Chores: How does your family handle them?

[shanvan]

Not sure if this should be on the other board, but here goes....

 

We are on the first day of our spring break and I am completely overhauling our homeschooling, starting with chores and habits. Basically, I need more help with the house. I think I am contributing plenty just designing the schoolwork and keeping track of the books. I can't stand the state our house is in. I want it cleaned up, and I want it to stay that way. My children need to learn to be more responsible. So, I'm hoping to glean some ideas here. Anyone care to share .....

 

1. how you divide the labor. Who does what? Do you take turns?

 

2. when and how often chores are done?

 

3. how you make everyone accountable?

 

4. what types of chores you assign? How do you assign them?

 

5. What and how much does your husband contribute?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Shannon :blush:

...who is busy vacuuming up the doghair tumbleweeds that have been rolling across the kitchen floor!

[MicheleinMN]

We are getting ready to do our great annual chore upheaval.

 

Each child gets his/her chore for 1 year. I got so tired of trying to keep track of who had what chore....and then someone would do a shoddy job and the next child had to do twice the work, so now each chore is for 1 year. I can remember who has the job, and they learn to do it...hopefully, well.

 

Here's what they have now and will change to starting Wed.:

 

Michael - Kitchen; Bathroom

Hannah - Unload diswasher; Kitchen

Jacob - Pets; Hand wash pots & pans

Jonas - Trash and recycling; Empty dishwasher

Elizabeth - Bathroom; Trash & recycling

EJ - Nothing really; Pets

 

Each child has an assigned day to vacuum the lower level of the house. And they are supposed to keep their own stuff/area/room picked up.

 

HTH

[Danestress]

I just don't want to spend the time. Our household rule is that you do what you are asked when you are asked. So when it's cleaning time or when something just needs to be done, I tell a likely suspect to do it. That's it. I sometimes will set a timer and say, "Everyone cleans for the next half hour." I might assign one child to "pick up and put away" and give another specific jobs - folding laundry, emptying the dishwasher, etc.

 

This just works best for me, but I know some people really like to be more chart oriented or have children who are less compliant or less flexible.

 

As for DH, he does the dishes every night after dinner. He does more yard work than I do, though I like to do some. But the dishes are really his only regular chore because he works long hours.

[Haiku]

1. how you divide the labor. Who does what? Do you take turns?

 

In our house, we divide chores based on who is capable of doing what. Basically, if the kids can do it, they do it. They are responsible for their things and their clothes (getting to the laundry hamper, getting put away after I fold them, except for the 14 year old, who does all her own laundry), getting plates and utensils out and putting them away, etc. Six year old lets the dog in and out, seven year old feeds dog, 14 year old feeds cats. All kids are responsible for keeping their rooms and the playroom clean.

 

2. when and how often chores are done?

 

Chores are done when they need to be done. 14-year-old has a vacuuming schedule but other than that, the kids know that they might be called on at any time to help out.

 

3. how you make everyone accountable?

 

We all work together, so everyone is expected to do their part.

 

4. what types of chores you assign? How do you assign them?

 

Whatever I don't have time to/don't want to do, the kids do. Seriously. I hate unloading the dishwasher. Hate, hate, hate it. It was the first chore I punted off when my oldest was able to handle it. If I don't have time to do it, the kids do it. I will tell them, "We have to leave for XYZ in 30 minutes and ABC needs to be done before we go. I will do A, you do B, and you do C."

 

5. What and how much does your husband contribute?

 

My husband cleans up from dinner (I figure I make it, he and the kids can clean it up), trims pet toenails, does outside maintenance, and helps out with anything I ask him to help with.

 

We are not very formal about chores. We don't have a set chore time. I don't see how that works in a home that's constantly occupied. There are always things that need to be done, so if we said, "Chores are from 8:00 to 8:30 every morning," the house would be a pit from 8:30 until 8:00 the next morning. We don't rotate chores. The few fixed chores we have (feeding the dog, letting the dog out, vacuuming, etc.), well, my particular kids need to know that those things are their jobs or their would be confusing and bickering. I don't really care whether my kids get bored with their chores. That's kinda life. You do chores because they need to be done, not because they are entertaining. Sometimes the younger two switch chores and think that's really cool, and I don't care, as long as they get done, but we don't have any sort of a rotating schedule.

 

Tara

 

Shannon :blush:

...who is busy vacuuming up the doghair tumbleweeds that have been rolling across the kitchen floor!

[4wildberrys]

Well, we actually have a chore chart, but in reality my kids do what they are asked to do when. It is just easier. They DO know, that ds unloads dishwasher and dd loads. DS empties trash and dd cleans cat box. They have decided that these are THEIR exclusive chores and although they usually do need to be asked daily to do them, they do them without complaint. As far as everything else, I find it less demanding for my time and patience if I just list out on my daily planner what I want accomplished in the house or yard each week, and then ask accordingly. Then again, we only have 2 kids and are a pretty relaxed family. Our friends, who have 4 kids, have always had a VERY detailed chore chart and envelopes filled with the "chores" and directions. Basically, mom and dad do nothing around the house but supervise while kids do everything from baking, cleaning and baseboard cleaning! :tongue_smilie: I think with more kids it works better to have a detailed system of chores. It makes me tired just to think about managing all that though :lol:

[usetoschool]

When my three biggest were young we did chores by dividing up a list I made years ago with every chore that needs to be done and how often. Each morning I would go through the list and pull the chores that need to be done that day and divide them up. Everybody had their list and we did chores together in the morning. It took about 1/2 an hour. Now that the kids are so busy and never home, and I only have one full time helper everyone just has their regularly assigned, same thing everyday chores and they do them when they can, which sometimes means mopping the floor at 6am or dishes at midnight, and I do the periodic stuff and big jobs.

 

We also did "clutter patrol" during the day when things would get out of hand. I would just holler out that everybody needed to pick up 5 or 10 or whatever things and they would race to see who could get it done first. Took about 2 minutes and kept the stuff from overwhelming the day.

 

My husband has always been in charge of bigger projects, building, yard stuff, trash cans etc. though he would generally do anything I asked and on some Saturdays he would get a chore list to and work with the kids.

 

Totally off topic but I miss doing chores with my kids and it is hard to keep a house clean all alone. Many things are suffering from selective neglect. :glare:

[Samiam]

Chores are done everyday by my children, DS10 and DS6. DS10 has been doing two a day for a few years now, and DS6 just graduated from one a day to two when he turned six.

 

The chores are required as part of getting their "free time". Schoolwork first, and then you do your two chores. After that, you can do what you want. If you refuse to do chores (DS6 used to do this alot, but he is getting used to the routine now), then anything you enjoy to doing is not allowed (ie tv, video games, playing with friends, etc). The refusal doesn't usually last long. DS10 is used to the routine and never gives me a problem.

 

The chores are not difficult, and they are geared towards the age, but they do help me out. I do not use a chore chart, but just decide what needs to be done that day.

 

DH helps wherever I ask him to help. On a daily basis, he unloads the dishwasher, and I load it. He does his own laundry, while I do every else's, although I am teaching DS10 to do his own.

 

I can't stand clutter, so my house isn't too bad, although some of the nitty-gritty time-consuming jobs don't get done as often just cause I really hate to clean. I like it clean, I just don't want to clean :)

[shanvan]

It's good to hear there are other families that are more relaxed about chores. I have taught my kids many chores and do ask them to complete them when I think things are getting out of hand. They do morning & lunch dishes and vacuum, but it still seems I do the bulk of the work. Hubby does the after dinner dishes--which I sometimes feel bad about. Occasionally I do them. I'm wondering if maybe kids should take these over???

 

We have some big time intensive cleaning sessions every now and then and the kids and DH do plenty during these. I'd really like to reduce the need to have those intensive sessions. I think our family needs to develop more of a routine, if not a full-fledged chore schedule. Anything too complicated and I know I won't stick with it.

 

Thanks again. Anyone else want to chime in??

 

Shannon

[shanvan]

nt

[Friederike in Persia]

We are getting ready to do our great annual chore upheaval.

 

Each child gets his/her chore for 1 year.

HTH

 

What a great idea! It had never occured to me to NOT rotate. I'll try this out very soon! :auto:

[Goldilocks]

We have been getting serious about the children helping with chores for a few months now. This is how I work it:

 

Before getting breakfast you have to do the "ABC's" (enforced with no breakfast--this is a big motivator. I have never haad to use it.) A is "apply clothes to your body", B is "brush your teeth", C is "comb your hair", D is "Dishwasher--empty it" and E (doesn't really fit) "make your bed"

 

10:00 we do a quick clean up (takes about 5 minutes) One child I can give general instructions to, another has to be told specifically what to do. Then we have a small break. No break until the work is done.

 

After lunch everyone helps to clean up. This is when the kitchen gets its big clean up for the day. Sweeping, mopping, chairs wiped, cabinets, etc. Everyone has assigned tasks.

 

5:00 Pick up the house, sweep or vaccuum as needed and do my fly-lady zone. When that is done, the children have their 30 minutes of tv time.

 

School on Friday is a light day for us, so we do our weekly cleaning as a team on that day. We go room by room together and everyone picks a job that they want to do from a list that I have made. Takes about one hour.

 

As they get older I expect them to be more independent. (I hope!) But since this is new to them and they are still young, I am pleased with the results so far.

[coffeegal]

Not sure if this should be on the other board, but here goes....

 

1. how you divide the labor. Who does what? Do you take turns?

We don't take turns. I assign permantly or until otherwise notified. All children have a 'running' chore, and the older 3 are each resposible for a large area of the house. I found myself put on light bedrest with this pregnancy so the children are having to do more for a time.

 

2. when and how often chores are done? It depends upon the chore. Generally, chores are done around breakfast and/or dinner.

 

3. how you make everyone accountable? Same way I keep them accountable for schoolwork. I keep an eye on them.

 

4. what types of chores you assign? How do you assign them? Currently, ds 12 takes the compost out and is in charge of keeping the kitchen clean. ds 11 takes out the trash and is in charge of the laundry. dd 9 takes the dirty laundry downstairs and is in charge of the bathroom. ds 6 takes out the recycling and feeds the dog. All children are in charge of their own rooms & beds.

 

 

HTH! :001_smile:

[happykate]

We do chores everyday here. I don't really use a chart per se, but each kiddo has a magnetic board and pocket (actually a 3x5 card box) on the wall. Last summer I made cards with one job each on them and stuck magnets on the backs. At night before I go to bed I stick the cards on their board that I want done the next day and when they complete a task that card goes in their box. Not everything goes on the board though. For example before they come out of their rooms they are to have their beds made and bring any books from the night before out to the bookshelves.

 

After b'fast we do our jobs for the day...this morning for ex: all brought their laundry hampers to the washing machine, 8 y.o.ds wiped bathrooms and gathered garbage, 5 y.o.dd ran the vacuum (sweeper) in the den and dusted her room, 4 y.o. ds wiped kitchen garbage can and doorknobs. (We really love our Lysol wipes! :)) It really only takes about 15 minutes every morning and the change in the cleanliness of our house is amazing! We actually wiped all the baseboards over the course of the week last week!

 

Now, I will say that I do not operate well with clutter so we pick up throughout the day...before rest time and before bed especially...so I don't include picking up as a job. It's just kind of an ongoing part of the day around here. :)

 

Dh is very helpful and is generally willing to do whatever needs to be done. I am finding though that since we've started being more intentional about our chores during the day, there's not much housekeeping still to be done at night after he's home, which I really like! (He does do baths though which is major in my book!) I'm the task-oriented person around here so actually the main thing he does that helps me is play with the kids so I can do my stuff. I'm at the point right now that there are many nights I'd rather be alone to clean the kitchen than him do it for me!

 

I hope that's not more info than you wanted! Have a great day!

Edited March 30, 2009 by happykate

[scrapbabe]

www.accountablekids.com

 

Smiles,

Shalynn

[Narrow Gate Academy]

We assign our chores for the year here as well. I need to start working on a new list so I can start training them mid-May when we take our summer break. Each has daily chores that get done around mealtime. Before dinner, they have a weekly chores that have to be done. One day each week is spent doing a monthly chores like wipe fingerprints off the light switches and doors for a specified room. The chore stays the same but the room changes each week. HTH

[amyinva]

We have a daily to-do list for the 9yo and 6yo and the teens have a weekly list of their "big" chores b/c they already know what to do for the daily stuff. I have a big to-do list that I make for the week, and I separate the day's chores out and put them at the top.

 

Morning stuff (make bed, get dressed, straighten room, etc) must be done before coming downstairs by 7:30am. We have breakfast and then the rest of the morning chores are done before starting school. The 9yo and 6yo clean up the kitchen from breakfast and feed/walk the dog. Then we focus on school. Everyone cooks/cleans up after themselves for lunch, although we usually eat together. Then back to schoolwork. 3:30 is chore time for anyone who is at home, and that is when we do the deeper cleaning chores. It starts with a quick straightening up of the entire house and then everyone does their individual chores (see below). In addition to these, 9yo and 6yo do dinner dishes and kitchen cleanup, although I try my best to wash pots and pans as I cook, so they mostly have to put food away, load the dishwasher and wipe down counters and table. The teens have larger jobs- DD16 does all of the laundry (wash/dry/fold or hang up/put away- everything except ironing) and DS15 does all yardwork and outdoor stuff, including cleaning cars, and all garbage-related work. And any lifting or carrying stuff for his pregnant Mom. :) They both frequently help out with cooking breakfast and dinner. The 3yo clears her plate and sometimes helps feed pets, and picks up toys here and there. I need to get that girl working more. :)

 

As far as assigning specific chores, I started using the Motivated Moms planner at the beginning of this year. I love it. Somehow, the thought of making a master list of all chores felt overwhelming, and this is a cheap way to get it (mostly) done for you. I have to add a few things, but mostly rooms, not what I do in each room. It even reminds me to clip little ones' nails, etc.

 

Every week I take out my Motivated Moms list and I split the jobs up among the children and myself, and make to-do lists for each of us. I make weekly chore lists for the teens, so they can fit them into their week as they see fit (they are gone at community college classes a few days a week), and I make daily lists for myself and the youngers. We like to check off boxes, and I use a fun font for them. :) I add the extra rooms at this point, so if it says dust living room, I add dust family room as well. If it says vacuum main floor but not the basement, I add vacuum basement to another kid's list. This has been working really well for us.

 

I occasionally train my kids to do a chore if it is clear that they are not being thorough or don't know how. If they don't do as good a job as I would but are clearly trying, I let it go. I would rather reward the effort and not make them feel bad by re-doing it (when it will be re-done the next week anyway, most likely). If they are being slack, I show them and have them re-do it. If it is a new job, I teach them step by step or have an older kids help the first time or two.

 

As far as making sure they do them, we all work until the chores are done. I watch over them and make sure they do what is on their list before we stop. For the teens' weekly lists, if they don't do them by Friday, I get to give them a super duper chore like clean the sofa with the upholstery attachment on the carpet scrubber or do baseboards. :D

 

It may sound like a lot, but this way we get it done in about an hour a day and never do anything on weekends. DH works long hours, and I don't leave much for him to do. His home duties are usually fixing things, working on cars with DS15, etc.

 

Amy

[Psm73]

So much of this depends on the ages of the kids. Mine are still relatively young but here goes:

 

When you graduate to a bed, you make the bed. All my children (including the 2 yo when she went to a bed) have to make their beds before leaving their rooms.

 

All hygiene chores are solely theirs, too - getting dressed, brushing hair & teeth, putting pj's away, cleaning bedrooms before school starts, etc.

 

Everyone is responsible for clearing their spot at the table after each meal. (I can't imagine anyone allowing children not to do this!)

 

The older two are responsible for loading & unloading the dishwasher every day. They take turns who does the top and who does the bottom. I seriously had no clue this could lead to such dissension in the house but apparently the top is better.

 

As others said, I expect help when I ask for it. We all blitz the house before dad comes home - just 15 minutes is all it takes for us to get the first floor looking pretty good. On my weekly cleaning day, I will assign windows to be cleaned, garbages to be emptied, etc. but it takes less than 30 minutes total for them to help out.

 

Aside from that, if they want a pet (as my oldest daughter did) they are 100% responsible for it. I am not one of those moms who will care for pet after pet. I honestly would have no problem getting rid of a pet (as in adopting it out, not killing it - lol) if one of my dc were not taking care of their pet. My oldest has a rabbit and she takes AWESOME care of it. I've never lifted a finger for that animal. Except to pet the sweet little thing. :)

 

As my children get older, I will have them do more and will probably assign set chores. I love the 1 year idea.

[diaperjoys]

Our kiddos are still little, so our "chores" are pretty simple. Our two oldest will get too goofy if working side by side, so I have the oldest (5yo) do his chores before he can have breakfast - get dressed, make bed, fill sippy cup, collect garbages from around the house and bring to kitchen trashcan. After breakfast he brushes his teeth and sweeps under the table.

 

The 4yo collects the laundry before breakfast, but everything else he does after; get dressed, brush teeth, make the bed, shake out the rug at the back door.

 

The 3yo is old enough for a few chores now, but I haven't been able to consistently supervise him as he learns to work through a list, so he just has to get dressed when I tell him to, pick up toys if I ask him to, that sort of thing.

 

Throughout the day we have toy pickup times, and they clear their own plates at mealtimes and put their laundry away after I wash and fold it.

 

We look forward to the day when they are a bit more independent and able to do more!

[whitestavern]

My kids are fairly young still (6 and 9) and our biggest problem was that they didn't want to do the same chores all the time. It got boring and then sloppy. So now we have a "chore bag". Each day they pick a chore from the chore bag (this is usually done at breakfast). Each chore is on an index card. On one side of the card is the name of the chore. On the other side of the card are all the steps necessary to completing the chore. We did have a mini training where we went through all the instructions, but it's still there on the card to remind them.

 

Here are some of the chores: vacuum one room (mom chooses which); fold load of laundry; clean the car out; scour a bathroom (one for upstairs, one for downstairs); dust (one for downstairs and one for up); mop kitchen floor; unload dishwasher. I also added some fun ones in there like Make Your Own Chore, Freebie Day (no chore), Ask Mom What Needs to be Done, and Help Mom Make Dinner. The kids have until 5 pm to complete their chore. If they're not done by 5, they have to pick another one and then must do both before doing anything else. It took a little bit of them missing in the beginning, because I don't remind them, but they are now used to it and rarely have to pick a second chore. Once the chore is complete, it stays out of the bag until all the chores in the bag are done. Then they all go back in and we start over. The exception to this is the vacuum a room card. This goes back in so more rooms can be vacuumed. There are many times we ask them to do other things and they are good about that as well. They also have things that must be done daily (make bed, straighten room, clean up toys). Finally, we have chores they can do when they want for money. Usually we will tell them we have x that needs to be done and it will pay y. They are not required to do these; but I do like to give them the opportunity to make some pocket change now and then.

[jenL]

What a great thread! I'm working on deciding what chores for my 5yo to add to his current ones (dress self, make bed, brush teeth, clean up after self after meals, clean room/playroom). There were some excellent ideas in here! Thank you!

[shanvan]

with ideas or experiences. We are taking steps to make life easier around the house. DH & I talked with both children about needing them to help out more. They see that homeschooling takes a lot of my time and have been pitching in with their new assignments gladly (for now).

 

I have been thinking about having DS unload dishes and DD load all daytime dishes for quite sometime--but thought maybe I was expecting too much. I don't remember who posted that their children do this chore, but that post gave me the nudge I needed. After a couple of days watching it in action I can see that it interferes with their time very little and takes a big burden off me (I hate dishes- especially unloading them).

 

More changes are ahead for us, and I think I am going to be a happier mom and kids will be learning to take on more responsibility.

 

Thanks again!

[AuntPol]

Since my daughter just started homeschooling this week, we are working on a new schedule that includes chores. I would like the house to be halfway presentable if someone should drop by. I am tired of being everyone's maid. I am tired of listening to why did you pick me instead of him/her.

 

Our chore list

 

Everyone:

Makes own bed/folds blankets

P/U and sweep own room

Wipe down and sweeps one bath (they rotate between their bath and downstairs bath)

CLean a litterbox (mom does dishes)

Feed animals (and mom feeds kids)

P/U and sweep living area (rotate living room or playroom -mom gets kitchen)

Put away own any folded laundry that is yours

 

Other chores will be worked in later after this becomes routine.

 

My dd works through her chores quickly with no issue. My son makes chore time miserable. He can not walk in a room and see what needs to be picked up nor can he take multiple step directions. I have to stand in whatever room he is working on and say "pick up coat and put it on coat rack" (can not say put away coat or it will just be thrown on floor in another room). Then when he gets back from that, I say put shoes in the shoe area. I can not tell him "put away coat and shoes". Then no matter how many times I have shown him how to do something, he "can't" do it (can't is his favorite word and means "I don't want to"). He can do it if the incentive is there (like new elementeo game in the mail lol). He needs "help" for every single thing. His idea of help is someone do it for him. If you tell him to get the broom and that's right outside the bathroom and it's not there, he doesn't think to look in the bathroom, etc. He will just stand there and not do anything. Chore time has been averaging 1.5 hours for what really is less than 30 minutes of work.

 

I will prevail though.

[BalanceSeeker]

I have a chart for me:

It's a rotating 4 week chart Monday - Sunday. 4 sheets in a page protector on my fridge and I advance the page each Monday to see what I have to do that week. I just do one thing each day. I can't stand marathon cleaning days, but I can handle 1 hour a day or less. Some things have to be done once a week (bathrooms, dusting, a couple of windows, vacuuming, mopping). Then, I fill the other days with what I want to be sure gets cleaned once a month. All the baseboards, shutters are cleaned once a month. I just divide them into zones and disperse the zones throughout the month. I also add organization of the playroom to the list once a month because my 4 year old doesn't know how to organize it and I don't really expect the older 2 to have to clean up her mess.

 

I also have a chart for the kids on the fridge:

It's a Monday - Sunday chart that is the same every week.

dd9 - empties d/w, wipes bathroom counters 2x/week, dusts room 1x/week, brushes dog every other day, cleans room/makes bed every day.

dd7 - collects trash throughout the house, wipes bathroom counters 2x/week, dusts room 1x/week, brushes dog every other day, cleans room/makes bed every day.

 

It's working for us pretty well, especially since I had to let my housekeeper go because of the economy :glare:

 

Christa

[Loupelou]

*We have a weekly chore chart, once a month I rotate it. Most of the kids get it memorized so they know what they have each day.

 

*When you have a lot of family members flying by the seat of your pants doesn't work very well, also the kids start to complain when you work it that way, they want to be sure everyone get their "fair" share!

 

*I rotate the younger kids around the older kids so I know that the bathrooms or other "must be cleans" are kept up.

 

* We do our chores before school in the morning and then we do a "spiff-up" in the late afternoon after school.

 

*I've attached a zip file of ours. Hope it works, it's my first zip file!:confused:

weeklychorechart.zip

weeklychorechart.zip

[HFClassicalAcademy]

I highly recommend Managers of Their Chores. I'm low on the accountability scale and this book has been helping our family LOTS!! It's always a work in progress and my kids are still young...4 dc ages 6 and under. But amazing how much they can do and learn to do!

 

Anyways, you really should at least check out their website.

 

http://www.titus2.com/ecommerce/products/prod_listing.php/1150

 

HTH,

 

Liz in NC

[lovemywhirlygirls]

We have assigned chores. Daily everyone is expected to do all of the normal daily hygiene and personal items (brush teeth, get dressed, make bed, etc.) plus anything asked of them. Mondays and Thursdays are our "chore" days. All of the chores below are repeated both days

 

11dd

Sweeps all wood floors downstairs

Vacuums all rugs/carpet downstairs

organizes shoe cubby

organizes large coat/misc closet and it's cubbies

Feeds dog in the morning

 

8dd

Collects all trash and takes it to large outside garbage cans

Collects all recycling and takes it to the large outside recycling cans

Wipes down/sweeps/tidies downstairs bathroom

Dusts all rooms downstairs

Vacuums stairs

Feeds dog at night

 

6dd

Wipes down garbage can lid/front of stove and dishwasher

Collects all dirty clothes from each person's dirty clothes bin, brings them downstairs and sorts them by color

Collects all personal belongings that are left lying around the house and takes them to the stairs to be put away by owner (pens, purses, stuffed animals, books, hair clips etc.)

Feeds cats morning and night

 

I do my chores at the same time (all laundry, kitchen, meal planning, cooking, etc.) We are all much more productive when we work at the same time. We are all encouraged by the difference we can easily see when chores are done at the same time.

 

We keep chores for about 6 months at a time. I get past the "why me" thing with the chore assignments, by grouping them age appropriately. Then I write them on cards, place them in a bag and they "choose" the chores until they're all gone. No compaints, because each one "chose" their own chores. Works like a charm around here. The children are not paid for these chores. These are all part of being a member of the family. We all benefit.

 

They do sometimes get paid for random larger chores like washing exterior windows, picking up the dog poo from the fenced in dog area, organizing the garage etc. Usually they are not aware that they will be paid in advance. They are rewarded for working without complaint or expectation of being paid.

 

This is some of what we do. Hope it is helpful to someone.

[katemary63]

Everyday, everybody "tours the house". That means you tour the entire house and pick up and put away anything that you messed with or that is yours. That means that if YOU left the hairpray on the bathroom counter, then when YOU tour the house, YOU put it away. I then go through the house and inspect. Technically, there shouldn't be anything out of place, right? We do this just before DH gets home.

 

Everyday everybody picks up thier own room. Usually after touring the house. ( this is sort of a joke, cuz even thought they pick up, everytime I look in there - it's a mess!)

 

Everyday everybody does 1 or 2 community chores such as:

set the table

sweep the carport

sweep kitchen floor

take out the trash

help clean up after dinner

 

I just meet these out to whom ever is available as needed.

 

Once per week everybody deep cleans 1 entire room such as:

Kitchen

living room

Bathroom

Carport and yard pick up

Mow the Lawn

 

We rotate these. I have a procedures list so it is understood what is expected for each room. You can do your "room" anytime after Thursday afternoon. It must be done by noon Saturday.

 

Every week, everybody changes thier own sheets.

About once a month, everybody dusts and vac their bedrooms. I don't count weeks, just notice when they start to get bad. ( We don't have indoor pets and don't wear shoes in the house, so we don't have to vacuum that often.)

 

DH and I take up the slack and do what is left after each child has done their share. DH and I clean untill the house is done every sat. morning unless I have been able to get it done Thur or Fri. I do all the laundry unless I ask DD17 to help out. ( I would never let DS touch the laundry, he would ruin it!) I do most of the daily kitchen chores myself.

 

Both girls and DH and I have daily farm chores we usually do together in the evening.

 

In addition to this, everybody knows that if help is needed and asked for at other times, it will be respectfully given. No, "no fair!" comments allowed.