Tidying Up With the Family

Phoebe and I started watching Tidying Up with Marie Kondo last night.  I think this is finally a reality TV show I can love!  What I believe it's inspiring me is how she's getting the whole family involved. I see now that is something I need to work on more with the kids - teaching them tidying up, so it's not something just Mommy does.

I have the perfect projects for us to start with - the boys' closets, drawers and playroom.  The playroom is also the guest room and right now, no guests can stay in there.  There is a bed in there that is covered in toys.  There is also a desk that matches their bedroom furniture in the other room that is in the same state (covered with toys).  I'd like to clean out their toys with them involved in every step and decide what ones they will not play with anymore that can be given away or sold.  I'd like to repaint the room, get some guest room furniture (bed to put the mattress on, bedside table and one dresser), make some new curtains and bedspread to make the room ready for guests at any time.  I'd like to refinish the desk and move it into their bedroom to use for homework and stuff.  There are two of them, but I'm sure they can take turns who wants to use the desk.

If I get the guest room ready for guests, I'm sure it will spill my motivation into the Jack and Jill bathroom that is the boys and is shared with the guest room.  I'd really like to change the current doors to the bathroom into pocket doors, but I'm not sure how involved that would be.  I think I may ask a friend who is a contractor, but let me know if any of you out there have any experience with converting to pocket doors.  I think it would make the flow into the bathroom better.  Right now the doors take up too much space in the bathroom when they are open.  At some point the boys may want to split bedrooms and share that bathroom and if we get the basement finished, the guest room can be down there.  We have one area that would make a great bedroom/craft room as it has windows that overlook the backyard.

My brain is running away with ideas on the house!  Right now, I'm going to go finish my daily and weekly chore routines, so I can have some project time with the boys to start tackling their space!  I am also working on having the boys help with chores around the house.  I'm giving them a little quiet time right now though, as they were altar servers at 8AM mass this morning and had a piano recital at 10:30AM.