Messy Dresser Day

Dresser, meaning, what we put clothes in, not how we put clothes on - although the kids' mismatched jammies might mean that we can use both meanings. The kids' dressers are their treasure-display areas. Otherwise known as cluttered up dust magnets. I want them to enjoy their treasures and display favorite toys, but I also need them to understand the need to keep it easy to clean - whether I am cleaning, or they are! I figured they were big enough to take this project on.

I had them take everything off of the dressers. Put things away that shouldn't be there (markers, crayons, coins, etc.) Throw away trash, and donate the things they no longer like to charity. I also let them know that if they had something they really wanted to keep (like a special statue that my Dad gave Brian) but no longer wanted on their dressers, we could store it away.

Honor tackles her room. She likes to help, and my letting her use real cleaning supplies is a bonus. I personally wish we didn't have to use furniture polish so much, but the dust here is dreadful... I'd actually cleaned these dressers last week and they are noticeably coated in dust again. A duster just redistributes dust. Damp cloths leave spots... o well...

The pink post-it notes seen in Honor's room are labels for what is in the drawers - written in words, and with a small picture. This has helped her keep her own room picked up and put away.
Brian is hard at work too. He wasn't as interested in starting the project, but enjoyed himself when it came to reorganizing his things for display.
He got rid of a lot. Put many things away, and he even relocated a lego-lizard house he'd had on top of his dresser into an unused drawer. Somehow he managed to accidently clean off his desk too - amazing things will happen once you get these little helpers going.
Much better! He still has the things he enjoys on display, but it is much less cluttered. It looks better, and future clean-up will be easier.
Honor now has room to display her (plastic) flowers as she wishes, and she put a lot of things back where they really belong. Hats in the hat drawer. Baby clothes in the baby drawer. Pretty things in the dress-up drawer, etc. She even noticed that her trike was dirty and gave it a good cleaning without being asked.
Turn about is fair play. I had been taking pics of the kids while they were cleaning, so Brian picked up the camera and got one of me as I put laundry away. Yes, that closet is organized! Closets were last week's project.