Who knew?

Who knew that an alarm clock and a lamp could result in clean rooms?

It all started actually with Annabelle wanting a new lamp for her room. She use to have a hanging lamp from my childhood room above her desk. Not her taste to say the least. She really wanted this lamp base she saw at Target. I wasn't sold on the idea, so ask her to keep it in mind while we go and look at Lowe's. Yes, I admit I was hoping she would find a different base. I just kept thinking the furniture in her room is black, cream and cherrywood. Yes, it's a hodge pod of hand me downs with one new desk! She was bummed when I said let's look at Lowe's, so I promised her that if they didn't have anything she liked we would return to Target that same day and get her lamp. So we went to Lowe's. Sure enough, not a single lamp base appealed to her, but a shade caught her eye. I agreed and so we bought the shade and went to Target to pick up the base.

So we were home and I said I would love to place this lamp on your desk, however it's covered with your things and I can't walk safely into your room. I would hate to break your new lamp. Clean your room and we will place the lamp inside. With a smile, Annabelle said no problem, will you help me organize? You know me, I was kiddy with excitement and off to work we went. She was awesome. She didn't just pick up her room. She even cleaned out her closet and drawers! (Opps I didn't take pictures of the super organized closet!) This event took a good 4 hours. I was sure to let her sort and I only helped organize and kept the project on track. We had fun! Once we were done, the lamp was placed and to my surprise, it looks great in her room. The fabrics in her room have a golden brown color the same as the lamp! I am so proud of her decorating skills.

So, poor Scott, the following weekend I said it's your turn, Dude, time to clean that room of yours. He agreed only if I would take him to Game Stop and Annabelle would help. We agreed and boy, did she ever a big help. I let the two of them go at it for an hour before I stepped in. I was annoyed that nothing looked done, because Scott was playing with his stuff while Annabelle was trying to sort out the mess. So we were off, three of us sorting Scott's books, Legos (Legos everywhere!), Nerf guns, etc. It took 5 hours. Annabelle dusted everything and then Scott asked if he could get a new alarm clock. I asked why, since he has one. He stated because it's a "Little Tikes" alarm clock! We all busted out laughing and I was in tears. I apologized that I never realized that my 7th grader had his preschool clock still! So sure enough after the promised stop to Game Stop, where Scott and Annabelle spent their own money, we stopped in to Target for a new alarm clock for Scott. We got home and we realized we made a lucky choice with the clock since the digits glow blue which matches his room!

So these pictures where taken this morning. Yes, three weeks after Annabelle cleaned her room and a two weeks after Scott cleaned his. I'm really proud that my kids have a sense of pride to keep their rooms clean and now organized! It's amazing how grown they have become.

Now off to take some pictures of their clean closets and the pile of stuff we got out of their rooms for a garage sale! Might as well make some ching on the mess we worked so hard at getting rid of! :)