Some call it Creativity, Some call it Cruelty...

So today I'm trying to calm Tori from a tantrum, I decide that we need to "talk it out". So Tori begins to explain that everyone in her family is mean to her. Upset over the situation, trying to gain understanding, I ask challenging, "How have I been mean to you?" (She's had a scowl on her face ever since we came home from church and just very grumpy). She says, "You're making me clean, and I hate to clean, and that's not fun." So I come back with, "Cleaning is not a punishment Tori, it is not a consequence. Cleaning is a responsibility. Do you clean up after me?" Tori answers, "No." So then I went on explaining that we all clean up after ourselves and that I am not a maid, but that she has to learn to clean up after herself and its a part of life that she needs to understand is a responsibility, not a punishment, but that there are consequences if we don't clean up after ourselves... So she freaks out and runs into her room and shuts the door loudly (her latest rebellion). So I put on Veggie-tales for Abbie and go into Tori's room to talk... (here is where my idea comes)...

I pick her up and hold her in my arms and explain how much I love her and tell her that her room will be clean either her way or my way. Her way, is that she cleans up after herself and it is always clean... My way is this. Every evening I will bring up an empty bin (we have tons from moving) and fill it with whatever is on the floor of their bedroom. We'll store it in the Garage for one week. We'll have 7 bins, one for each day of the week. So everything I put in the bin this evening will stay in the garage in the bin marked (SUNDAY) and next Sunday after church we'll bring it out for them to put away. So this way the room is clean at least every night, and its rather easy for me to keep it clean. I'm hoping that after two weeks of this, they'll start learning that if they don't put it away, it goes away for a week, so we'll see how it goes. I've got to change their habits in order to keep my house clean and right now its just not working, so I'm hoping this idea will work. I'd like to thank my Mom for all the creative ideas that she had while growing up to get us to clean. She is my inspiration. And just so you know, most of the stuff in the bin today was Abbie's, but she didn't care much. So we'll see if this works for her too.