Room of The Day

Its time to clean the living room. This is an easy one, and shouldn't take that long to complete. If you have older kids, get them involved. If they have toys sprawled all over the place, or if trash is left out on side or coffee tables, have them race to see who can properly put away the most things and whoever wins gets to pick out and help make dinner tonight or have their favorite dessert. You can make any game you want, this is just one that my own mom used to use when we were kids. After you get the floor and other surfaces cleared, start your checklist. As always, from Martha Stewarts Homekeeping Handbook:

• Fluff and rotate sofa cushions - unless you are like me and don't have cushions that rotate!!
• Discard magazines and catalogs on coffee or side tables; store the ones you want to keep.
• Dust surfaces and objects, including furniture, light fixtures, and electronics.
• Sweep upholstery and floor.

It'll be a breeze!!! Don't stress if more toys accumulate during the day, its going to happen and you can't run around all day behind your kids picking everything up. Just re-organize a few times throughout the day. Remember what Phyllis Diller said, "Cleaning your house while your children are still growing, is like shoveling the walk while its still snowing." While this is most definitely true for messes, its still important to clean your house. Kids are absolutely no excuse to have a dirty house, just a messy one.