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This is the list you've been waiting for, folks. Here I will explain why my children leave the empty boxes when they finish the last bowlful of cereal, the lone cookie or the final popsicle. I will inform you about why you should institute this policy in your home - let you know how it will help you.
After today you won't be left wondering why children are so smart about this and you'll hope that your family can pick up the practice, as well.
My kids do not, I repeat - DO NOT - throw away empty boxes. Never - ever. Some might casually look at this and assume laziness as the culprit, but you'd be wrong. It has nothing to do with laziness, nothing at all.
When one of my children finishes the last morsel in a box of some deliciousness, they aren't too lazy to walk the three feet to toss it in the trash can. They aren't lazy at all. They are willfully acknowledging some greater truths - truths that some just don't understand.
I used to get mad when I opened the freezer and was hit in the head by the empty popsicle box on its trajectory of death. I would fear opening the pantry door, afraid that a convoy of empty cereal boxes would attack me, one from each shelf. I didn't appreciate moving the three containers of no lunch meat at all to get to the block of cheese.
It's different now. I understand. They aren't lazy; they are part of something greater and they are only trying to help.
I hope this post can serve as an aide for you and yours on how to run a more efficient kitchen.
Good luck.
These are the REAL reasons my children leave 30 to 40 boxes, containers and bags a month in the crevices of our kitchen:
- If the box of those luscious (almost tasteless) fudge bars is hanging open and empty when I gaze into the freezer, I can quickly shut the door. This allows for less cold air escape, which greatly diminishes our electricity bill, which in turn assists in our fight against global warming.
- The empty cereal boxes left in the pantry, tops open, plastic bag open and empty, serves as the perfect grocery list. A quick photo with the cell phone and that part of the shopping list is complete. Check.
- Fuller refrigerators run more efficiently. Leaving empty lunch meat bags, cheese packaging and almost finished water bottles takes up more cubic space, therefore enabling our fridge to run more smoothly than yours.
- We all know that some times there are no popular snacks available in the home. This can lead to children wishing for other, better, more talented parents. If the remnants from the 'good' stuff are left around the storage areas, children are more apt to remember the wonderful things you have bought them in the past - thus giving hope for the future, as well.
- Number 4 can also work in reverse. At times, parents are known to buy items not at the top of the childrens' wish lists. If the empty wrappers and boxes are left in their spots, the shopping parent may mistakenly peruse the area, assuming that no more of such snack is needed on this trip.
- Things come up in life. One never knows when an assignment might come for a school project, a boy scout badge or a Pinterest try. Having empty containers, in all shapes and sizes, within reach is a must.
Friends, these are but a few of the many reasons my children carry on this helpful tradition. They are not lazy; they are just living out their concern for others.
My hope is that you, too, may begin such meaningful practices in your own lives. Start this mindful efficiency in the kitchen - your home's nucleus - and watch as the positive effects spring forth all over your home.
You can do it.
