It’s a battle that’s waged in millions of households across America every Saturday morning. When I was a kid, I called it the SRF, Saturday Room Fit!

Mom would stand in the doorway to my very messy bedroom, hands on her hips, eyes blazing like a drill sergeant barking commands to her new recruits and her voice, behind clenched teeth, like a cat in battle for its life, would hit my tender eardrums, “You are NOT leaving this room until it’s clean!”

Most moms feel frustrated with their kids’ messy rooms and they feel they need to impose some sense of order or they’ve failed. If your kids have messy rooms, you are not a failure and neither are your children. Let’s not freak out about this issue. Hey, Stephen Spielberg’s mom was scared to go in his room when he was a boy, because it was such a mess.

My mom was so frustrated with my disorganized sister and me that she researched the problem. One psychologist said, “Just shut the door to their room and out of a natural desire for order, they’ll clean it up eventually.” Those were pre-Google days, and unfortunately that recommendation is still being disseminated to weary moms throughout the Internet. It’s not good advice. My sister and I had no semblance of a natural desire for order and that’s what lead to the dreaded SRF.

You Already Intuitively Know This

Establishing regular routines for yourself and your children provides some predictability and stability in your home life. Knowing how to clean and do basic chores will serve your children when they grow up and manage homes of their own.

Having kids put things in order teaches them to be responsible for their things and when we moms can make the process fun, we change the game from the SRF to joy and excitement! So how can you change something that’s been a battle into something that’s suddenly fun?

Teaching our children how to properly wash their hands is very important, especially right now. The more fun you can make it the more eager your children will be to do it.

My good friend the House Fairy does just that. Please feel free to have your children watch this video as many times as they want.

If you’ve raised your children and they’re adults now, you appreciate what a sacrifice mothers and fathers make to care for their children and raise them up to be nice people. If you're a young mom in the middle of the supreme challenge of raising your babies to be responsible yet have fun, be kind, but not be doormats, behave, but develop good self-esteem, and the list could go on-and-on,  read on.

One year, my son’s two children came down from Seattle. Brooklyn was eleven and Jackie was eight. When they arrived, Brooklyn was especially clingy. She wanted to be hugged a lot and often a hug would last a minute or two. I knew the reason; she’d been away at a soccer camp the week before and her mom was with her just one night and then they came here for the week. Jack didn’t go to camp, so he had been with his mom and dad and wasn’t in the least clingy.

Hey Mom, are you starting to hear, “I’M BORED” and summer’s only half over?” Here are some off-the wall activities for your kids coming from a mom who thought up stuff AFTER her own kids were raised. In other words, a grandma came up with the stuff because she has what young moms aren’t that familiar with…LEISURE TIME TO THINK!

This grandma remembered that her kids loved to watch other kids get in trouble, like at the store when a mom yelled at her kid in public. Kids will rubber neck just like adults do when someone is in trouble on the freeway, so you can take advantage of that. Here's what this grandma did with her three-year-old granddaughter, McKenzie.

For as long as I’ve known myself, many of my ideas for having fun have been off the wall. When I was young I did things like teach a bird to fly and teach a dog how to play the ukulele, play turtle, turn lights off and on and she even learned left from right (not politics). Details on those events will come after I share some summer activities for your kids to do for some off-the-wall fun.

 Death by good intention

Have you ever seen a honey bee that’s got so much pollen on her feet and thighs that she can barely fly? I often wonder if some of them never make it back to their hives they’re so overloaded. You can make it back to your hive (unless you forgot to get gass) but without the 4 Ps of gardening, you could set yourself up for death by good intention. 

Do you ever feel like whining? It’s kind of fun to make your voice match your reluctance to do something you have to do. “I don’t wanna balance my checkbook, it’s nice outside and I wanna go play in the garden!” Wah, wah, wah. The thing about whining is that it’s annoying and you can get into a habit of it. I'm sure you have a few master complainers in your life.

by Pam Young

When my grandchildren were younger, I turned my home into a summer camp for them. Now most are grown and too busy with their own, big kid activities. It’s kind of sad, but it’s all part of life. It just happens, but I’ve got photos to remind me of the fun we had.

One year, my son’s two children came down from Seattle. Brooklyn was eleven and Jackie was eight. When they arrived, Brooklyn was especially clingy. She wanted to be hugged a lot and often a hug would last a minute or two. I knew the reason; she’d been away at a soccer camp the week before and her mom was with her just one night and then they came here for the week. Jack didn’t go to camp, so he had been with his mom and dad and wasn’t in the least clingy.

You'll be shocked at how getting organized (just a little) will add great joy for you and your family because: