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Chores aren't so bad if you can whistle while you work!

Posted March 31, 2009 by Mary Dixon Lebeau

Being the only princess in our household, Libby gets a lot of perks. She has a closet full of outfits, she receives all the hand-me-downs when it comes to old purses, and of course there's a variety of hair adornments, including a half dozen tiaras in shimmery hues.

And she gets her own room, much to the chagrin of her two older brothers, who bunk together next door. But, unlike the castles of Windsor and Buckingham, our castle is the Jersey variety -- meaning it doesn't come with a chambermaid.

"I have to clean this all up?" Libby asked each Saturday, when I sent the kids to straighten their rooms. Max and Sean headed upstairs, but Libby just watched and wailed. "I can't do this all myself. They have each other. It isn't fair!"

Now, nothing can ruin a Saturday morning quite like the tear-stained face of a princess, surrounded by her piles of dolls and tea cups and ball gowns. She looked around the room, overwhelmed, and I could see her dreams of a fun Saturday serving tea to a bevy of well-dressed Webkinz vanish under the discarded clothes piled in a corner.

To be honest, I could understand the feeling. I often feel overwhelmed by a cleaning task. After all, it's not easy keeping up this active household -- and cleaning up behind it. Often, when I heard Libby's pleas, I would give in and help her clean the room. 

But too often, it turned out I'd be doing all the work, while she studied her latest library book or climbed the castle walls in her latest DS game.

I wanted to teach Libby that great gifts came with great responsibility, and it was really her job to keep the room clean. But I also wanted her to know what so many of her favorite princesses already knew -- that cleaning up doesn't have to be an overwhelming chore. With the proper mind frame, it can actually be fun.

Well, make that the proper mind frame -- and an iPod full of her favorite princess songs. "If you have the right music, cleaning up can almost be like dancing. Remember how Snow White cleaned the dwarves' house?" I prodded.

"She whistled while she worked!" Libby remembered, her face lighting up. I nodded as I turned up the volume of the iPod, which was queued up to just that song (surprise, huh?).

She started singing the first few notes as she sorted through the pile of shoes behind the door, then twirled toward the videos on the floor and stacked them on a shelf as the chorus refrained. "When there's a job to do, don't let it bother you," she chimed with Snow White as she straightened her bedding.

As the song ended, she slowed a bit, but perked right back up when "The Happy Working Song" began. "Singing as we fetch the detergent box, or the smelly shirts and the stinky socks," Libby laughed as she tossed her dirty pajamas in our laundry chute. Before we knew it, her room was tidy -- and she was laughing. 

Later, as she sipped tea with her stuffed pals, Libby turned to me. "You know, Mommy, cleaning really was like dancing," she said, a twinkle in her eye.

"Next time, I think I'll wear my tutu," she proclaimed. "Just make sure you have the music ready."

Of course I will. There's no better way to make cleaning day enchanted.