your husband to keep the kids occupied; create meals out of raw fruit, raw vegetables and sandwiches. Puddings are great -- and much fun in the tub (see below).
Keep a minimum of toys available. A child with too many choices (more than 5 toys) can be become an overwhelmed child. A child with a toy that contains more than 5 pieces can also become overwhelmed. Simple blocks go a lot further than a box of action figures.
My rule of thumb was that if a toy couldn't go in the dishwasher or clothes washer, it wasn't a toy for my kids. This helped immensely on many levels, the least of which was cleanup.
If your kids have more than 5 toys each, stick the rest in storage. When you bring out all those "new" toys, put the other toys in storage. Change them out about every three months.
Messes will be made no matter what. To consolidate messes, never dismiss the wonders of the bathroom.
If you have a hand-held shower nozzle, explore the possibilities. During the colder months and during rainy days, I fed my baby during the day by putting her in her high chair and the high chair in the bathroom while the two older enjoyed their lunch on the tray that fit between the sides of the empty tub. When my baby was done eating I washed the older two and let them dress themselves. I then put the baby (still in the high chair) in the tub and washed her up along with the high chair. I'd take her out and let the high chair dry.
On warm days I used an empty inflatable kids' pool instead of the tub. After eating, I'd fill the pool with water and bath bubble mixture. If you have a sprayer on the end of the hose, you can get some rockin' bubble mountains going.
The beauty of inflatable pools and pool toys is that they can go inside in a bedroom (without water, of course). The inflatable toys that have slides and palm trees are great, but if all you can afford is a moderately sized inflatable pool, this can double as a napping place (with pillows, blankets, stuffed animals) and as a place to play or look at books. Very small pools can hold books or toys and make it easier for small children to learn organizational skills (books go in the pink pool and toys go in the blue pool).
The important thing is your peace of mind. Three small children are exhausting no matter what you do. Don't put extra (and unnecessary) pressure on yourself to do more, more, more. Keep it simple. The simpler things are for all of you, the more fondly you'll remember them at the end of the day, the more accomplished you'll feel, and trust me -- they'll remember the time you spent with them, not how tidy everything was.
Removing a dark solid color stain from multi-level decks?
Cravingsun
Last spring we decided to go with a redwood colored solid color stain. The purpose of this was to eliminate the need to restain (semi-tranparent) every year. Well, we are now not pleased with this new look. Our home is a light beige and the dark color of the deck does not look as good as once thought.
Any suggestions as to how I can change the look? Will I need to stip the solid color stain off? Should I try and match the deck to the house color? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Answer
get a gallon of Decks Wash and pour into 5 gallon bucket and fill 3/4 full with water. add 1/2 cup bleach stirring the entire time to avoid chemical reaction foaming. roll out with 1" nap paint roller and let sit for about 15-20 min. rent a 3000 psi pressure washer (75.00 day) and wash against the grain with the widest spray nozzle choice (4" or so) they come on the rented sprayer with like 5 to choose from. against the grain is short ways across all the decking, not long ways following one piece. you will be back to bare in minutes. don't hold sprayer too close because you will scar the wood, and watch your feet!!! where do you live?....i could use the work. email me if you need more help with the re-staining
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