I'll just put my crazy and probably unpopular way of dealing with these things out there. Sometimes, quite often actually, I'll just pick up the mess myself. Now, this depends on my mood, the kids' moods, the size of the mess. But really, *for me*, it's sometimes just easier to deal with the mess myself than try to beg, cajole, punish, etc. the kids to help. Do some of their toys find their way to Goodwill every so often? You bet. Do they often help me of their own free will, with minimal discussion? Absolutely. There are certain times and certain messes I WILL make a stand about. But random junk laying about - a lot of the time I'll just clean it up. It's quicker, less hassle, and some day all these little bits and pieces of my childrens' lives won't be here anymore.
Good luck! Having an almost 4-year-old myself (in addition to my 7 1/2 yr old!), I can certainly appreciate the amount of work it takes to care for them and all their paraphernalia.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-02-16 09:02 pm (UTC)Good luck! Having an almost 4-year-old myself (in addition to my 7 1/2 yr old!), I can certainly appreciate the amount of work it takes to care for them and all their paraphernalia.