A simple solution

Being a mother is tough sometimes.  I love my kids, but getting them to pick up after themselves isn't always easy.  In fact, sometimes it just seems nearly impossible - all the sweet gentle reminders, the nagging, and then the punishments.  Sometimes nothing seems to work, it's exhausting really.

I was tired of finding wet towels crumpled up on the floor of my kids bedrooms.  I constantly reminded them, but it never seemed to help, it just kept happening.  Then one day I got smart.  I realized that I was enabling them by keeping a stash of freshly washed and neatly stacked towels under the bathroom sink.  They could grab a fresh towel each time they showered, leave it crumpled on their floor, endure a small lecture and then grab a new fresh towel the next day.

I sat my kids down.  I showed them four towels and explained that these were the only towels they would find in their bathroom.  (The rest are tucked away in the linen closet for guests.)  They each picked their own and I used a sharpie to put their initial on the small tag.

They each chose a spot to hang their towel in the bathroom and then we came up with some rules.
Number one rule is that they can only use their own towel.  If their towel was crumpled up on their bedroom floor, they could not grab someone else's towel.  Instead, they would have to dry off with a hand towel which there are plenty of in the cabinet.  Number two rule is that if they chose to shower in a different bathroom, they would first have to grab their towel. If they forgot, they would have to use a hand towel to dry off.  The girls chose to share a towel rack to hang their towels and I advised them to keep a hand towel hung over their towels so people would not dry their hands on their towels.

Then, I showed them 4 cups with 5 one dollar bills in each cup.  The cups said "Pick it up or lose it".  These would go on their dressers and if I happened to find one of their towels anywhere but hung up in their spots, I could take a dollar from their cup and they would have to go hang up their towel - no excuses!  We started this a month ago and I told them that by Valentine's Day, whatever money was left in their cups they got to keep.

The towels may not be hung straight, but this mom is NOT complaining.  

The girls towels, always with a hand towel over them.

The boys towels.  We had to put a hook lower on the door for Austin.  It's silly, but I gave them a tutorial on how to roll the top of the towel before hanging it on the hook so it wouldn't slide off.  They totally do it!

I can't believe how well this little plan has worked out.  It's been a month and not one child has lost a dollar from their cup.  They all hang their towels with pride and I'm wishing I would have thought of this simple solution years ago.