Am I being unreasonable about kitchen chores?

[Renee in NC]

This is the breakdown:

 

13yo - Put food away, wash pots/pans, clean sink

10yo - Load dishwasher, wipe counters

8yo - Sweep floor or clean front of appliances (I do floors at night and he unloads dishwasher/puts clean dishes away when needed)

7yo - Clean off table and front of fridge, sometimes help unload dishwasher

5yo - wipe cabinet fronts, clean off chairs

 

This should take about 30 minutes total. Most of them get their work done, but 13yo is consistently "not getting around to the dishes" especially if I am not home. Not only that, but yesterday he loaded a bunch of pots and pans in the dishwasher and ran it, leaving no room for plates and bowls.:glare: They also did not come clean, so he has to re-wash them. He just asked me to help wash pots/pans this morning because there are so many, but there are so many because he isn't doing them consistently or properly.

 

I don't think I should help him because it isn't that much work if it is done consistently and properly. *He* caused there to be so many. He thinks it isn't fair that he always has to wash them. I countered that would mean that it wasn't fair that I always had to __________ (fill in the numerous things I do that are not directly related to me.)

 

What do you say?

[TXMary2]

I think you are more than reasonable. My 15 yo ds does all of that.

[mrs.m]

My 9 yo has pots and pans duty in addition to loading the dishwasher! I don't think it's unreasonable.

[elise1mds]

Life isn't fair, and if he did the job right the first time, he wouldn't be redoing it. I think you are being very reasonable.

[mrrws]

Your expectations sound very reasonable to me. It sounds like he will be learning a lesson in keeping up with his chores by the natural consequence of having to do the mountain of pots and pans that have piled up by himself.

[Nestof3]

No, you are not asking too much. My brother whined if he had to unload a dishwasher growing up. Honestly, many children just hate doing work. I'm after my boys all the time to not think they can just have an unending supply of food, entertainment, etc. without lifting a finger.

[Tarreymere]

We don't have a dishwasher. I put the 'fairness' question to my 12 and 15 year olds and got hysterical laughter. Even the 7 year old thought it was funny. Around here, if you eat you help out.

 

I would say that your son just needs to resign himself to doing it and doing it in a timely fashion so that it is not such a big chore when he finally gets to it. I see it as a kind of a character issue, does he normally put off things that he doesn't want to do? Maybe this is just a symptom of something that he needs to work on in other areas of his life as well.

 

I've had kids who were supposed to wash the dishes for the day and let them all pile up until everything was dirty (dried on dirty, too) and we couldn't eat supper because there were no clean dishes (we went out to dinner and left the dish kid at home to get to work).

[Quiver0f10]

Not unreasonable at all. My kids all do kitchen duty, too. They eat, they work. Life ain't fair :D

[Chris in VA]

We do about two dishwasher loads a day. I know that freaks some people out.

 

I always put pots and pans in the dishwasher.

 

But to your question--

 

No, I don't think you are unreaonable. I think you have too many folks in the kitchen and have split the jobs too much.

I'd have one kid empty the dishwasher.

One kid load the dishwasher and do pots.

One kid dry and put away (same one as emptied), and sweep the floor.

Littles can set and clear the table.

The two "big jobs" could rotate every night. No one leaves the area until the dishes are done. May take some reminding, but things shouldn't pile up.

 

And, maybe you could mix it up a bit. Is your goal just to cook, and not help with the clean up? I remember my godmother not buying a dishwasher, because washing dishes gave her time with her daughter. I always thought that was neat. Maybe you could offer grace and be the one to handle the pots every other night, with your oldest drying and putting away.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Just reinforcing what everyone else has said; no, you are not being unreasonable. My 13yo does all of the kitchen (loading\unloading dw, washing, drying and putting away any dishes that don't fit in dw, washing down counters, table and stove, putting away leftovers) after every meal. The only 2 things she doesn't do is clear the table and sweep the floor.

 

All of my dc have quite a big list of chores they have to do. It's their contribution to the household and their payment for being allowed to be homeschooled. If they didn't pick up a large portion of the housework there is no way I could homeschool 5 dc.

[abreakfromlife]

I just taught my 10 to wash pots and pans, and her and the 8 yo do the dishes. We don't have a dishwasher either. You're not being unreasonable. Stick to your guns! If there's too many for him, there's too many for you. Why does he think you should have to do the work instead of him? That's what's unfair! ;)

[elfgivas]

re dealing with the backlog: is he likely to do them? with one of my dds, i would stand there and read to her or clean our kitchen cupboards or something, because she can do anything as long as she has company. for another, i would set her up, and leave her to it, with the promise of together time afterwards, because she works best with clear expectations and something to look forward to. with another dd, i would offer to help her if she would take on whatever task i would have been doing during that time. eg. i was going to hang up the laundry and fold and put the clean laundry away while you did the pots and pans, so sure i can help you with them, if you help me with the laundry afterwards. would you rather do it that way? for this particular dd, who is very hardworking, it is more about disliking the task intently. this gives her a partial out and is a good diagnostic for us both as to whether it is the job or the work that is the problem. the fourth one has never actually been known to have a backlog of anything, so if it happened with her, i'd be sitting her down with tea and chocolate to try to figure out what was going on!

 

you asked if you were being unreasonable... i think not. but i'd be open to finding an alternate chore where one week he was responsible for pots and pans, and another week he was responsible for something else. its long enough for them to encounter the consequences of not doing their job, but short enough that they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. i actually have two dds who decided that they each disliked one of the alternates so badly (and it was a different one) that i now have a permanent kitchen helper and a permanent laundry helper. their call.

 

but at this juncture, i would be saying to him "get it done and then we can talk about how we got here and how not to get here again". ie. you can't get out of it. and i would ask him if he'd like suggestions about how to do it more easily. eg. putting a bit of soap and warm water in each one so that the stuff loosens as he works on the first few. and then maybe suggest he do that regularly. do you/does he put them in soapy water as you serve food? or maybe he could even wash them as you serve food.... that way it would be done before he eats.

 

good luck!

ann

Edited August 11, 2011 by elfgivas@yahoo.com

[LinRTX]

Your 13 yo really doesn't want my answer. "If you are lazy with your own chores, then you do everyone's for a week." Also, I never put my pots and pans in the dishwasher. It is recommended not to -- it does damage them. So now, he is not only lazy, but also irresponsible. At that point, I have been known to empty the cupboards of all the pots and pans, and have the child wash everything I own.

I am not known as the nicest Mom around.

 

Linda

[4kiddies]

I don't think you are being unreasonable in this situation since he did make the backlog. However, I do think that maybe the 13 yo and 10 yo should alternate chores maybe every other week so that your 13 yo doesn't *always* have to do the pots.

[Delighted3]

If that were my 13 yo, I would "help" him by standing beside him while he does the pots and pans and make sure he does a good job and gets it done. I think if a child doesn't do a good job, it is because he needs more guidance and practice until he gets it right.:D My 2 oldest daughters are responsible for cleaning the whole kitchen at alternate times except unloading the dishwasher and table chores which the younger kids do, so I don't think you are expecting too much from him. IME, boys can be harder to train when it comes to housework, though.

HTH,

Joy

[Parrothead]

If his job is to do them and his job has become overwhelming because he hasn't done his job, then he needs to just buckle down and take it one at a time.

[Renee in NC]

Sounds like 13 needs a more efficient way of getting the job done. I know when I had the job as a young teen it was forever because the cook would never put any water in the bottom of the pans, so everything was crusted and dried on by the end of the meal. I was expected to scrub all that off with a dishrag, lukewarm water, and elbow grease, which took an hour each night. I supply my kids with the appropriate tools and hot enough water to get the job done. Pots & pans that need to soak are put to soak before the meal. I have no objection to the dishwasher use - at the price of water these days less water is used w/dishwasher and while it doesn't remove everything, it cuts the job down considerably.

 

If 13 has this job after every meal, I'd give someone else the job of drying the pots/pans and putting leftovers away.

 

At 13, I rotate dishes with cook duty. At 8, the dishwasher unloader is also the ass't cook.

 

We have an "asst cook" position that rotates everyday, lunch and dinner. I have a chart on the door because it is the same every week. He does not have to dry or put them away - the 8yo does that. I could change it do the meal helper puts the leftovers away, but really, that is a 5 minute job (if there is any at all.)

 

The job would take 20 minutes if he would simply DO the job instead of wasting all his time complaining about it. I think I would be more open to rotating it if it were not the principle of the matter at this point. He has to learn to do things he doesn't like to do because it's part of being a grown up.

 

If something has "stuck on" food, I have no problem with soaking it, as long as eventually (within a few hours) it gets cleaned. It's hard for me to feel a whole lot of sympathy because from 3rd grade on, I cleaned the kitchen alone every night with no dishwasher and I didn't die.:tongue_smilie:

 

We don't have a dishwasher. I put the 'fairness' question to my 12 and 15 year olds and got hysterical laughter. Even the 7 year old thought it was funny. Around here, if you eat you help out.

 

I would say that your son just needs to resign himself to doing it and doing it in a timely fashion so that it is not such a big chore when he finally gets to it. I see it as a kind of a character issue, does he normally put off things that he doesn't want to do? Maybe this is just a symptom of something that he needs to work on in other areas of his life as well.

 

I've had kids who were supposed to wash the dishes for the day and let them all pile up until everything was dirty (dried on dirty, too) and we couldn't eat supper because there were no clean dishes (we went out to dinner and left the dish kid at home to get to work).

 

Yes, he normally puts off all kinds of things that are hard.:glare: It is most certainly a character issue and one I am not really sure how to handle. With my older ds, complaining about work got you more work, but I am not sure that would be effective with this child.:001_huh:

 

Your 13 yo really doesn't want my answer. "If you are lazy with your own chores, then you do everyone's for a week." Also, I never put my pots and pans in the dishwasher. It is recommended not to -- it does damage them. So now, he is not only lazy, but also irresponsible. At that point, I have been known to empty the cupboards of all the pots and pans, and have the child wash everything I own.

I am not known as the nicest Mom around.

 

Linda

 

Our dishwasher doesn't get the pots and pans clean at all, so it defeats the purpose of using it. The dishwasher is old, we're in a rental, and the landlord put in the lease that he will not replace/repair the dishwasher.

 

I don't think you are being unreasonable in this situation since he did make the backlog. However, I do think that maybe the 13 yo and 10 yo should alternate chores maybe every other week so that your 13 yo doesn't *always* have to do the pots.

 

The only reason I don't alternate is that I got sick and tired of hearing, "But it's his turn to do it!" The 10yo can (and will) wash the pots and pans, but then the 13yo complains about how many dishes there are to load in the dishwasher.

 

Thanks for everyone's help thinking through this - I was thinking maybe I was being too tough, but in reality I have spent more time thinking about it than it took him to do it!:tongue_smilie:

[Harriet Vane]

Life isn't fair, and if he did the job right the first time, he wouldn't be redoing it. I think you are being very reasonable.

 

:iagree:

[silliness7]

This is the breakdown:

 

13yo - Put food away, wash pots/pans, clean sink

10yo - Load dishwasher, wipe counters

8yo - Sweep floor or clean front of appliances (I do floors at night and he unloads dishwasher/puts clean dishes away when needed)

7yo - Clean off table and front of fridge, sometimes help unload dishwasher

5yo - wipe cabinet fronts, clean off chairs

 

This should take about 30 minutes total. Most of them get their work done, but 13yo is consistently "not getting around to the dishes" especially if I am not home. Not only that, but yesterday he loaded a bunch of pots and pans in the dishwasher and ran it, leaving no room for plates and bowls.:glare: They also did not come clean, so he has to re-wash them. He just asked me to help wash pots/pans this morning because there are so many, but there are so many because he isn't doing them consistently or properly.

 

I don't think I should help him because it isn't that much work if it is done consistently and properly. *He* caused there to be so many. He thinks it isn't fair that he always has to wash them. I countered that would mean that it wasn't fair that I always had to __________ (fill in the numerous things I do that are not directly related to me.)

 

What do you say?

 

Why would he put the pots and pans in the dishwasher? Doesn't a different child do the dishwasher? Pots and pans are by hand? I'm confused. Does the pots and pan washer have to make judgement calls on what can go in and what can't go in the dishwasher and when and why? And he doesn't have total reign of the dishwasher. He has to share the chore with the younger one who is putting actual dishes in the dishwasher. Kids complain, yes. But maybe this kid has too much decision making and not enough resources to be making the decisions. I have no idea. I'm guessing. What if from now on ALL pots and pans are washed by hand. period. And you show him what acceptable is and how to get there. I think pots and pans are kind of difficult. My mother didn't teach me. I figured it out as an adult. Now that I know it's not difficult but I remember during the figuring out phase, HATING pots and pans with a passion.

 

ETA: I read the comments about rotating and wanted to share that we rotate chores on the 1st of the month and they keep the chore for one full month. I no longer hear the whining about whose turn it is. Generally those who have the harder jobs are keeping an eye on the calendar and informing us how many days left til they get the "easier" job. This system is working out really well because frankly there are jobs that are more of a pain in the butt than others and I hate sticking it to one person indefinitely. just a thougth.

Edited August 11, 2011 by silliness7

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Not unreasonable to expect him to do kitchen chores every night, but could you possibly rotate chores, as some other posters have mentioned. One of my friends growing up had two younger siblings. They didn't have a dishwasher and there were three rotating jobs: clear the table/put away leftovers, wash the dishes, and dry/put away the dishes. Each week they switched.

[myfunnybunch]

I wouldn't even bother arguing fair/not fair. You can never win that argument with a teen because their fair and your fair are never the same, lol.

 

I'd just say, "The dishwasher was an interesting experiment, but you can see it doesn't work well. Please wash the pots. I will be taking care of my other responsibilities while you wash them."

 

Cat

[ma23peas]

I am the holdout here it seems, I think you are being unfair.

 

I consider the assigned list to be monotonous...my kids would go crazy if they had the same chore day after day...in the kitchen at least, they still have to make their bed but for all other chores they have say in what they would like to do...we are not running a naval ship...but a family...everyone should have their opinion considered.

 

My girls will do the pans together...my son will load and unload, the next day it may be my son and daughter doing pans or my husband helping...some days I will load or unload, we just have the mindset that it needs to be cleaned...most of the time I simply say that no cooked meals for dinner unless kitchen is cleaned...this happens once or twice and the kids jump to it as a team. I think giving them the opportunity to create a schedule and testing it to see if it works and letting them retweak it until they have it down...giving your 13 year old the chance to come up with a better way is great on all fronts...just give him the list of what needs to be done, let him see how easy it is to delegate chores and balance personalities...it makes them part of a team.

 

Often I say, I do not care who does what as long as it is done...your son is old enou to start dabbling in leadership..

[Renee in NC]

Why would he put the pots and pans in the dishwasher? Doesn't a different child do the dishwasher? Pots and pans are by hand? I'm confused. Does the pots and pan washer have to make judgement calls on what can go in and what can't go in the dishwasher and when and why? And he doesn't have total reign of the dishwasher. He has to share the chore with the younger one who is putting actual dishes in the dishwasher. Kids complain, yes. But maybe this kid has too much decision making and not enough resources to be making the decisions. I have no idea. I'm guessing. What if from now on ALL pots and pans are washed by hand. period. And you show him what acceptable is and how to get there. I think pots and pans are kind of difficult. My mother didn't teach me. I figured it out as an adult. Now that I know it's not difficult but I remember during the figuring out phase, HATING pots and pans with a passion.

 

ETA: I read the comments about rotating and wanted to share that we rotate chores on the 1st of the month and they keep the chore for one full month. I no longer hear the whining about whose turn it is. Generally those who have the harder jobs are keeping an eye on the calendar and informing us how many days left til they get the "easier" job. This system is working out really well because frankly there are jobs that are more of a pain in the butt than others and I hate sticking it to one person indefinitely. just a thougth.

 

This is what happened. Tuesday night he did not wash the pots and pans. Dh got on him yesterday about it while I was gone. So, ds puts them in the dishwasher (because it was mostly empty because the others *had* done their jobs the night before.) He runs the dishwasher with the pots and pans in it, but it doesn't clean them. He knows that we don't put the pots and pans in the dishwasher ever because of this. He doesn't have to "share" the dishwasher because he isn't supposed to use it.

 

So, they are on the counter (again) with the dishes from last night. Last night we were gone, so he didn't do them, but when I went in the kitchen last night I said, "You don't have to do these now (it was 10pm) but they have to be done in the morning before you do anything else." This morning, he spends a TON of time whining and complaining before actually doing it. I had to call him back 4 times to finish.

 

My mistake was not holding him to the "after each meal" standard. I just did after lunch (2 pots) and he had a meltdown. It was 5 minutes worth of work.

 

I really, really don't want to fight with him after every meal, but this is ridiculous.

[AK_Mom4]

With a DD17, DS15, and DD10 at home, I get plenty of kitchen help.

 

They rotate each week through the following:

- Empty Dishwasher and load any waiting dishes

- Set/clear table and put away food

- Trash and floors.

 

Because we rotate, no one gets stuck with the yucky chores for too long. Because my husband usually cooks, I wash the pots/pans. On those rare occasions where I cook, DH washes the pots or drafts a kid to do it for him.

 

I think rotating through the chores makes a big difference in attitudes around here.

Edited August 11, 2011 by AK_Mom4

[Nestof3]

 

The job would take 20 minutes if he would simply DO the job instead of wasting all his time complaining about it. I think I would be more open to rotating it if it were not the principle of the matter at this point. He has to learn to do things he doesn't like to do because it's part of being a grown up.

 

 

 

My 21 year old will admit that he didn't do things well because he just didn't want to. Doing it for the sake of work ethic or because he loved his family just didn't motivate him when he was young. Taking away things because he failed to do his job properly was what spoke to him. I have never had a child who didn't act shocked that the world didn't revolve around him -- even when he knew better.

[LostSurprise]

We rotate duties so 12 year old can't use the fairness excuse. When he starts complaining I notice that it wouldn't be very fair if he got out of it.

[Nestof3]

I am the holdout here it seems, I think you are being unfair.

 

I consider the assigned list to be monotonous...my kids would go crazy if they had the same chore day after day..

 

Really? I mean, who cares? I have the same jobs every day. Chores are boring. 20 minutes of boredom a day -- if a child cannot handle that, I have real concerns.

[Renee in NC]

I am the holdout here it seems, I think you are being unfair.

 

I consider the assigned list to be monotonous...my kids would go crazy if they had the same chore day after day...in the kitchen at least, they still have to make their bed but for all other chores they have say in what they would like to do...we are not running a naval ship...but a family...everyone should have their opinion considered.

 

My girls will do the pans together...my son will load and unload, the next day it may be my son and daughter doing pans or my husband helping...some days I will load or unload, we just have the mindset that it needs to be cleaned...most of the time I simply say that no cooked meals for dinner unless kitchen is cleaned...this happens once or twice and the kids jump to it as a team. I think giving them the opportunity to create a schedule and testing it to see if it works and letting them retweak it until they have it down...giving your 13 year old the chance to come up with a better way is great on all fronts...just give him the list of what needs to be done, let him see how easy it is to delegate chores and balance personalities...it makes them part of a team.

 

Often I say, I do not care who does what as long as it is done...your son is old enou to start dabbling in leadership..

 

I'm willing to try, but in the past such attempts meant that either (a) nothing got done or (b) he did nothing while he delegated everything to someone else. That is my dh's leadership style (and his dad's before him), though, so I guess I can't fault him that!:lol:

 

I need a system where they simply get the work done. I have things I have to do, they have things they have to do - we're in this together. They only kids capable of washing the pots and pans are the 10yo and the 13yo. As I said in a previous post, when I let them switch he whined, complained, and didn't get the dishwasher loaded.

 

I just need the kitchen cleaned!:lol:

[butterflymommy]

My 14 y.o. does all the dishes, including unloading. We are a large family and I do a lot of cooking, so he can do up to 4 loads a day. If he messes something up, he deals with it. Now I do pay him for the honor; he probably would give me some attitude if he weren't being paid. But no, I don't think you're being unreasonable at all.

[Renee in NC]

My 14 y.o. does all the dishes, including unloading. We are a large family and I do a lot of cooking, so he can do up to 4 loads a day. If he messes something up, he deals with it. Now I do pay him for the honor; he probably would give me some attitude if he weren't being paid. But no, I don't think you're being unreasonable at all.

 

I do a lot of cooking here, too, but I don't have him wash the "extra" dishes that are from baking, for example. I do want to be reasonable, but his attitude makes me want to be as unreasonable as possible!:tongue_smilie:

[kaylk in tx]

seems like every family has to have one of those. must be on a required list somewhere.

 

since he whines no matter what, i think you have to be the water and he's the stone. as in the water eventually wears the stone down. painful for all involved until the stone decides to cooperate. and if the water can be unemotional and matter of fact, the water may be able to keep from boiling.

 

:D

[happypamama]

I don't think you are being unreasonable. It doesn't seem like that much work -- in fact, it sounds like each person has just a small amount of work, but your kitchen must look amazing every night if everyone does their small part!

 

Some ideas:

-It does seem reasonable to expect that you (or whomever is cooking) will put heavily soiled pans in to soak before the meal so as to make it easier for the pan washer.

 

-Maybe your oldest child does need someone to show him how to do the job properly. If he does know how to do the job right, then I definitely think you are reasonable. He needs to learn to buckle down and just do it, regularly.

 

-I would agree with rotating the chores, at least among the older two, IF the oldest has shown that he can indeed do the job properly and consistently. If he hasn't, then he needs to practice more until he does.

 

-My kids were offered the chance to rotate chores (one empties the dishwasher and feeds the cats in the morning; the other empties trash cans around the house and takes out the trash, recycling, and compost bucket), and they declined. They'd rather do the same thing every day. And like a PP said, who cares? Monotonous or not, chores still need to be done.

 

-What about having one person rotate out each night and read to the cleanup crew instead of cleaning? Would be a bit more fun, and everyone could have a cleanup break every few days. (Or put on a good audio book.)

[AmyinMD]

I think it's pretty reasonable.

 

My 11yo and 13yo girls take turns cleaning the kitchen each night. That includes unloading dishwasher(we use dishes out of it all day so it there is usually minimal stuff to put away), load dishwasher, clean off counters, put away any leftovers, and make dh's lunch for work the next day. Up until recently dh was loading the dishwasher because it takes a bit of planning to get all of the dishes for the day in there. Dh has been working really long hours so the girls took it over and they're doing pretty good getting it all in. If the kitchen is really messy they'll share the job or dh will help them. It does generally take at least 45 minutes to do everything.

 

My 7 yo son clears the table, wipes it down, and sweeps the floor. My 7 yo dd cleans the cat's litter box and picks up all toys on our main floor. Their jobs take around 30 minutes.

 

We don't really rotate jobs here. My son has had clearing the table for probably 2 years. Now he does such a nice job because he knows exactly what is expected of him. He does ask to switch occasionally but the few occasions he's traded with someone he's not liked those jobs any better.

[WagsWife]

I agree with most everyone here. My 15yo and 12yo, do the entire kitchen through out the day as needed. You are not asking too much IMO. Because they are kids, we do have to get on them to get it done...I have found that enforcing the "as soon as meals are done, the kitchen will be cleaned" rule, is the only thing that works. That does not give them time to weasel out of it...or for me to get busy and forget to check everything.

[happypamama]

I do a lot of cooking here, too, but I don't have him wash the "extra" dishes that are from baking, for example. I do want to be reasonable, but his attitude makes me want to be as unreasonable as possible!:tongue_smilie:

 

In my house, whining about doing your regular chores nets you more chores, because obviously you need practice in using a cheerful attitude. Refusing to do the regular dishes would net your son the chance to wash the baking dishes too. (Or scrub toilets.)

[Renee in NC]

I don't think you are being unreasonable. It doesn't seem like that much work -- in fact, it sounds like each person has just a small amount of work, but your kitchen must look amazing every night if everyone does their small part!

 

Some ideas:

-It does seem reasonable to expect that you (or whomever is cooking) will put heavily soiled pans in to soak before the meal so as to make it easier for the pan washer.

 

-Maybe your oldest child does need someone to show him how to do the job properly. If he does know how to do the job right, then I definitely think you are reasonable. He needs to learn to buckle down and just do it, regularly.

 

-I would agree with rotating the chores, at least among the older two, IF the oldest has shown that he can indeed do the job properly and consistently. If he hasn't, then he needs to practice more until he does.

 

-My kids were offered the chance to rotate chores (one empties the dishwasher and feeds the cats in the morning; the other empties trash cans around the house and takes out the trash, recycling, and compost bucket), and they declined. They'd rather do the same thing every day. And like a PP said, who cares? Monotonous or not, chores still need to be done.

 

-What about having one person rotate out each night and read to the cleanup crew instead of cleaning? Would be a bit more fun, and everyone could have a cleanup break every few days. (Or put on a good audio book.)

 

Those are good ideas! Thanks.

 

The reason these jobs have to be done every night is because we are in a very small house for our family size and things look terrible very quickly if we don't keep up with it. I tried to divide the jobs so that no one was working for very long. They have about an hour of chores in the afternoon and the after meal chores.