Name That Pile!

It's amazing how things change (for the better) when you put a name on it.  I'll explain.

You may remember from this post, how frustrated I was with my lack of housecleaning habits.  Well, that was pretty much rock bottom for me.  I set out to find new ways to develop good habits, helping me to enjoy the home we live in without having to holler at my family day and night.  We want a comfortable home, not a museum, and tracking in dirt, wet clothes, smelly soccer gear are all apart of life here.  Along with several other daily tasks that have become new habits for me, I decided to tackle the laundry issue.  If you are like us, there are loads and loads of laundry to do each week.  We are currently sharing our washer with our tenants (being that theirs broke down), so we are on a strict schedule as to when we can actually do our laundry (only on weekends).  This makes the clothes pile up pretty fast.  Hopefully, the washer situation will be rectified soon, but until then, I think I may have found a way to curtail the 'laundry all over the place' scenario.

It was really rather simple.  My husband and I purchased several tall laundry baskets - yes, new.  We put them in each of the boys' rooms to hold their dirty clothes.  It was then that I noticed a funny thing.  I went into one boy's room - clothes all over the place, and none in the new hamper/laundry basket (the sign on the thing actually calls it a 'Lamper').  I went in to the other boy's room - clothes piling up next to the 'Lamper' but none IN it.  Hmmm.

On Sunday, we cleaned house.  I grabbed these 'Lampers' and my trusty sharpie pen.  Here are my results:

Ok - I am not an artist, I'll stick to creating music.  However, do you notice that the 'Lampers' are full??  Somehow by naming them, their use became known and the clothes actually made it in.  What's really great is now there will be no confusion over 'which pile of clean clothes is mine?' - a question I will get for a week after I've folded all the clothes and left them to be retrieved.  Easy enough - 'Grab your 'Lamper' and put the clothes away'.  It's so simple, mindfully simple, I'd have to say.