Just a little hint for all you parents who find yourselves utterly flummoxed by the amount of dirt and clutter generated by one small, sweet household:
Chinese New Year requires that you give your house a clean sweep to make room for the pleasures and abundance of the new year.
It’s a mandated de-junking!
Wahoo!
I promise you, this is flawless motivation for kids to clean their rooms.
Tell them it’s part of the festivity.
Grab a broom, crank up a little worldbeat on the stereo and call it a holiday.
Oh.
It wouldn’t hurt if there were a pretty paper envelope of money and some dumplings waiting.
And if you’ve got a string of firecrackers lying around, even better…
Seriously folks.
My daughters are going at it full-bore.
Dusting. Untangling dolls from necklaces. Finding the caps to the markers.
And I put a brown paper sack in the room on the off chance they stumble upon something they don’t want anymore.
I know, hard to imagine amidst all the priceless treasures but one can hope.
Chinese New Year starts on Thursday.
Clean up.
Eat up.
Open up to a whole new year of rich surprises.
(And here are some great kids books to get you in the mood.)
My family loves going to the Chinese New Year parade in Chicago – right in the heart of Chinatown, 22nd and Wentworth.
Little shops packed with Hello Kitty items, Buddhas, Chinese silk slippers and jackets, beautifully carved wooden chairs, rice candy where you can eat the clear paper lining, and last but not least, boxes of “poppers” that you throw onto the ground.
Unfortunately, I think that in order to get my teenagers to clean their rooms in the way you described, I might need to toss a few tens in those little red envelopes! KYM
This sounds so worth trying. Here’s to clean rooms and a happy celebration!
Give it a whirl, HWM!
What a great idea, as I’ve been using every excuse in the world not to clean… Happy New Year!
-Jennifer Thermes