THIS IS SO PAINFUL. This literally took her HOURS AND HOURS to do. And she still didn’t even get the few things done that I asked.
Pick up ALL the clothes. ALL. From everywhere. On the floor, behind the door, between the dressers, in the closet. Everything. Every single thing. Put them all in a pile in the hallway.
I couldn’t have been more clear. But all I hear is OKAAAAAY MOM. I KNOOOOOW MOM. But she picks up some of the things and thinks she’s done?! I demonstrate how to do it. I explain again I mean every. single. thing. And still not done. I mean she says she did it…but when I check it’s obviously not done. And it took an hour or more—not minutes. Because she starts playing. Or needs to take a break. Or plays with the cat.
Pick up all the garbage off the floor. Same as the clothes, just all the little bits of crap—tissues, broken crayons, wads of hair, pieces of ripped blanket, scraps of paper, clothes tags she cut and just left on the floor. ALL OF IT.
Again, she says she did it…but there’s still just so much.
Pick up all the Legos, dolls, makeup, and put them in their designated bins.
I even got out her bins for her. And she did some. Over hours.
I had a serious heart to heart talk with her about it all. She knows we are serious about emptying her room because she saw us do it to Owen. She has no reason other than she just doesn’t want to do it (like the homework). But she doesn’t want to lose her stuff. She says she feels like we want them to have less stuff like we did as kids. I tell her that’s not true—we want them to have more than we did (and they do!)—but they need to take care of it.
This. Is. Exhausting.