You probably know that goldfish grow to fit the size of their bowl, then they grow no more. Closets and garages are somewhat subject to the goldfish principle: The stuff we want to store in them accumulates to fit the size. So -- to some extent -- a larger closet gives you "permission" to accumulate more clothes /more stuff and excuses you from weeding out things that just aren't being used. I suggest you take a look at what you have now, and measure it. If your current storage is lacking, ask yourself how much it should expand -- half again as much? double the space? same amount of space, but with more shelves /less hanging space? If you had more space, would you add more clothes? Do you need more clothes? What else will you store in your closet besides clothes? Do you want to store your suitcases there, or do you prefer to keep them elsewhere? Do you want a spot for jewelry? Do you want ALL your clothes to store in the closet, or will you have a dresser in the bedroom as well? How many handbags /shoes do you have? How about oddball stuff like gift wrap? Do you store coats in your bedroom closet? Ski wear? Your old wedding dress? A box of baby clothes even though your kids are teens? Again, measure your own needs. I don't know what's "enough" for you, but I can tell you what we're thinking: - 8x12 rectangle closet in the master bedroom -- based up on our current wardrobes, this will hold everything we have (and more) and will allow us to e x p a n d our clothing storage so that things aren't just crammed in. I like the idea of things being easy to see /easy to reach. - We're placing the laundry room next to the closet -- the convenience feature being obvious. If not for the door to the laundry, we'd have gone with an 8x10 closet. - We're leaving a "blank space" on the wall for some hooks. This'll be for hanging worn-once jeans, etc. - This is to be our retirement house, and the 8' width allows space for a walker. Also, my 99-year old grandmother keeps a chair in her closet so she can sit down while choosing clothes -- the extra width would be valuable for that. - I do not want a window because sunlight bleaches clothes. I do hate walking into a dark closet with my hands full of things to put away, so I'm planning to use automatic lights. - I would not plan an island. Given that you need clearance space on both sides, an island would require more space than I'd devote to a storage space. - A mirror is a good idea, but I'd try to put it on the back of the door rather than allowing it to eat up valuable hanging /shelf space. - I intend to have a medium-sized dresser in the bedroom, which will hold undergarments, swimsuits and pajamas. Everything else'll be stored in the closet -- we'll have shelves for jeans and sweatshirts.

Ooh, I"m the mean mom on this one-no, I never let my kids eat or drink in the car. Ever. Not when they were tiny, not older with fast food, not now as teenagers. I bought my (first ever in my life) brand new vehicle when I was pregnant with my first child. To be honest, I knew that the crud of food detritus that ALWAYS results from little ones and food in a car would be impossible for me to bear so I figured it was best not to even start it. So we never did. I do have to say that if you are going to have a no-food rule in the car, it probably has to be something that starts from the very beginning. I think it would be extremely difficult to enforce once the kids (and mom :) are used to it. Oh, and I am such a neat freak I couldn't bear to let my toddlers sit in a high chair and smear food all over themselves. Just couldn't stand it. So no photos of my one year old wearing birthday cake all over the face, body and furniture, no watching them smear peas into a paste all over "brrr, gives me the shudders to think of it) etc...they feed themselves fine anyway nowadays. They'll probably be talking about mean old mom in therapy for years though! Ann

I don't like this - and it has little to do with the bribery part. Mostly, I think you undermined your husband horribly and did so behind his back. The fact that you had to sneak out to do it should have been an indication. If you thought your plan was a good idea, you should have taken your HUSBAND aside and spoken about it. On its face, it isn't unreasonable to pay a teenager to help out at a family business. It may or may not be the best decision, but that should have been a family decision, not yours alone. How would you feel if you found out that your husband was secretly bribing your ss to be nice to you and to help you do something? Also, what does changing the plan midstream teach your ss? If you grumble and complain enough you can cash, if you go along happily you work for free? As far as cash in general goes, I think it is a poor motivator. I'm sure lots of people here can dig up studies taht show overuse of external motivation actual lessens internal motivation. That is exactly the opposite longerm effect of what parents are hoping for. To me though, there is a more immediate concern. Kids really don't value money/material things as much as we think they might. They most powerful motivators of people at any age are respect and freedom. If you want to motive a young person to do something, show them how that action is going to lead to increased personal freedom and increased respect/trust from those they care about. Using money as a proxi for one of the other of those is at best missing the undlying forces at work and at worst distorting the value structure.

I am copying and pasting from another link...do you think something as simple as Listerine would help??? Hi, My husband is a heavy equipment mechanic and his clothes always smelled like diesel no matter what I used to clean them. One day I was reading one of my online newsletters and someone had written in that an insurance adjuster had told her to clean her household items with Listerine after a fire, and the smell would be gone. He said it would remove almost any odor. I tried it on my husband's clothes and it works great. Now I never wash them without it. I was thinking if your spill is a small one, saturating a paper towel or something like it with Listerine and leaving it in the car for a while might help. It's worth a try.