The First Goals

The husband has a good idea. One of the many cleaning tasks that my children create for me is a myriad of cups distributed around the house. "Thirsty!" cries the little one. I give her a cup, and it mysteriously disappears amongst playtime. "Thirsty!" she cries again, and here comes another cup. And so forth. Husband says: One cup per day, per kid. When they want a new drink, they have to find their cup. You wash it and fill it. End of story.

1 point for the husband.

The constant kitchen mess grates on my last nerve. There are always so. many. dishes. This is mostly due to the fact that I cook and bake... a lot. Mostly from scratch, mostly not simple. So with prep bowls and pots boiling and sauces simmering, it adds up. But so do the plates and bowls. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, second snack, dinner. Husband says: Wash the bowl from breakfast, put it back on the table. One bowl, one plate per day.

2 points for the husband.

This has me thinking. What if I just washed each dish as I used it? Yes, I understand this is mostly what other people do. No, I can't quite handle that thought yet. Wash the dishes as my children destroy the next room? Not so much. But the idea of simply rinsing off the kids' stuff each meal seems easier and will result in less total dishes.

And if I combine this with keeping the dishwasher moving... unload as soon as it's clean, pop the dishes in as soon as I've used them...the kitchen will be that much cleaner. This seems doable. I did this today, in fact. The husband was home, which made it easier. Let's see if I can do it tomorrow, too.

Oh, and one more thing. Pick up the living room before the husband comes home each day. You know, that whole maintenance thing.

So, to recap, my goals for the week are:
1. Only one cup and plate per kid, per day.
2. Keep the dishwasher moving.
3. Pick up the living room before 4:30pm each day.

I can do this, right? Right? Right...