Kids can be gross. And as parents, we're their first line of defense to teach them how to wash those hands, scrub those stinky feet, wipe those bums, control their body odor, trim those toenails–all the things. To help us out, I invited my good friends Megan Robbins (a dental hygienist and one of the cleanest people I know) and Laura Nielson (a pediatric nurse) to help us lead our kids from helpers to workers to managers in this critical aspect of becoming a responsible human. I think you'll enjoy these lovely ladies as much as I do!

It's that time again, for an update of the experiments we've been trying in the Archibald home. In this edition, I talk about our latest new kitchen-cleaning system, our weekly family cleaning projects, our dinner menu system, monthly check-ins with the kids, family meetings, a college tour, fall sports, my son's hat business, a home organization project, water aerobics and more!

You can find my son's hat business on Instagram @skadi-apparel

Welcome to Season 8! This whole season we'll be talking about how to teach our kids to eventually take care of themselves on their way to becoming self-reliant, responsible adults. This episode will help you take the first step: evaluating what your kids are already taking charge of and where they have room to grow.

I introduce you to the system I've been using with my own kids for years, and show you how you can use it to help your kids progress from helpers to workers to managers. Then I talk to my son and some of my nephews about what they learned from their own self-evaluations.

You can download the Self Reliance Checklist here and follow along with your own kids! And join me any Tuesday at 1:00-2:00 PM mountain time for my weekly open lab hour, where we can brainstorm and problem-solve any of your parenting and home management experiments. Sign up at this link: https://calendly.com/whitneyarchibald/open-lab-the-family-lab

Here's a tentative schedule of the skills we'll cover each month of 2026:

January: Self-Reliance Overview

February: Hygiene

March: Sleep

April: Food

May: Fitness

June: Talents

July: Finance

August: Education

September: Social Skills

October: Cleaning

November: Possessions

December: Spirituality

Ever wonder which of your holiday traditions are actually the most meaningful to your kids?

For this episode, I went straight to the source and I asked five (incredible) teenagers what traditions they love the best: from that pesky elf to the jolly old elf himself, family bonding and family fights, re-enacting the nativity, and sibling sleepovers. It's an episode filled with music and merriment.

Here are more Christmas episodes you'll enjoy!

How Beth Millward Does Christmas

How She Celebrates Christmas

How She Serves Her Community and Beyond

How She Serves Family and Friends

A conversation with organization genius Jen Martin, founder of Reset Your Nest, about how to align our home organization with our goals, values, and routines; how to set up different organizational zones in our kitchens; and how to create systems for our comings and goings, among other organizing tips.

You can find Jen Martin at resetyournest.com and on Instagram @reset_your_nest

And for another great conversation with Jen, check out:

How Jen Martin Organizes

https://youtu.be/RncC3Q-JNjs

Stuck in the never-ending logistics of running a home? It's time to shift to a strategy-first perspective so you can build systems that work.

This episode talks about how to shift your thinking. Hence, you start with a strategy, then consider all the different tactics that could accomplish your strategy, and finally think about the logistics of getting it done.

For episodes with lots of great ideas about different strategies and tactics, check out:

How She Plans Meals: https://youtu.be/MZqkD_10IVQ?si=3vUTUtrWxvFn9oQZ

Workshop: How You Do Laundry https://youtu.be/b98f6kT3sKk?si=iAF9Ra-rKTi3uKcc

Tired of meltdowns? And I'm not just talking about your kids! Emily Hamblin is here to help us deal with our big emotions and teach our kids to deal with theirs. She gives practical tips about how to talk to our kids about their emotions, how to identify the skills they're lacking, and how to teach emotional regulation and empathy. Then we both share experiments you can try at home.

For more resources from Emily, check out enlighteningmotherhood.com.

Join a coven of Halloween experts--my mother and her three sisters--for a costume parade through history as they reminisce and share photos about Halloweens past. We talk about the antics of my Grandpa, the Halloween king, and his legacy of papier mache and discuss useful skills like how to black out your teeth and create a lifelike beard with nothing but vaseline and coffee grinds. 😂