Kids and their messes

I was just cleaning up one of the rooms at home and thinking when the hell will these kids learn to keep it clean and neat?  After making the bed, picking up and putting away their toys.  Putting dirty clothes into the hamper. Folding and hanging up the clean ones, and so on.  I'm beat!  Yes this is what happens when you have little ones at home.  But really how in the world can they make such a mess on a daily bases?  Yes I do make them clean up after themselves but lets face it, kids will always do a half ass job when it's something that they don't want to do.  Can't tell you how many times I've found everything either shoved under their bed or into their closet.  My favorite is when I find plates, cups, wrappers in there.  Oh the joy of those days!  NOT!!!!!!!

For a while I didn't do a damn thing in that room. Would just go in once a month and clean it up from top to bottom.  But then the mess would just keep getting bigger and bigger.  So once a month turned into twice a month, then once a week. But when it got to every darn day that's when I hit the roof!!!! With them and their father.  Told all three males that I've had it with cleaning up after them everyday especially that bedroom!  So after that I informed the 2 youngest that if they didn't start picking up and putting away their toys after playing with them, I will consider it garbage that needed to be thrown out.  As youngsters tend to do, they didn't believe me and paid me no mind.  So the very next day I had asked them to clean up their mess right before dinner time. Once again they paid me no mind.  So after dinner I went and got a trash bag walked into their room and started "cleaning up" my way.  When they saw what I was doing the oldest of the 2 cried out "Mami no, not our toys, we'll put them away!"  I stopped long enough to tell him "You better start putting them away before I can get to it."  I've never seen that boy move so fast.

But ever since then I'll ask them to clean up their toys and put them away or if they want me to do my "special cleaning up"?  They both run to get it done before I can do it for them.  Oh and yes that 1st bag of toys was thrown into the garbage.  Mean and heartless, I guess.  But as I always tell all 3 of them I didn't see your maid follow you out when I gave birth to you.  Yes I will help them clean up no I wouldn't do it for them every day.  Sorry won't do it. (My oldest I don't have to worry about she learned that lesson a very long time ago.)

No one's going to take care of them once they leave the nest.  Me teaching them the basics of taking care of themselves is the best thing I can do.  And let's face it the modern woman was not raised to take care of grown ass men.  They'll be lucky if she cleans and can cook.  So I'm really doing my boys a major favor by making sure that they can clean, wash clothes and cook for themselves.  Along side of making a living for themselves.

P,L&B to all