The Tidy Fairy

I mentioned in one of my recent posts that I needed to blog about the Tidy Fairy because she is part of our family history.  Besides, my brother commented that the Tidy Fairy at our house is a lot nicer than the one that came to our house growing up.  Growing up, the Tidy Fairy used to visit our house (unannounced) and box up the things that we didn't take care of or put away.

For some reason, Tidy Fairy really never put in an appearance at our house until after I had Abram. Just before I had Abram, Shawn started a new job that required him to travel extensively, so I was on my own quite a bit with a new baby and the other kids to take care of.  I noticed pretty quickly that I could (barely) manage to squeak by getting meals and laundry done, but I was having a difficult time getting to the deep housecleaning, because by the time I got everyone's "stuff" put away Abram was crying or else it was time to run someone somewhere or stop and make a meal. The kids were doing jobs, but nothing ever seemed as orderly as I like it to be - they weren't picking up after themselves!

I tried quite a few things, but I don't enjoy being the nag or the bad guy, and one day I realized that I needed to locate the Tidy Fairy and request her help in getting our house all tidied up.  Luckily I was able to make contact with her, so I sat the kids down and explained her method:

For a while, the Tidy Fairy would come daily to our house, but we had no way of knowing when she would arrive, and if something wasn't put away, she would take it and box it up.  It may or may not be returned at a later date.  The kids asked what would happen if it was an important book for school, or something?  I told them that they could inform me that it was missing and I would talk to the Tidy Fairy and we would come to some sort of an arrangement.  They could probably do an extra job or something to earn it back.

As it turned out, Tidy Fairy didn't ever have to take much before the kids learned to put their things away.  Sometimes, when the house looks like it needs help, I tell the kids that I wouldn't be surprised if the Tidy Fairy made an appearance, and the house miraculously gets cleaned right up. Sometimes, I have a little one that doesn't want to help clean up, but as soon as the Tidy Fairy is called, (they hear me talking to her on the telephone) they hustle around and start cleaning like crazy. Occasionally, one of the kids will even get so worried about someone else's stuff disappearing that they do them a service and take care of it for them. Then they come tell me what they did "just in case the Tidy Fairy comes."

Kami and Caden seemed to know right off who the Tidy Fairy was, but the younger kids have spent a great deal of time pondering about it and wondering what the Tidy Fairy is like.

One day, my friend Beth came over to visit and was helping me with the dishes and sweeping up the floor while I held a very fussy Abram.  It had been one of those days. Later in the evening, I mentioned to the kids that Beth had come and that she had been so sweet to help me with some housework.  To my surprise they immediately exclaimed, "She's the Tidy Fairy, isn't she?! "  After all, she had been cleaning our house! When I said no to that, they started naming off my other friends as possibilities.

I love the fact that I never have to be the bad guy. I mention if something needs to get done, and if nothing happens, the Tidy Fairy takes care of it! I try to notice when the kids have had a pretty long streak of keeping things nice - I tell the Tidy Fairy how great the kids are doing, and the next time she comes around she leaves them a little something for their efforts.  This also works as a way to remind them that the Tidy Fairy is still checking up on them and that it pays to keep things clean.

I know the Tidy Fairy wouldn't work out for a lot of families, and that's probably why she doesn't visit everyone's house.  But she's sure great for ours!!  If you're interested in contacting her, just know that she is a lot like Cinderella's fairy godmother.  You have to wait until the next time that you feel especially overwhelmed and hopeless and (voila!) she appears.