Monday, September 9, 2013

Chore Charts 101



I’ve had several people ask me to share my new “Chore Chart” revolution with them so here I go…  Please don’t think I created ANY of this from scratch.  I have literally now set my home up to run as a group home (you know, one of those places I worked in after college where kids live when they cannot live at home anymore…), the only differences being the “House Mother” is actually MOM and we are actually a forever family rather than a temporary situation.  So, that said, here’s the deal.

I have five kids.  There are five days of school in a week.  I figured out five chores that really need to be done every day.  This makes rotating chores between five kids, each day of the school week, really quite simple.  So….  Hanging on the wall, right inside our front door, is a Weekly Chore Chart showing who does which job on which school day.

Exhibit A:

Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Child 1
Trash
Front Room
Kitchen
Bathroom
Backyard
Child 2
Backyard
Trash
Front Room
Kitchen
Bathroom
Child 3
Bathroom
Backyard
Trash
Front Room
Kitchen
Child 4
Kitchen
Bathroom
Backyard
Trash
Front Room
Child 5
Front Room
Kitchen
Bathroom
Backyard
Trash

These jobs are fairly simple and are all expected to be completed prior to dinner with the exception of Kitchen helping (for obvious reasons) and wiping down the bathroom counter which gets done after the last child brushes his or her teeth for bed.  Basically they consist of daily straightening, trash clean up, etc. to keep things under control amidst school, homework, afterschool play, bedtime routine, etc.

Descriptions are as follows:
Backyard – Roll hose, sweep mulch off pathways, pick up all trash, scoop poop, other tasks as needed
Trash – Empty bathroom trash cans as needed, pick up trash in hallway and entry way, take full kitchen trash to black trashcan, other tasks as needed
Bathroom– all trash in trash can, wipe counters and sink with cleaning wipe, towels hung, dirty clothes in laundry, other tasks as needed
Kitchen – empty/load dishwasher, help make dinner, set table, wipe table and chairs with damp washcloth after dinner, sweep kitchen and dining room floors after dinner, other tasks as needed
Front Room  - pick up trash, pillows to couch/chair, books to shelf or library box, politely ask toy owners to pick up, pick up all stray toys/clothes/books, return movies to shelf or library box, other tasks as needed

On Saturday we get a little bit more serious.  The same five chores are covered but there is quite a bit more to each task.  A “thorough” cleaning if you will.  Vacuuming, Lysol, cleanser type things.  A day to really clean up, organize, re-establish a sense of “peaceful home”, and of course just get the work that needs to be done Done.  (By the way, after just one weekend, my kids now believe that Ammonia – a.k.a. a damp cloth - is really called “Mom’s Magical Cleaning Stuff”.)  These chores have the same title as the weekly rotation, the descriptions are just more detailed to-do lists.  

Exhibit B:

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Child 1
Trash
Front Room
Kitchen
Bathroom
Backyard
Child 2
Backyard
Trash
Front Room
Kitchen
Bathroom
Child 3
Bathroom
Backyard
Trash
Front Room
Kitchen
Child 4
Kitchen
Bathroom
Backyard
Trash
Front Room
Child 5
Front Room
Kitchen
Bathroom
Backyard
Trash

Side note - Because I have five children and there are five chores, the upside is each child only has to do each chore one night a week and each thorough chore once every five weeks.  Not a bad deal if there happens to be one chore you just can’t stand doing or one that you love knowing will return.

Descriptions are as follows:

Backyard – 
*Neatly roll up all hoses
*Sweep mulch off pathways
*Clean up and put away all toys
*Organize bike area
*Organize plastic (toy storage) cabinet
*Pick up trash throughout yard
*Scoop poop
*Sweep steps and patio
*Clean outside of windows (kitchen and patio) with Windex
*Empty patio trash can and replace bag
*Refill bird feeder as needed (with adult help)
*Weed mulched area as needed
*Wash dog (with adult help)
*Help in garden as needed
*Other tasks as asked

Trash
*Empty kids’ bathroom trash into kitchen trash
*Empty Mom’s bathroom trash into kitchen trash
*Empty laundry trash into kitchen trash
*Empty kitchen trash can and replace bag
*Clean inside/outside of bathroom and kitchen trashcans with cleaning wipe
*Move recycling to blue trashcan
*Sweep front porch (all debris to trashcan)
*Sweep driveway (all debris to trashcan)
*Sweep front sidewalk (all debris to trashcan)
*Pick up all trash and toys in hallway
*Vacuum hallway
*Dust dining room bookshelf and china closet
*Other tasks as asked

Bathrooms
*Wipe down counters and sinks with damp cloth
*Clean mirrors with Windex
*Wipe down cabinet doors with damp cloth
*Clean outside of toilets with cleaning wipe
*Clean light switches with damp cloth
*Clean door frames/doors with damp cloth
*Take all used towels to washing machine
*Clean outside edge of bathtub with cleaning wipe
*Restock toilet paper in both bathrooms
*Roll up rugs, take outside to shake, replace
*Sweep floors
*Other tasks as asked

Kitchen
*Wipe outside of all cabinets with damp rag
*Wipe down outside of fridge with damp rag
*Wipe down door frames with damp rag
*Wipe garage door with damp rag
*Clean stove top and front with cleaning wipe
*Wipe front of dishwasher with damp rag
*Wash inside of kitchen and dining room windows with Windex
*Dust window sills in kitchen and dining room
*Wash dog bowls and mat
*Clean sink with cleanser and sponge
*Sweep kitchen and dining room floors
*Clean kitchen floor with spray mop
*Other tasks as asked

Front Room
*Pick up all trash
*Put toys/books on owner’s bed
*Dust wood furniture
*Dust window sill
*Dust lamp bases
*Dust mantle
*Dust piano
*Carefully dust TV stand, top and inside – DO NOT dust TV
*Wash inside of windows with Windex
*Organize shoe rack
*Organize small bookshelf
*Move and sweep under furniture
*Vacuum front room and entry way (move furniture as needed with adult help)
*Organize movie racks
*Other tasks as asked

And that just leaves Sunday.  A day of REST.  Built in.  It says so right on the Weekly Chore Chart.  Next to every child’s name, in the column labeled “Sunday”, there is nothing written but “Rest”.  And the nicest part for Mom…  Because SOOO much got done on Saturday, my Sunday was a day of rest too.  I had time to sit in the (clean!) backyard and chat while the kids splashed in the water.  I made dinner (in a clean kitchen!) at a leisurely pace.  Threw in a couple loads of laundry because I could, but didn’t really worry about getting it all finished.  And actually sat down (in a clean front room!) and read a chapter of my book.  It was great!

And the kids enjoyed it too.  Okay, I’m not sure “enjoyed” is the right word for quite all of the tasks included, but they definitely had feelings of accomplishment each weekday when they came to tell me their chores were done, and on Saturday Mom worked alongside them so it was built in Mom-time.  A HUGE deal around here with the 5:1 ratio thing going on.  The favorite chore is actually Kitchen as it also is built in Mom-time, but also because they really enjoy serving dinner to the rest (which makes Mom smile).  And I must admit there is an awful lot of anticipation for when we actually have a dog again and a child gets to do the Saturday dog-washing.  Go figure!

So, there you have it.  The new Chore World in place in my house.  We are just starting Week 2 so we’ll see how long the newness takes to wear off, but last week was a great start so I am very hopeful.  (And sometime I’ll get around to telling you about our morning token incentive for getting out of bed and ready for school on time.  It's fantastic!)

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