Posts Tagged ‘Cleaning’
As everyone can tell I’ve been busy lately on other projects that have nothing to do with being a mom trying to live green. It has to be done, but I don’t want to leave you hanging. Today I have a guest post from Kitty Holman to share…
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Four Ideas for Encouraging Your Children to Clean Up After Themselves
Children, despite how adorable and cute they truly are, can also be tremendously messy. As a result, parents often feel frustrated with trying to get their children to clean up after themselves. And, unfortunately, the messes can be too much, whether you are trying to get them to pick up their toys after a play session or help you do the dishes after dinner each night. All of this clutter and mess can catch up to you, causing you to feel burned out by the end of the week, which can have disastrous consequences on your weekend activities.
You know, I can remember the first time I cleaned with vinegar. Summer of 1984, I was 14 years old. I had gotten a job at a children’s clothing store in the strip mall near where I lived. One of my firsts task was to wash the storefront windows with newspaper and vinegar. Ack! I remember thinking how stinky I thought it was, but it did the job. I know, I remember the oddest slices of life, don’t I?
Attention folks in Massachusetts! There is a cash for appliances rebate program about to launch and if you have an old appliance, now is the time to jump on this and get a new one. This program is like the cash for clunkers program, to encourage residents to replace old energy-sucking appliances with new Energy Star qualified appliances.
I think, as women, we are very much alike when it comes to beauty and bath products. We are looking for the ‘one’ that will do magical things to our hair and skin. THE product that will unlock the look that we see in magazines and on television.
As we thaw out here in New England and the snow thankfully melts slowly away, it isn’t just crocuses and tulips I see popping up.
I see dog turds. And alot of them! Yuck!
I live on a main road, so many dogs get walked by my house. I live next to the post office, three banks, a grocery store, a bagel shop, a Starbucks, a big park for the kids, a church, a day care, a Montessori school, Dunkin’ Donuts, Domino’s Pizza, two dry cleaners, a place to take music lessons, a flower shop, a nail salon, and a locally owned pet supply/dog grooming shop. To name only a few of the shops around me. You can imagine all the dog walking that goes on around me! I also live near a lake and an aqueduct where everybody takes their dogs to walk, run, and relieve themselves.
I have stopped and thanked dog walkers that I see picking up after their dog does their business. Thank you for picking up that poop! But I never say anything to those I see just walking away from it, the owners avoiding my eyes. I don’t love confrontation. But I also don’t love random dog shit everywhere! If you have kids, you have had shoes that come into the house with poop on them. Haven’t you done the *sniff sniff* ‘ what IS that smell?’ thing only to realize that it’s poop on their shoes, or your shoes. Ick! Yuck! Zero fun!
The church near me has a sign: “Blessed are those that pick up after their dog”. Indeed! Does that mean you are cursed if you do not pick up after your dog? I think many people are cursing those not picking up after their dog.
Dog waste also transmits disease. There are signs around our lake and aqueduct stating this fact. And there is dog poop near these signs. *Sigh*
Please pick up after your dog when he is finished pooping! It’s your dog. Take some responsibility! I am pretty sure that if I let one of my kids who had an emergency squat in front of your home to poop, you would come running out and ask me to pick it up. Guaranteed.
