Grab garbage bag. Announce to childling(s), if “I pick it up and put it in the bag it’s garbage.”
Watch them suckers MOVE.
Now I just ask once, and then walk into the room five minutes later carrying a bag. They come shrieking to rescue their junk. Anything I get into the bag gets donated to a women’s shelter.
Some alternatives to Curious George for bored parents:
Anything by Robert Munsch. Fun for kids and parents too.
Any of the Matthew and the midnight … books by Allen Morgan. Kid-oriented off-the-wall humour.
Any of the Church Cat books by Graham Oakley. The basic stories are for the kids (although you may need to explain some of the specifically British bits), the details, especially the illustration details, are for the parents. Marvellously funny illustrations with tons of little sideplay picture stories going on off in the corners.