I love this . I am definitely a type C or worse housekeeper. And when my kids were small and people used to say to me, "Don't worry about it. The housework will be there tomorrow." I would think, That's the point. It's ALWAYS there, and tomorrow there will be even more! You are wise to get a handle on it now. My kids are bigger now, and it's still a struggle. Maybe it always will be for us Type C's. One thing I used to do with my kids is that they all had a Zone. At the end of each day, we would do a 10 Minute Tidy, and everyone had to tidy his or her zone. I also tried to enforce a CQC. policy. All chores had to be done Cheerfully, Quickly, and Completely. This week I built (okay assembled) a new shelf with deep baskets to catch/hide all the paperwork that seems to pile up. Now I just have to remember to go through the baskets once a week or so. Anyway, thanks for posting this. I have had these very thoughts.
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Great Post! We seldom eat out as a family. I'll eat out with a couple of kids or with just my husband or with friends, but if we all go out it is crazy expensive. None of our kids even eat off the kids menu anymore. I love your ideas. This will help me cut down even more. Oh! And one other trick is, if all or several family members go out, order a few appetizers to share instead of individual entrees. Way cheaper.

Right on! Our schools working are to teach critical thinking in the classroom, when nothing teaches critical thinking better than play! Give kids a big sandbox some shovels and buckets- they'll create, build, problem solve, and interact. Too bad we seek artificial means to teaching skill children can learn naturally.

Beautiful post!