Clean those LEGOS!

Whether found in the sandbox, under the bed or in Nana's closet (which is where we "found" ours!), Legos are KILLER to clean by hand. Think toothbrush and lots of soaking time. But if you have a dishwasher and a lingerie bag from your laundry room - WAY simpler!

It might take a while to dry because they get water trapped inside but they come out SQUEAKY clean and makes for a very, very happy Mama!

In HIS Grip, 
               
I am linked up with:     

CHORES for One to Three Year Olds!

Let me just say that I wish someone had told me WHEN MY OLDEST WAS A BABY that I needed to train my children how to help mommy around the house. Now I've figured it out and the third time is a charm so with my youngest child I know exactly what to do and when to do it! Maybe I can help you out BEFORE you get to that point! :0) 

ONE YEAR OLD:  This is when it starts! 

I teach them how to pick up their toys and put them in the toybox - encouragement and excitement about completing the 2-3 toy pickup is the key here! It's exciting and happy to pick up toys! 

When they learn to walk - dirty clothes go to the hamper. As soon as you take their dirty clothes off - send them with the clothes to the hamper. This works well for dirty diapers in the trash too - just keep an eye on the trash and make sure precious toys don't get thrown away too!

TWO YEARS OLD: 

"Clear the table" bring the perishables to me at the refrigerator - for example the ketchup and the sealed boxes of leftovers etc. Eventually as they learn to be more careful they should be able to bring their plates to the counter and other dishes to the counter. 

Cody has the Pillows and his Doggy Chore DOWN! 

Put their pillows and stuffed animals on their bed after I make the bed. But they are there with me, watching me make it - helps them know how to do it when they are old enough to do it! 

Dirty clothes go in the hamper as soon as THEY take them off! In other words, teach your children how to dress themselves - this will help a LOT when it comes to potty training too! I learned that one the hard way.

Directed Pickup: "Cody, put the Legos in the Lego box!" "Cody put your shoes in the shoe box!" This is when you are RIGHT there watching and guiding their pickup skills. (Works perfectly for nursing moms!)  At this age, they can get frustrated easily if the job seems too big or too widespread. Cleanup needs to be fun while it still can so if they get frustrated teach  them to ask for help and help them do it and choose something else next time. When needed, I clean the rest of the room but they are there with me being directed their own tasks. This way, they see how mommy is doing it and learn how to do it themselves. 

THREE YEARS OLD:

Helping their younger siblings do the things they already know how to do. I have been AMAZED to watch my oldest help teach my son how to do things. It helps them develop responsibility for each other too! 

Make their bed by themselves. Yes, it can be done! Start out slow and gradual and teach them how to find the corners of the bedding and pull it up to meet the corners of the bed. Then smoothing lumps, etc. KEY: DO NOT FIX IT AFTER THEY HAVE DONE IT! They already know how mommy makes their bed by watching and seeing you do it. They know the standard and someday they will make it the way you want it made. Don't hurt their feelings by "fixing" it when they have done what they can. 

Scrape food scraps off plates and clear the table. This was quite interesting when my daughter first started doing this. We had plates in the trash, silverware in the trash and everything! But it wasn't long before she learned how to balance the plate and scrape the food and put the dishes on the counter for me. I was right there putting them in the dishwasher and eventually she was putting them in the dishwasher for me. 

Four Years Old and Making MOMMY's BED! TA-DA!

Cleaning their room. Because Aimee has been picking up toys since she was one and she learned by watching me and by my directions how to pick up toys and where they go - this is possible! However, if the mess is too large and it isn't maintained every day you may need to help. AND THAT'S OKAY! Teach them to always ask for help if they need it. 

Now I have a FOUR YEAR OLD and I'm still figuring it all out! Right now I'm teaching her how to make mommy's bed and how to put clean dishes away but I'm sure there is more that my four-year-old can learn how to do that we're still figuring out!

Tomorrow I will be posting about Penny Jobs - these are EXTRA chores (but we don't call them chores because you don't get PAID to do chores - you get paid for working a JOB!) around the house that they receive a reward!

Linked Up Here! 

Do you have a chore system for your household? 

In HIS Grip, 

               

Help! I'm LAZY!!!

Yes it's true. I'm completely confessing here and being transparent. Many of you who know me or even just follow my blog may be thinking. Umm. . . if YOU are lazy, I must be DEAD! Well, you don't see what's in my heart. But God does. And He knows, I am lazy.

I am participating in the Homemaker's Challenge and going through Sarah Mae's book, "31 Days to Clean." Let me tell you this book is fantabulous! And very convicting too! I'm also following the Homemaker's Challenge blog and the post for Day 9 - Confronting Laziness, hits me right where it hurts.

I may be busy and doing something CONSTANTLY and still be lazy. I may be:

Folding Laundry

Organizing My Closet

Sorting my Chest Freezer

Cleaning My Room

Reading Books to My Kids

Baking

and be LAZY at the same time!

You see, these things are things that I am responsible for that I actually ENJOY doing! I enjoy folding laundry because I wash laundry once a week and when I have 5 loads all piled up ready to fold I plop down in front of a movie and fold laundry and hang it on hangers all while I am watching a Netflix or something. It's FUN! Or I love to organize ANYTHING!!! My kids clothes, toys, books, my cleaning closet, my cupboards, my craft supplies - I love doing it!

Here's the problem. The things I am doing are not the LAZINESS factor. It's what I'm NOT doing when I'm doing these things that is the problem.

My kitchen floor may be taking on a life of its own because I am too LAZY to sweep. (Don't ask why, I just don't like it!) I love to mop with my Shark Steamer but I hate to do the sweeping BEFORE the mopping.

My dishes are never ending so I tend to let them pile up on my counters because I am too LAZY to unload the dishwasher. When it's empty I have no problem filling it and keeping my counters clean, it's when it gets full of clean dishes that I let it fall behind.

My bathrooms. Sigh. I am too LAZY to clean my bathrooms. I have even considered finding a MAID to come in once a week if only for an hour to clean my BATHROOMS! Many times my ENTIRE HOUSE will be spotless except for the bathrooms because I am too lazy to clean them!

I have many excuses for not doing these things trust me! I'm too tired and I have too much to do top the list. But the excuses don't matter because that's what they are: EXCUSES!

So here I am standing blogging completely transparent before you. I am going to work on my laziness and my areas that provoke my laziness. Because God's Word says:

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing

while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied

Proverbs 13:4

I have the soul of a sluggard that craves a clean home but I need the soul of the diligent. 

In HIS Grip, 
               
This post is linked up to:

Housekeeping Failing? Change Your Methods!

Gotta love the made bed
surrounded by the mess!

 I have been fighting a losing battle. A battle which continually punches me down and discourages me and frustrates me. I have been fighting the battle of dirty dishes and messy bedrooms and piles of laundry. I am losing! I cannot keep up! I am one of those people that works hard to keep my house clean and tidy but with a 4, 2 and 5 month old underfoot, it really is a battle! I clean one room and breath a sigh of complete contentment and satisfaction and with motivation I go on to another room and clean it! YES! Then I return to the first room and it's dirty again. And not just a little bit either. This is SERIOUSLY happening in my home! It truly happens this way! Especially when it comes to my kids rooms and the kitchen. 

Now before you think I'm not training my kids to clean up after themselves, they do and they do it well and I am VERY proud of my little mess-cleaner-uppers! But that's the key - they are LITTLE mess-cleaner-uppers. I'm not talking about THEIR size, I'm talking about the size of the MESS! You can see this in action in the picture - the bed was made (little mess) by my four-year-old but when asked to clean her room - its a BIG mess that she cannot accomplish by herself. After playing in their rooms for two hours or so, the mess is no longer a little mess. It is a BIG mess and while I clean up the BIG mess in the kitchen, the mess in their rooms grows. 

Sigh. 

HOWEVER! I am on a new mission! I had to share it with you because I KNOW I am not the only one who struggles with this! I read this post on The Better Mom called Survival KISS written by Cheryl from Treasures from a Shoebox (Wow! that was a lot of links but if you haven't checked these sites out - you should!). And suddenly God used what I read there and made me realize that if I could not keep up with something in my home, it was time to do it DIFFERENTLY! So I have a new motto: 

If again and again I don't succeed, try, try a different way! 

So I'm on a mission to help improve the disaster areas of my home. I'm starting with the kitchen.

Therefore.

I bought paper plates.

WHAT?!?! PAPER PLATES??? Now if you know my mom, she NEVER used paper plates unless we were going on a picnic. It saves money to wash plates. So I went shopping last night and lo and behold the paper plates were on sale - 45 plates for $2! That means for about $6 a month I can have a cleaner kitchen. This is completely breaking with my mindset of saving money. But no matter how many times I resolved to keep my kitchen clean and picked up I kept failing. So it was time to try a different method. And it is ok! Even my mom said so! :0) 

Now my kids bedrooms! I already minimized my kids toys so having too many was not really the trouble. Well, maybe it still is but I do not want to GET RID of the toys my kids have. SOOOO ... I am changing our method! 

Since I haven't finished the project yet - you will have to wait and see how I resolved this issue! Then I will have to figure out how to make the bathroom self-cleaning. HA HA HA. Somethings just have to be done the old-fashioned ways but maybe there are ways to make it easier? 

In HIS Grip, 
               

I'm linked up with these lovely ladies today! 

Few of My Faves: Cleaning Products and Tools

 We all have our own ways of doing things when it comes to cleaning things and we all have our favorite stuff that we pull out that we're either comfortable using or have always used. My ways of cleaning usually stem around the whole concept of cleaning should be free and not really cost me anything. I'm all about using one thing for several purposes. Unless I really find it COMPLETELY worth it, you won't find a tool in my house that only has one purpose. For example I don't really see the point in having wooden toaster tongs or turkey lifters or who knows what all out there. I like things that function on MANY levels and can be used for many different things. Soooo with that said, here are some things that are my FAVES for my cleaning world!

1. Homemade Laundry Soap This stuff is awesome! If you haven't tried it out, you need to! This works great as a soaking agent too, no scrubbing required!

2. Shout Laundry Spray - I only use this when I have babies - I HATE cleaning out poopy messes from clothes and all I have to do with this is spray it on and throw it in the hamper and it'll wait til laundry day and come out washed as good as new!

3. Magic Erasers - These are truly magic! I can't imagine cleaning up crayon marked walls or scuff marks or "that mark that just won't come off" without them! They are great! Oh and I've tried the off brand and they don't come close!

4. Shark Steam Mop - My hubbie bought this for me and I LOVE it! All you do is add water, plug it in, wait a minute and boom clean floors! Okay, you DO have to push it around on your floors and if you have a little crusted on spot, you do have to let it sit on top of it and let it steam for a minute but other than that - truly it is BOOM = clean floor! I would totally be fine eating off my floor after using this! 

5. Windex - I've tried everything, the store brand, making my own and I still buy this stuff because it is my go to product for mirrors, glass and colored stains like Jello, Kool-aid, that yellow no one knows what it is stuff. I use this on my counters and table all the time because its a great soaker too. Oh and if you have a Koolaid stain in your carpet and you've tried everything? Windex all the way! 

6. Green Works Waterlily Dish Soap - All you have to do with this stuff is SMELL it!!! It's AMAZING! Who knew washing dishes could smell so yummy! It's like aromotherapy! Ok, not quite, but I truly will never buy another kind of dish soap. 

7. Homemade Foaming Soap - My favorite scent right now is Butterfly Flower from Bath and Body Works and I save tons of money by buying the regular soap and making my own. Yummy! 

8. Vinegar - If you've never done an online search for the different ways you can use vinegar - do it now. I use it for EVERYTHING! 

9. Baking Soda - Just like vinegar, this stuff is awesome by itself for cleaning or deodorizing stuff. 

10. Vinegar and Baking Soda - When you combine these two things, it becomes a totally different cleaning product! My favorite is to dump maybe a half cup of baking soda in the toilet and then add vinegar and watch your toilet fizz - it's fun really! Still have to scrub it and I use bleach to disinfect it (NEVER at the same time as the vinegar tho!) but it works great! Another way I use it is to do the same thing for my garbage disposal - works like a charm on the plumbing too! AND it's the only toilet bowl cleaner that if the kids eat, no big deal! :0) 

So go ahead and link up with a list of your own Faves! They don't have to be cleaning products, come up with your own topical list! Feel free to link up and use the picture for your post! Can't wait to see them! 

Saving Money With Lint!

My dad sent me an email last night with a TON of household tips and tricks and recommended them for my blog. I thought it was really sweet of him and kindof put off reading it until my hubbie asked me did you read that email from your dad? About the lint trap? I had not so Sam told me and I went to read it and I knew we had to try it! Apparently dryer sheets and fabric softener can cause a buildup or film on your dryer lint trap and can actually cause your dryer's heating unit to go out not to mention use more electricity to dry your clothes. So I tried out this test! 

I pulled my lint trap out and ran it under water in the sink - water ran thru it and a little bit pooled on top of the mesh like this 

So using my hand, I just scrubbed some soap on it and cleaned it really well, I wasn't expecting amazing results but when I ran it under water to wash the soap off of it, it went right thru the mesh like it wasn't even there! Apparently there was a buildup and I'll probably start cleaning this every six months or so because doing that can extend the life of your dryer. I Snopes searched it if you want to see everything it said. 

Since we're on the topic of lint and dryers and all that I thought I would show you this thingy ma bob. Sorry, I have NO idea what it's called but I LOVE it! My dad also installed this when he remodeled our basement and it's great! 

It's attached to our dryer hose and when I want to use my dryer I flip the little lever on the side and all of the warm air that usually floods outside comes inside! It's also a great humidifier and if it gets too hot or humid I just flip the switch back and it all goes back outside. Our basement runs cold so this works perfectly! No sense in heating the great outdoors is there? 

We used to buy fire starters for our fireplace and they can be pretty expensive. Now we save paper towel and toilet paper tubes and stuff our lint in them when we clean out the lint trap. We don't light our fireplace very often so this works great! They light quickly but don't burn too fast either. Yay! All about saving money! Although I never thought I would be one of those people to SAVE my lint! Hee hee! Who knew? 

There were lots of tips and tricks on the email but you know me, I'll have to try them out to see if they work first! :0) Oh and by the way - be thinking of your Fave things! Tomorrow it'll be time for another list of Fave things! 

Declutterization! Tips and Tricks!

I've been participating in the Women Living Well Challenge about making your house into a haven for your family and today I was able to laugh a good laugh at the challenge today which made me feel oh sooo GOOD!!! This week's challenge is easier to me than the other 2 previous challenges! DECLUTTERIZATION! And NO I'm not in denial! I have a passion for throwing things away that are broken or never used or are never going to be used again! Take a peek at Courtney's challenge today and if you have issues with clutter - go to it!! And with MY BLESSINGS!!! And if you really need me to, I will come and invade your home and throw or sell or BURN anything you don't need! Ok, maybe I need to rethink that offer! hee hee! I don't want my blog becoming a "let's use Ann to throw away our stuff service!" But seriously, the only clutter I have in my home would have to consist of the toys my kids insist on carting all over my world and leaving in odd places. Or the little things that my hubbie (who really tries - honest!) decides that this little spot right here makes complete sense to stash something away would be called clutter! Or maybe clutter in my home would consist of the stuff in my home that has a special meaning or memory to me. But really, clutter is OUT!!! I have a few rules in my house that has helped me maintain the clutter. Maybe they will help you too! 

1. If it has not been used, touched or thought about for more than 6 months - it's OUT! (YES - six months!!!) 


2. If no one in the family LIKES it - it's OUT!


3. If it irritates or annoys someone in the family (for real - the finger that is poking someone does not count) it's OUT! I'm thinking spousal arguments 


4. If it's broken and cannot be fixed within a WEEK - it's OUT!


5. If it's a book and has not been read or opened in 5 years - it's OUT! (unless it holds pictures - which means you had better do some reminiscing! It's loooong overdue!) 


6. If it's trash or looks like trash - it's OUT! Honestly, moms, I'm talking to you because that little scrap of paper that has a little squiggly line drawn on it by your 2 year old, you don't need to keep it! But if you really really do, make a box for each child and keep those memories IN THE BOX! Then it's NO LONGER CLUTTER - they're memories! 


7. If it hasn't been worn in 3 years - it's OUT! (I say three because you don't want to throw out clothes then find out you're pregnant again and need those clothes again! But use your best judgment or find a friend that you can swap clothes with regularly - my sister has 2 little girls younger than my daughter so our girl clothes have become well used and if I have another baby girl I know where the clothes are and I'll probably get more clothes than I gave my sis in the first place! Works great and saves a TON of MONEY! Same thing with maternity clothes!)


8. When it comes to mail or paperwork or filing, TOUCH it ONCE!!! Take care of it as soon as possible! For example when it comes to paying bills, I open them up and put them in the bill paying slot until it's time to pay them. But I throw away all of the trash or I read the ads if I want to read them WHEN I GET THE MAIL! If I pick up some literature that I want to read, I read it right away then decide if I should keep it or just TOSS it! For the most part, I toss it or pass it on, usually if I want the info again, the internet is at my fingertips! Business cards and magazines are pretty pointless for keeping because if you really want that recipe, look online! Phone numbers of your favorite plumber, store on your cell and get the numbers backed up! NO CLUTTER! 


I think that pretty much wraps it up! My philosophy really comes down to - If I lost all of my possessions in a devastating FIRE would I remember that I lost this item??? If you keep that in perspective, hopefully you will not have that fire but keep it in mind, it DOES happen to people! The things that people miss are the things that really matters to your heart, so if it matters to your heart, keep it tucked away forever! Happy declutterizing! 

Home and Heart Challenge Catch Up!

Ok I'm doing pretty good! I worked really hard yesterday and washed and folded almost all of our laundry yesterday, cleaned the kids room and cleaned part of the living room too! (That's the catch-up part!) I'm hoping to get the living room all beautiful today before we leave for church tonight. Sam's preaching tomorrow at another church. So in case you forgot - here are the before pictures of the kids room . . .

and here are the after pictures! 

ahhhh MUCH BETTER!!!

Day 5 of the Heart and Home Challenge

 YAY I accomplished another day! Here are my before pictures of my messy bathrooms! (In case you forgot!)

and here are the after pictures! 

Sorry I didn't have a before pic of my medicine cabinet - but it needed it! :-) 

here are the after pictures of my second bathroom/laundry room/storage room/ Utility room 

It's all clean and organized better now so NOW I'll show you pictures hee hee and you'll never know how bad it was! 

Notice how the medicine cabinet is now hanging and the sink is moved over - We bought the cabinet for $5 at a garage sale - :0) 

TADA!!! Oh happy me! 

So now today we're on to duhdundun . . . the KIDS ROOM! Now I need to provide a disclaimer. My kids room is never this dirty does not always get this dirty. It's very hard for me to keep this room clean at ALL. My little three year old and two year old are at that stage where mom needs to be encouraging every step of the cleaning process and usually it's just simply faster for mom to do it herself. They are definitely learning and learning well, but when scrunched for time and when I want it done the RIGHT way, MOM does it! :0). We've even taken the majority of their toys out of their room and put them in the toy room downstairs. That helped but as you can see, it still gets RATHER messy! Ok so with all of that in mind, here it is the BEFORE picture! 

Soooo here is my To Do list from Esther's site! And make sure you pop on over to see what she has to say about unexpected company - I love it! 

THE KIDS ROOM - or other BEDROOMS 

*Deep Cleaning

1. Take down curtains, wash if needed. 

2. Strip the bed, and put the sheets and blankets in the wash. 

3. Hang up any items of clothing, that need hung. Gather dirty clothes (put in hamper to wash)

*4. Gather clothes they don't wear anymore. (If it hasn't been worn in a year or two, donate it! (Throw away anything that needs to be dumped! Please don't donate your junk.) ;0) Sorry, just want of my pet peeves!

*5. Gather all knickknacks, and get them washed and dusted off.

6.  Deweb the room.
7. Gather all toys into a pile. Sort out and put away. (If you have A lot of toys, maybe have your children pick out a toy or two to donate.) Having them choose would be a way to teach them to care for others. (Teach them to give of their best, not the least favorite.)

*8. Gather a bucket with hot soapy water. Wash woodwork, trim and bases, (Walls if needed.) 

*8. Wash windows

9. Dust and polish all furniture - shelves, dresser tops etc...

*10. Rehang curtains, iron if needed.

11. Vacuum/Sweep/Mop (Depending on floor type.) 

12. Put clean sheets on bed, Fluff pillows and make it look nice.

13. Sit back, relax!

14. Revel in your BIG accomplishment! 

Bathroom Day!

Soooooo . . . I'm sure you've noticed, my blog has fallen away from the Heart and Home Challenge the last couple of days and needless to say my living room and bedroom and still in desperate need of some tender loving care. BUT now i'm back on the band wagon and going to attack my bathrooms today! YAY ok, honestly, not really because I DESPISE cleaning bathrooms. IT'S sooo gross! But, I love a fresh-smelling bathroom so I know it will be all worth it! To check up on the challenge visit Esther's blog. I'm loving her pictures of her clean home and they are very inspiring! So with no more dilly-dallying, I'm off to clean this. . .

and this. . .

In The Bathroom (s)

*Deep Cleaning

The bathrooms in my house practically need cleaned everyday in my house. With little boys, it's not an option! (Though, it doesn't get cleaned daily, I try!)

1. Gather rugs and wash.

2. Put everything away...(Hair items, lotions etc...)

3. Any dirty laundry, take to the laundry room.

4. Put toilet cleaner in toilet, to soak.

5. Sprinkle tub/shower and sink with commit (or whatever you use.)

6. Wash sink and counter top.

7. Scrub the tub/shower. (Don't forget the faucets, and empty any hair that might be in drain.

*8. Clean out your medicine cabinet/cupboard. (Throw out old medicine) Wipe out shelves.

9. Clean inside of toilet, then work on the outside. (Don't forget to get behind the toilet.) If you have little boys this tends to be the area that can't be missed! ;0)

10. Clean Mirror and windows.

11. Put clean rugs back down.

12. Mop floor.

13. Sit back and relax!

14. Revel in your gorgeous, beautiful smelling bathroom (s)

Heart and Home Clean Sweep Challenge Day 2

I have to say that I am already exhausted! BUT I'm satisfied in my accomplishments! So here they are - Day 1 Before and After pictures! I think I'm a little sad that the pictures can't REALLY tell the story of all of my hard work! 

After my Kitchen and Dining Area Cleaning! 

Before! 

The pictures can't tell you that my windows are all sparkly and spider-free or that my floor no longer has crusted on cookie batter. Or that underneath everything is as sparkly as the rest of it! But it's all true! :-) 

Even the before picture doesn't explain all that was truly messy with my kitchen! 

But here we are on Day 2 and still pressing onward! Today is another day of cleaning our hearts and our homes! 

Esther brought out some very good points on her blog today but a couple of things she said really caught my attention. She said "Your house is something you have, your home is something you simply create. Our houses are what they are, and our homes are what we make them. " This is oh so very true! I have a house but my home is shaped by the people within it. As mom and wife, I set the tone to my home. We've all heard the phrase "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" and how true this is! But if you really look at it, if this applies to happiness, wouldn't it also apply to contentment, peace, joy, love, harmony, or bitterness, anger, calamity, and discontentment? I believe it does! As I'm participating in this challenge, I'm also participating in another challenge on Women Living Well and her challenge for this week is to make my home sing. So I've brought out my worship cd's and my kids praise music and we've been praising God together. My home has been "singing" praises! My house just sits there. 

So here we go, onto the home challenge, here are the tasks for today 

~ The Living Room and Entry Area ~

*Deep Cleaning (Only if you have the time.)

Ah, the Living room! The room in our homes where our family, resides. (Besides the Kitchen.) 

1. Turn on some music to get you in the cleaning mood.

2.. Begin by picking up the room. Get a basket, and  put everything that doesn't belong, in there. Then put items away. 

3. Gather up all decorations and picture frames etc. Wash and dust these items.

*4. Take down curtains wash or dust off if needed. 

5. Wash rugs and hang them out to dry.

6. Gather any loose fabrics, and wash and dry if needed. (Ex. Pillows, Blankets etc..)

7. Deweb around the ceiling and corners of the room.

*8. Wash the woodwork, and ceiling fans and lights.

9. Wash windows

*10. Organize cds, dvds. All your entertainment area. 

11. Dust all furniture and polish if needed.

*12. Vacuum off furniture or polish (Fabric or Leather Furniture)

13. Vacuum, sweep, polish or mop (Whatever flooring you have.)

*14. Replace curtains and fabrics that where cleaned.

15. Arrange your books and magazines that don't have a place. Under the coffee table or perhaps a basket.

16. Put back all picture frames and decorations back into place.

17. Put on a pot of fall potpourri, light a candle.

18. Sit down and relax!

19. Revel in your BIG accomplishment!


So here are my BEFORE pictures!!! 

Notice all of my DVD's stacked on a pile on top of the TV - my son decided to rearrange them for me. joy. 

General clutter that seems to grow by itself.