Let’s be honest — don’t we all wish we could lock our kids out of newly cleaned rooms, at least for a few hours? There’s something about a freshly vacuumed carpet, polished glass and a clutter-free floor that says to children, “come and wreak havoc on me/smear your dirty fingers all over me/empty all your toys all over me.”
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It makes cleaning and sorting and tidying on a daily basis kind of pointless. But unfortunately it’s necessary at some times of the year — at least if we don’t want our friends and relatives to think we’re complete slobs.
One mom has the perfect solution. Clean your room, then make it off limits to the rest of the family. Michele Keylor from Ohio hung a “closed” sign on the door of her just-cleaned living room, and it’s gone viral after her 17-year-old son Nick Denbow shared a photo of her handwritten note on his Twitter account.
“Special permission will be considered for you to sit on my clean furniture and/or walk on my clean carpet only after the following conditions have been met,” wrote Keylor. “1) You have showered and are dirt and odor free from top to toe. 2) You are wearing freshly laundered clothing.”
And permission came with one major rule: “NO food or drinks are permitted at this time!”
https://twitter.com/nickdenbow11/status/794927838914904064
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Keylor, who is also mom to Andy, 27, Casey, 24, and Samantha, 22, signed her note with: “Mom, Payer of the Bills, Chauffeur, Queen of the castle, Person ruining your life, Bossy bitch in charge.”
“I took advantage of Andy being away for National Guard drill and steam cleaned the living room carpet and furniture,” said Keylor, who is hosting 30 people at her home on Thanksgiving. “It was much needed as there were soda spills and footprints on the carpet and pizza smudges and chip fingerprints on the furniture.”
She also revealed that during the cleanup she discovered french fries, dog toys, coins and dirty socks. Nice.
For moms of younger kids a handwritten warning has obvious flaws (a child’s reading ability for one) but it can inspire a similar approach. A padlock, perhaps?
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