cleaning with the boys

i love to clean. especially when i have the house to myself. when i get to listen to something besides"kids fun 123" or disney music. (although i really do love disney music) when something i clean stays clean. i love the smell of a clean lemon fresh house. love it. my boys however do not. this has been a battle ever since drew was introduced to toys with a million little pieces. i have tried everything to try to get him to clean up. races. i always end up winning. weird. "the gobble monster" resulted in a terrified 3 year old who would not be left alone because a monster was coming in our house to eat his toys. (thanks mom!) threats. many many threats. the only thing that got me was a very upset little boy and an even more upset mommy. some of my ideas i thought were great. others i hope he never remembers and that i'll soon forget. but i found one that works. and it's genius. (yes, my head has gotten very big)

so the other day as i was going about my morning routine, i passed drew's room with toys everywhere. i called for drew to come and clean up. i got the usual response. out of nowhere it came to me.
"ok just clean up the toys you want to keep! "
drew comes running in. "mommy i want to keep ALL my toys!"
"ok well then just put away the ones you're keeping."
"ok mommy."
wait. what? within minutes his room was spotless. not a toy in sight. we haven't had a problem since.
and i fall asleep smiling. at last, i have out smarted a 4 year old.