The Seven Tasks and Thomas

I have been trying to do these seven tasks every day. My goal was to do them for two weeks, evaluate how well it was working for our family, and then adjust as needed. So far, it's been one week and I feel like a new woman. Who knew maintaining a clean house could be so theraputic? Chet has given it two thumbs up as well. (Probably most normal stay-at-home moms already do these things - but since I need all the help I can get, having a set list of simple, quick, do-able tasks has been sweet.)

One of the tasks is to do a 10-minute pick up before bed. That's when I put stuff that's gotten out of place during the day back where it belongs (stray toys, piles of paper to be filed, mugs of coffee that I've forgotten to finish, etc). It is wonderful to wake up to a tidy home, so I love straightening up at the end of each day. (Did you ever think you'd hear that come out of my mouth?)

Today during naptime I was reading on the couch when I looked up at the mantel and saw this:

Do you see what I see? (candle.train.candle.train.candle.) Oops. Something missed the tidy-radar.

Those trains are so perfectly placed it's like I decorate with Thomas the Tank Engine.

(I put them out of Sharks' reach since he always gets them stuck under the couch and I promptly forgot about them.)

So I'm not perfect, but my house sure looks a lot better, even with a couple of trains here and there.