Don't It Make Our Old Toys New?

In college I baby-sat for this family with toddler twins. The mom was a very nice earth mother type, but I was always glad I didn't baby-sit for them full time. She was against baby wipes, so the kids were cleaned with cotton balls dipped in water.

One bad lunch reaction could mean going through an entire giant bag of cotton balls. This is why - even though I'm not a fan of chemicals and whatnot - I never wavered in my commitment to using baby wipes. It was impossible to change those kids quickly. Or neatly.

She also believed that her kids' toys should be rearranged during their nap times. As an enthusiastic college student, I loved this. It was fun setting up their toys in creative ways. I remember doing this early on with Ironflower and even Lovebug, but I'm afraid it only happened a few times for Hugmonkey. I know I didn't even think about it once Hugmonkey was old enough to notice what Ironflower and Lovebug were playing with and want the same things.
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But an odd thing has happened since I rearranged the living room a few days ago. I made a dedicated play area and suddenly my kids are playing with all of their toys again. Toys I thought they'd outgrown. Toys I was thinking about donating. Toys I was slightly ticked that we'd wasted so much money on. They have not cared one bit that we've been stuck inside a lot, awaiting the thunderstorms of doom.

It is freaking awesome.

Apparently the whole rearrange the toys trick works on big kids as well. I'm thinking I'll rearrange the play area again in another week or so. I'm wondering if I should go back and read old posts to learn some more parenting tricks that I've forgotten. 

One of Us Has Issues

Very early on in our relationship, Hot Guy rearranged my refrigerator. As all it contained was breakfast food, condiments and diet Pepsi, I didn't really think much about it. If he wanted to bring food over and cook it for me, who was I to complain about the organization of my refrigerator? Besides, it was so cute how much interest he took in it.

Now, of course, I make breakfast and lunch for the kids and myself every day. A lot of times I have to make dinner (or, you know, an attempt at dinner) too. The refrigerator is usually full. So - and it was just a coincidence that Hot Guy was out of town - I rearranged the fridge and freezer the way I like it. I like to have things organized because my short-term memory is shot from lack of sleep. Sorting things by category allows me to find things quickly, which makes me happy. And cuts down on the whining. The kids appreciate quick service.

Anyway, now Hot Guy is back. And what did I discover on the breakfast shelf of the freezer this morning? Chicken nuggets. I mean, sure, the kids probably WOULD eat them for breakfast. But they don't. The chicken nuggets had been on the meat shelf. With the other meat. Like should be put with like. In rows. With the oldest ones in the front. Because that's what makes sense, right? RIGHT?

Already his expensive Parmesan has moved from the cheese shelf to right in front of the yogurt.

I think his system can be summed up as, "Wherever I can put it quickly". He says it has to do with being a cook. Either way, it means that stuff gets forgotten as it winds up in the back. And you always have to move stuff out of the way to get what you want. And it just looks messier. Not that he seems to care. He has absolutely no respect for my system.

So, which one of us is the problem here? Do you have an organized fridge? Or do you think I'm weird?