One of the best-loved characters in Children's literature is Amelia Bedelia, the housekeeper who takes instructions quite literally. Who could resist a woman who puts sponges into sponge cake, or pitches a tent by throwing it into the woods?
I thought of Miss Bedelia as I considered today's Small Thing, which is to pick up the floor.
I wonder how SHE would go about it?
Picking up the floor, or should I say, "picking up what's ON the floor" is one of the fastest ways to make your home look presentable. It sounds crazy, but I'll betcha if you just look around at your house, you'd find shoes, purses, backpacks, toys, socks, clothes, half-eaten sandwiches, wet towels, and papers, all just laying there to be stepped on and tripped over.
Children's rooms tend to be the worst, not only because they have so much stuff, but also because they seem to be born with the inability to see anything below their knees.
Sometimes, just scooping up the one or two items (or ten or twenty) left on the floor is enough to make it seem like you had a whole team of housekeepers clean up the place. It's a miracle!
It's best if you can actually put the items back where they belong, but don't let the thought of organizing it all prevent you from zipping through the house on a mission to just pick it up. You might try dragging a laundry basket around so you can dump stuff in it as you go, or you could simply stack the items neatly so they are ready to be organized later. Don't over-think it, just do it.
POINTS: 30 for picking up the floor in one room
BONUS POINTS: 10 for each additional room, up to 5 more
80 points, max.
What's on YOUR floor?
