Any way, the conversation of summer camp came up with my neighbor/friend the other day, so I told her all about the Camp Cleanup we held a few years ago.  She thought it was a good idea.  Oddly enough, my kids liked it too. The house could definitely use it.  And we still have the camp t-shirts from 3 years ago.  (The shirts were so big then that they still fit now.)

The idea behind Camp Cleanup is to give your kids something to do during one week of their school vacation and get your house clean at the same time.  While everyone else’s kids go off to camp, we stay home and clean.  (My daughter just said “we have fun”.)  We spend the mornings cleaning together and then do something fun (or even more fun) together as a family in the afternoon as a reward.  Make camp t-shirts, go to the park, get ice cream, etc.

Going back to read my old post, I remembered that we designated an area of the house for each day and drew from a cup every morning to see what it would be.  Sounds cheezy, but it really did add to the excitement.  We worked our way from ceiling to floor in each area, trying to make it as fun as possible.  You know, throw water all over the kitchen floor and skate around in it with wash cloths under our feet.  Stuff like that.  You’ve really gotta get creative!  (Which is hard for me to do… Not sure what I was taking when I came up with the idea.)

We are thinking about repeating Camp Cleanup this year.  I need some inspiration!!!  Do you have any fun ways to clean that you can share?  How about some great inexpensive rewards to fit the theme?

So pardon me while I whine and complain for a few minutes.  Hopefully this will get me out of my Monday morning funk and get me moving again…

I’m tired!  I’m tired of doing the same damn thing over and over again and ending up right where I started. 

My kitchen sink is full of dishes.  My dishwasher is also full of dishes and running.  I know I did them yesterday!  My kitchen floor is dirty.  You know… the one I scrubbed on my hands and knees last weekend despite the fact that I’ve had back pain for a month?  And I can’t get to my children’s beds to kiss them good night in the evenings without threat of getting sucked into the quick-sand of toys and clothes scattered across the room.  Didn’t we just clean?  UGH!  I could go on and on.  I won’t though, because I’m guessing that you’ve been there, done that.  You know exactly what I mean, don’t you?  And yes, I have met the FlyLady.  And YES, I am being too picky!!  (And yes, I did have to go back and put that second “o” in the “too” in that sentence because I have issues like that toO!) 

So, what’s up with this twenty pounds? I’ve lost this same damn 20 pounds over and over and over again.  I should SOOooo know better than to ask.  Because I already know ALL the answers.  Yes, I quit smoking in October.  Yes, I ate too much during the holidays (was that four months ago already?).  Yes, I’ve been working out and yes I know that muscle weighs more than fat.  Yes, it probably has something to do with my level of stress and my prescription medication (which I won’t be able to keep taking now that I don’t have the insurance to pay for it).  Yes, I am getting older and my metabolism is slowing down.  SO WHAT?  Have any of these reasons EVER made that mushroom top look more attractive?  No!  I didn’t think so!  (Did I forget to mention the second serving of chili with cheese and sour cream I had last night?  Or the cocktail I had?  Oh Pleeeease!  That has NOTHING to do with anything!)

And speaking of exercise, why is it that every time I start feeling like I’m making progress, something happens that forces me to stop?  Last year I was starting to train to run a 5K.  I’ve never ever been able to run more than a 1/4 mile without stopping, but I was making progress for the first time ever and ….  Oops!  I was in an accident and hit my head (bad enough to warrant an MRI) which took me off of the exercise agenda for weeks.  That was the end of that.  When I started running again, my shins gave out.  Then when I started again, my back went out.  What the heck?  Is there some cosmic force telling me I shouldn’t exercise for some reason?  Well, guess what?  I’m not listening!  I’m going to get back on that treadmill if it kills me!  (Which it might.)

And now I have next to no income and HAVE to get my website businesses going.  I HAVE to find some creative way to spur business and make this profitable or my children don’t get to eat.  Do you have any idea how difficult it is to be creative under that kind of pressure?  (Okay… me and the other half of the population these days.  Am I preaching to the choir?  Sorry.)

And… and… and….  How am I doing with this self-pity party so far?  Yeah, I thought so.  But sometimes ya just gotta vent!

Yes, I know that I have complete control over ALL of this.  And I’m going to go clean my dishes and get on my treadmill (where my creative juices will start to flow) and then I’ll get some website work done. 

Because I can!

Because I won’t quit!

See?  I feel better already!

Well, Food & Family magazine has a section called “Express Checkout” which usually has a weekly meal plan in it, complete with recipes and a grocery list.  I tried this out about six months ago and really enjoyed the ease of meal preparation and the food itself.  I found another weekly meal plan in a newer edition and have been cooking those meals this week.  (Get your free subscription by registering with KraftFoods.com.)

Being so pleased with having my weeknight recipes all figured out, I went to the website to see if they had more weekly meal plans on there.  They do!  The section is called “1 Bag 5 Dinners“.  The concept is that you get five nights worth of meals into one bag of groceries.  Totally affordable and easy!  I’m really liking it!

Want more weekly meal plans with more variety that your whole family will eat? Try Dine Without Whine – A Weekly Menu Plan & Grocery List Delivered To Your E-mail Box.

Need a kid friendly plan for breakfasts and lunches? Try Kid Approved Meals – Weekly Breakfast and Lunch Menus Moms and Kids Love!

How about weight friendly meals for mom delivered right to your door? Get one FREE week of meals with your first eDiets’ Deliciously Yours meal delivery order.

There is a bookshelf and filing cabinet behind my chair and a small child’s table and chairs to the left of my desk under the window.  (The idea behind the child’s table was to keep my children occupied and with me while I work, but it never quite worked out that way.)

What is your home office like?

Buy office furniture, electronics and more at:

Camp Cleanup was a huge success!  Almost everything that we planned on getting done, got done.  My kids love their self-designed t-shirts, got a great first-hand experience at how much “hard work” this cleaning business is, and are still looking around for dust bunnies.  LOL!

I just got my first affiliate sale as a result of my working with Squidoo.  I’ve also been working on a brand new website. 

My children are in Vacation Bible School at the moment.  I have a few hours of peace.  So, I’m getting off my PC, taking some me-time and heading to the tea room.  BYE!

Unlike the FlyLady’s concept of working in 15 minute intervals, our first week out of school is going to be boot camp!  We divided our home up into five areas that need to be cleaned, wrote each on a piece of paper, folded them and put them in a cup.  Each morning this week we are going to draw the surprise area from the cup and get to work.  We will be working as a family team, together in each area.  After our cleanup is done, we head out the door for a reward.  I’m thinking trips to the park and ice cream cones.

This evening, we will be working on creating our camp t-shirts.  You’ve gotta have camp t-shirts, right? 

I’ve decided to reintroduce the chore chart system in my house.  So I went digging through my computer documents to find the sticker chart I had created some time ago.  I found it and had to laugh because apparently we haven’t used it in about two years.  (Shame on me!)  The chart I found is this “morning routine chart”.   I used to print one copy on pink paper for my daughter and one copy on blue paper for my son.  Then I hung them on the hallway wall so they could easily see them. 

If you don’t want to create a word document like I did, you can print these free customizable chore charts or purchase magnetic chore charts.

I’ve started using the morning chart again to get us all back into the habit, but now that my children are a little older, I want to expand the chore chart idea to more than just the morning routine.  So, my next question is what to put on the chore charts. I found this “Stages of Responsibility“ list for age appropriate chores.  Maybe that will help.  I’ll let you know what I decide on.

What are your thoughts?  Do you use chore charts with your kids?  What type do you use?  What chores do you have on them?

When I was pregnant with my first child, I bought a wall decoration at a home decor party.  It’s a blue painted heart that still hangs proudly on my kitchen wall.  It reads:

Cleaning and Scrubbing
can wait till tomorrow…
for babies grow up,
we’ve learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs;
dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby
and babies
don’t keep.

So, my first spring cleaning tip is this… Don’t make cleaning a priority.  Sure, you’ve gotta do it sometime, but don’t obsess over it.  In my opinion, spring cleaning is obsessing.

Which brings me to my second spring cleaning tip… Visit the FlyLady.   Even if you are already familiar with the FlyLady, if you came looking for spring cleaning tips, then you obviously need a refresher.  The FlyLady will teach you how to clean and declutter your home in baby steps so that it is always clean and spring cleaning is no longer necessary.

Having said all of that, I love throwing open all of the windows in my house as soon as its warm enough to at least maintain the cozy indoor temperature.   There’s nothing quite like a fresh spring breeze blowing out the stale winter air.  And when you open up all the windows, there is bound to be some dust bunnies that come out of hiding and start running across the floor.  Grab a vacuum and suck up anything that moves.  (OK…  Don’t vacuum the children or the cat.  They generally don’t like it.)

When you’ve finished doing the above, Go Outside!!  It’s SPRING for goodness sake!  Wash the SUV, clean the outside of the windows, rake the yard if you must, but at least enjoy the warmer weather.

If you came here looking for real spring cleaning tips, visit the Spring Cleaning Competition hosted by “Two Moms in a Blog” and read the other entries.  Maybe some other blog writers can help you out.