Fitz: Mommy's Cleaning Helper

About a month ago, I set some goals to improve my housekeeping habits. My motivation to get each room in order and painted was to tell myself I could get a dog when it was done. Now, I have a dog! So, one might think that my house was clean and my walls were blue, green, and tan. Unfortunately, that's not entirely true. We haven't painted for over a month, and I haven't met my goals for things I wanted to make sure got done by the end of each day.

However, I realized when using a dog as a motivator, I made a mistake. "I can get a dog," doesn't keep my house clean. "I have a dog," does.

Here are some things we've learned the hard way to keep out of reach:
-Dexter's underwear
-Dexter's undershirts
-Pajama pants
-Cardigans
-Bras (these are filched from on top of the dresser--they're a great chew toy and worth the effort to get)
-Plastic cups
-Travel mugs
-Pens
-Make-up brushes
-Lip gloss
-Empty food wrappers
-Empty tupperware

One thing we DO try to leave on the floor as a distraction while we're gone is Fitz's kong. This toy is great because it's durable, and you can stuff whatever treats your dog likes best inside. At first, Fitz wasn't very good at getting the fillings out, so he'd lose interest. Then, he got better and was persistent for a really long time. Now, he's really good at getting out the big treats we've been jamming inside, so I think we're going to have to switch to filling it with peanutbutter and smashed treats to make it a little more interesting. Thanks Aunt Amy for such a fun toy!

I have improved as a result of setting my goals, however. I (usually) don't wait as long to do the dishes, and I at least have to have few enough dirty dishes to keep out of reach down in the sink. I'm even better about picking things up off the floor and wiping surfaces off since when I cook I always have a wet-nosed helper nearby. I definitely put my clothes in the hamper or closet, especially clothes I want to wear ever again.

I've even started making my bed every day because it's one of Fitz's favorite relaxing spots, and I think that between the sheets is definitely one place I want to avoid massive amounts of puppy hair. Keriann helped me meet my goal of getting each room unpacked and picked up. She coached me as I unpacked in our office, which ended up only taking an hour and a half. If I had known it would be that quick...

My new goals:
1. Do lots of little organization projects around the house so that staying picked up is easier. And so our closet doesn't look like this:2. Post (and follow!) a weekly cleaning list.
3. Paint the rest of the house!