The Great Hoarding Experiment

Like many kids, my children are not so consistent when it comes to putting their stuff away.  Dirty clothes just land on the floor.  Toys often get left--everywhere!  They'll take off their shoes only a few inches away from our shoe basket, then drop them on the ground instead of in the basket!

I'm totally to blame.  I know I need to be consistent.  Being ill and pregnant or having a newborn most of the last eight years hasn't helped.  Now I have neither, but still haven't been as consistent with my kids as I should.

Would it be weird to get pregnant so I can have an excuse for my bad example?  Only kidding...mostly.

So, my husband came up with this ridiculous original idea to help the kids.  He wanted me to just let the living room pile up with stuff to prove a point.

 I was completely against this idea! 

The living room is the one place I DON'T want stuff to pile up.  Yet, he was very persistent with his plan. He wanted to have an impact.  

I finally agreed out of the desire to be an occasionally agreeable wife, but I would only allow the build-up for one day.   Amazingly, that was more than enough.  Still, the kids didn't seem to notice.

He then sat the kids down and we all watched part of a 20/20 special on hoarders.  It was truly disturbing to watch people shovel the stuff out of the houses and talk of fleas and dead cats being found amongst all the junk.

My children were mesmerized.

The only survivor was my seven-year-old daughter, Dani.  My husband told her we were no longer planning to pick up anything.  We were going to become hoarders and had already started with the living room.  She gave the desired performance, "Nooo!  Do we have to?"

My husband quickly told her we didn't really want to do that, we just want her to help by picking up her stuff.

She was relieved, then demanded a snack for her time.   

The next day, as you would expect, no change in my children, including Dani. They are still lovin' their drop-it-anywhere lifestyle.

Yet, unexpectedly, there was one person who was impacted--me.  

Yesterday morning, I suddenly had this over-the-top urge to toss everything!  And, I was consumed with the need to finally set a (better-late-than-never) example for my children.  Maybe it was the dead cats.

In retrospect, I think my husband's sly plan was meant for me all along!  Grrrr.  Sadly for him, the overwhelming feeling to change my lazy ways subsided after a few crazy minutes.

Grumpy Grateful Mom Goal of the Day:  Stop my hoarderish habits, but definitely not because of my husband's ridiculous plan.