Find the Secret Sauce - January 23, 2025 | Kids Out and About DMV

Find the Secret Sauce

January 23, 2025

Debra Ross

This week, much of the U.S. and Canada has been plunged into cold, and snow, and rain, or worse, keeping kids inside—and in some cases, even out of school. For many families, that means staring at a growing mess and wondering how not to lose their minds.

When my kids were little, I realized that a messy room wasn’t just a pile of clutter to them; it was a mountain they didn’t know how to climb. That’s when I discovered my secret sauce: treating the task like it was theirs to manage, alongside their happy and knowledgeable management consultant, ME. If my kids were stuck in a sea of toys, papers, and socks, I’d say, “Hire me! I live for this sort of thing! I can show you how to break it down into easy steps.”

Here’s why it worked: Instead of framing it as “because Mom said so,” I acted like it was obvious the room should be clean—for their benefit. They weren’t taking orders; they were choosing whether to let me help. When they were older, I asked Madison and Ella if they'd been able to detect my secret sauce back then. “Hard to say,” they replied. “You were always just so... annoyingly cheerful.”

So this week, if the chaos around you feels insurmountable, put on your consultant's hat and offer your services with a dash of my secret sauce... unless, of course, you've brought your family to some tiny corner of North America where the forecast is favorable. If that's you, your secret sauce will to head outside with a picnic and forget about the mess altogether. Bon appétit, wherever you are!

Deb