As a busy mom of three, Miranda Crimbring is used to some messes. But that doesn’t mean that she’s OK with being the only one to clean them up. That’s why Crimbring decided to try teaching her kiddos and husband a lesson. Although it hasn’t worked yet — or ended up changing anything in her household the way she originally hoped that it would — her method is cracking up moms all over the world, so it definitely isn’t a total loss
Miranda Crimbring
The mom came up with the idea of a simple challenge and we have to say, it’s pretty genius.
Crimbring dubbed her secret the “Who Will Pick Up the Random Piece of Trash That They KNOW Isn’t Supposed to Be There” challenge and it’s quite easy. She simply put a piece of trash in the middle of her bathroom floor and waited to see which of her kids (or her spouse) would pick it up first. As a reward for picking up a piece of paper that obviously shouldn’t be there, she hid $5 dollars underneath it.
Every parent can relate to what inspired Crimbring to try this in the first place.
“I went into the bathroom one night and saw clothes scattered across the floor, trash (NOT in the trashcan, of course) and the rugs all ruffled and sad looking,” she tells CafeMom. “I feel like I am constantly telling the kids to pick up after themselves, usually getting a ‘But it isn’t mine’ type of response.”
So in that moment, it just came to her that she could do something fun and lighthearted, yet valuable in trying to teach them an important life lesson. “I truly thought I made it obvious by putting the paper in the middle of the bathroom floor,” she says. “I knew this was a high-traffic area so I figured one of them would stumble upon it in the morning.”
But days later, not a single family member has bothered to pick up the trash, let alone even notice that it’s there.
“An entire day went by and … nothing! I figured it must be a fluke, so I waited patiently the following day thinking one of them would notice it. Still no,” she says.
After 48 hours, Crimbring decided to share her hysterical challenge in a since-deleted Facebook post as she continued to wait it out. “Between the kids AND the husband, and MULTIPLE trips in and out of the bathroom, this little piece of heaven may just be in it for the long haul!” 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 have kicked it around and even though it gets all damp and gross after showers, it still seems to be hanging around!” she tells CafeMom.
But after her challenge ended up going viral, she came clean to her husband.
“I kind of just shook my head when I realized my husband deliberately didn’t pick it up — it wasn’t exactly surprising. But because of the particular situation, it was funny more than anything,” she shares. “However, it can certainly be frustrating finding things on the floor that don’t belong, socks that conveniently miss the hamper, and trash sitting on the counter juuuuust above where the trash can is. I think many of us moms can attest to that.”
At first, he tried to save himself.
But at the same time, he also realized how clever his wife is.
“His first response was, ‘Man, I KNEW I should have picked it up!’ Typical,” she says. “A few minutes later he came back up to me and said something like, ‘But you know, honey, I left it there on purpose because I knew you were trying to prove a point to the kids …’ HA!
After Dad found out, both parents began waiting to see which kid would actually ‘clean’ first.
“He promised not to let the kids in on it, and he started to keep an eye on the situation with me, which only grew more hysterical for us each and every time one of the kiddos came out of the bathroom,” she tells us. “The paper is still in there and the kids still haven’t noticed.”
If nothing else, Crimbring helped parents in similar positions.
“I am absolutely shocked by the attention this is getting. I think my husband said it best after it went viral, ‘But it’s just a piece of paper with money taped to it.’ Ha!” she says. “I think that’s what’s so great about it. It IS such a simple thing, but something moms everywhere experience and can wholeheartedly relate to.
“My husband and I haven’t really decided how long we’ll let it go,” she adds. “Honestly, I think we both thought one of the kids would pick it up by now.”