As a busy mother of three, Miranda Crimbring is used to messes. But that doesn’t mean she accepts being the only one cleaning them up. That’s why Miranda Crimbring decided to try to teach her kids and husband a lesson, and while it hasn’t worked yet, her method is getting laughs from moms all over the internet.
Crimbring came up with the idea for a simple challenge and we have to say it’s pretty awesome.
Crimbring named her secret “Who will pick up the piece of trash that they know shouldn’t be there” and it’s pretty easy. She simply placed a trash can in the middle of her bathroom floor and waited to see which of her children (or spouse) would pick it up first. And as a reward for picking up a piece of paper that clearly shouldn’t be there, she hid $5 underneath.
And any parent can understand what prompted Ms. Crimbring to try the experiment. “I walked into the bathroom one night and saw clothes strewn on the floor, trash (NOT in the trash can, of course) and the carpets all disheveled and looking sad,” she tells CafeMom, “I feel like I constantly have to tell the kids to pick up their stuff and usually get a response of ‘But it’s not mine’.”
So at that point, it occurred to her that she could do something fun and lighthearted, while trying to teach them an important life lesson. “I really thought I had made it obvious by putting the paper in the middle of the bathroom floor,” she says. “I knew it was a high-traffic area, and I figured one of them would fall on it in the morning.”
But several days later, not a single family member has bothered to pick up the trash, let alone notice it’s there.
“A whole day went by and… nothing! I figured it must be a fluke, so I waited patiently for the next day thinking one of them would notice. Still nothing,” she says.
After 48 hours, Crimbring decided to share her hysterical challenge on Facebook as she continued to wait. “Between the kids AND the husband, and the multiple trips to the bathroom, this little piece of heaven might be here for a long time!” she wrote.
By day three, the “easy money” was still up for grabs and she decided to let her oblivious husband in on the secret.
“Even though they threw it away and even though it gets all wet and gross after showers, it still seems to hang around,” she tells CafeMom.
But as the affair went viral in recent days, she confessed her secret to her husband. “I shook my head when I realized my husband had deliberately not picked it up – it wasn’t really surprising. But because of the particular situation, it was more funny than anything else,” she says. “However, it can certainly be frustrating to find items on the floor that don’t belong, socks conveniently missing the laundry basket and trash on the counter right above the trash can. I think many of us moms can attest to that.”
When Dad found out, he tried to quickly save the day, but he also realized how smart his wife was. “Her first reaction was, ‘I knew I should have picked it up. Typical,” she says. “A few minutes later, he came back to me and said something like, ‘But you know, honey, I left it there on purpose because I knew you were trying to prove something to the kids…. HA!”
Now that the father knows, both parents are watching and waiting to see which child will be the first to “clean up.”
“He promised not to tell the kids about it, and he started watching the situation with me, which only made us more hysterical every time one of the kids came out of the bathroom,” she says. “The paper is still there and the kids still haven’t noticed.”
But as the clock ticks, Crimbring’s post explodes because so many moms can relate. “I am absolutely shocked by the attention this is getting. I think my husband said it best after the post went viral: ‘But it’s just a piece of paper with money stuck to it. “I think that’s what’s so great about it. It’s such a simple thing, but something that moms all over the world are dealing with and can relate to wholeheartedly.”
Crimbring says there’s no end date yet, but as of day four, her kids still haven’t shown any sign of earning $5. “My husband and I haven’t really decided how long we’re going to let it go,” she says. “Honestly, I think we both thought one of the kids would have it back by now.”
