I want to hear from you....
I am going to be making a chore chart for Paige. She is 4 and I think it's high time she have some structured chores to do each day. Some she already does but nothing on regular days.
Here's what I'm thinking:
*clean her room
*set the table
*clear the table
*dust her room
*put away her laundry
Any other ideas and how often? I got some posterboard that I want to make a calendar on and then laminate. Then I thought I'd cut/laminate small squares with a chore written or pictured on it, put velcro on the back and place it on the day of the week that applies. I think she could really get into this. I just need ideas on how many chores, how often, etc.
Any ideas - come on I know many of you are just oozing with creative juices!!!! :)
Also, I was thinking of making my own "chart." I also don't have a specific schedule to do my cleaning...(I just try to have company often to force me into it!) :) Again, I know some of you are born organizers and I need your wisdom. What do you do?
Honestly, I'm not a structured person (a nice way of saying I lack discipline). I need to just force myself into it. I'm thinking if I write down jobs I want to do on certain days, that may help. I've done this before but have set the standards too high I think... I want to make a realistic list of things I will really do. How often should we be dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning bathrooms?! This could be dangerous!? Give me your thoughts! I'm turning over a new leaf....I want to be a new woman!!!!! :)
8 comments:
u m mm m . .. I think I may just glean the wisdom OTHERS offer instead of offering what would be hypocritical advice. : )
Our house has felt the brunt of my pregnancy these past months and my overextended life!
so I'll be anxiously awaiting others pearls of wisdom with Jami! And I like the term "unstructured" much better than "undisciplined!" Can I use it too?
I went to the 'Winning the Chore War' session by Cheryl Eliason at HAH--her website is familytools.com She had a lot of good ideas and I wrote down a whole list of age-appropriate chores (too long to type it all out here :) I think she recommended one chore for each year of age? Depending on your kid of course. They also have a ready made chart with little disks to put on it, etc. which of course costs $$ & you are so creative you would love to make up your own :) For those of us who are creatively challenged it is something to consider, b/c I was going to make my own & I don't have it done yet!
As for 'adult' chores, Emilie Barnes has a book called the 15 Minute Organizer (and a few other books) that give some great ideas on how to structure cleaning jobs--yearly, monthly, weekly. I think she has a website too. I have kind of a schedule:
Mon. clean the kitchen & laundry, Tues. iron, Wed. mop floors & laundry (& dust-haha-about 3 times a year) Thurs. clean bathrooms, Fri. vacuum & laundry
But it does NOT all get done every week--I'm doing good if it happens every other week. In the book she says if you miss a cleaning job one day, don't try to add it on to your jobs for the next day, just wait til the next week. Hope this helps a little--happy choring :)
Janelle
I've been thinking the same thing! I have been meaning to give myself a cleaning schedule and have not done it yet. Maybe I will do that today! In the past my cleaning schedule has been to have company over once a month so that I get the house spotless and I can guilt Michael into helping because "I have so much to do in such a little amount of time" before the company comes!! What a virtuous woman I am!! haha!
Mindy :)
We used to have a chore chart...it went well, but I haven't been 'structured' enough to make another one! (it filled up) What I did was made a chart, then had kels put a sticker up when she did a job. For a while she was doing 3-4 jobs at a time...just for another sticker! Then we would reward her when she filled up a row with a dollar. (10-15 squares on a row-don't remember) it was fun then to watch her save up and then take her out to pick out a little toy when she had enough. (As SOON as she had enough, that is!!) She isn't a very diciplined saver. A couple other job ideas for 'newcomers' is: dust bust the stairway, *wet wipe clean, de-junk the van! (give 'em a bag & let them fill it - you separate it)
*wet wipes are GREAT! Kels likes to wipe-down kit. table & chairs, kit floor, bathroom.
There's my $.02 I'm anxious to get new ideas too, so bring them on, girls!
We just got more disciplined with Mya's chore chart 3 weeks ago. I printed out 6 weeks worth of charts and I keep them in a folder in her room. The things I have on there are Pick-up Bedroom, Make Bed, Clear Table, Pick-up Toys, Brush teeth, Comb Hair and Say Memory Verse. Every night before bed we go through it and she gets to put a sticker on the chart for every completed job. She looks forward to doing the chart every night (and requests it on some nights I wish she would forget!).
The ones I am a stickler on are the clean room, make bed and clear table. The clean room one she needs my help on somewhat, but is getting much better at doing it independently.
That is what we do!
No chore chart for myself, no desire to either! :)
megs
I am an organization nut! It drives Kyle crazy and sometimes I take it way to far!
I started Morgan doing chores when she wanted to "help" mom, sometime last fall. I have her help me unload the dishwasher, set the table with plates and cups, make her bed, feed the dogs and anywhere else she thinks she can do it! She is pretty good at it too. Then I do things for good behavior. I haven't made the chart "Morgan's Choice Chart" just yet, but it will go like this. Ex: Do what mom asks, then she will earn stickers for the behavior and finally after some set of stickers I will let her pick from a treasure chest of toys from the dollar store (you know anything thrills them).
For me, I have a chart of things that I want to get cleaned everyday and one load of laundry too except Sunday. So it looks like this: Saturday change bed sheets and wash them. For my chore, I vaccuum and mop the downstairs floor. I do the upstairs on Monday along with dark clothes. The chore and laundry color type corresponds with when I have more time and when I don't. So Monday I am off with Kyle and we have lots of time to get harder things done.
Yes, I was unrealistic to start with. And a lot of times it is just black and white for me. Either too hard or not at all. The point is trying to not overload yourself so that you can continue and set a good routine! Good Luck - keep us updated.
One more thing: At toys 'r us there is a chart that we bought for like $15 by Melissa and Doug (so it is nice and sturdy) that has like 20 some chores plus blank spots to write on, and with different colored smiley faces. Morgan puts smiley faces on the chart after she accomplishes them and she loves it.
I think it is great to start small with a few chores, then gradually add them. Good Luck
For myself- I have tried to have a set schedule, but I usually clean on Friday night and laundry Saturday mornings.
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