QOTD: What do you do daily, to keep on top of housework?

I guess I did train them. I start them when they are young on chores but I don't expect perfection. For example: my 4yo sometimes picks the bathroom and I expect her to be able to put laundry in the hamper and pick up trash and straighten the stuff on the counter. When she is is 5 I will teach her how to sweep and scrub out the sink. Then by age 7 she will learn how to scrub the tub, toilet and floor. By the time she is 8 she will know how I expect it to be cleaned and she will know how to do it.

It can seem like a daunting task to train kids on chores but it seriously only takes a short time. I work along side my kids while I am training them, then once they know how to do the chore I observe them and point out anything they forgot to do, then once I know they can do it on their own I don't have to be right there. It takes about a week for each step of training. I do not require them to be good at a chore before they can pick it. If they pick one they aren't familiar with I work along side them. If it is one of my older kids I am working with, I mostly instruct them and let them do the work.

As for who picks first, that can be a bit tricky. I don't have a set thing I do, but generally I call all the kids and tell them it is time to pick chores. Some kids come running and some don't come at all. Those who get there first get first pick. Those who are last get whatever is left. Sometimes we run into the problem of 2 kids wanting the same chores and we resolve it playing rock, paper, scissors. Not all kids are always happy with what they get but they learn life isn't fair and if they want first pick they better run when I call.

As for our list, we have a main floor and a basement. I am mostly wanting the main floor clean because that is where we spend most of our time. The list contains "main chores" like, living room, clearing table and bar, unload dishwasher, load dishwasher, pick up hallway and entryway, pick up hardwood floors, clean main bathroom. They each pick 2 chores daily. In addition to these they also have to tidy their rooms. I am not as picky with their bedroom and if they only clean them once a week I am ok with that. They also have to do their laundry once a week and even my 4yo does her own laundry with help from her sisters. I do all the sweeping and vacuuming because I am a bit OCD about it.

You can pm me with any other questions you have.

 

You could sell an ebook on this!!!

I would buy it. Thanks for telling us about it!–

 

My daughter is 15, so how I clean my house now has changed from when she was a little one.


I have always believed that if children are able to take it out, they are able to put it away. If they need help that is alright. At three years of age, my daughter was picking up toys and helping to put things away. I didn't expect her to wash laundry at the age of three, but she enjoyed helping. She enjoyed helping to put dish towels away, load the basket with laundry, and put her toys away that she dragged out of the room. I would take out the utensil holder and she would put spoons and forks away. I would put it away when she was finished.

I think that sometimes parents get stuck on the child's age and skip teaching important skills. When their kiddo is older, they can't figure out why their child doesn't know how to clean and they chalk it up to being a lazy child or teen, when in reality, often times the child or teen has no clue how to clean. We just expect them to do it at a certain age. It is a learned skill like anything else.
...and yes, I know teens can be lazy. I have one. :lol:
But, I started teaching her at a young age. Perfection wasn't necessary then and it isn't expected now. Basically, everything should be age appropriate.

I think a very important thing to remember is that while you are teaching your children how to complete one chore, something else will go undone. A house that is lived in will never be perfectly clean. Do not begrudge doing chores, your children will pick up on this and it will become a chore just to get them to do chores later. Turn on some fun music, give each child a dust rag, and show them how to dust. They can dust the furniture they can reach while you dust the furniture they can't reach. It will not be perfect, but as least it will be cleaner than it was before. You can count this as Life Skills for school!!! Make something daunting into something fun. Eventually they will be older and chores will not be so exciting, but at least they will have a knowledge of what to do.

I almost forgot! Regardless of age, give specific directions. Little ones have short term memories so saying, "Clean the livingroom," will not work.
Asking the child to, "Pick up the truck and put it in the toy box," will work.
... don't expect them to do a perfect job. I think sometimes we frustrate our children unknowingly and we turn something that is a part of life into...well...a chore! :lol:

 

I saw something recently on FB. It was a box with a poem on it, and a chore list. Basically, you put anything you find lying around in the box. To get it back, the owner must complete a chore. Something like, "I found it, it's mine. It once was yours. To get it back, Pick a chore." My kids were NOT impressed!!! I wanted to try it, but DH nixed it for s ome reason, I'm not sure why.

ETA: I found it: http://www.saving-makes-cents.com/2012/07/chores-for-my-ransom-box/

 

Thanks! I am not perfect and my house isn't perfect so writing a book about training children or doing chores is something I would have never thought about doing. I'm just a mom trying to do my best with my kids.

 

You don't have to be perfect to write a book. I get where you are coming from though.

 

Minthia

Thank you so much for typing that all out for me. I may be PMing you when I have time to give this some more thought. Thanks again.

 

I have a calendar of daily and monthly chores that I try to stick to. If I miss a day, there is always next week or next month!

 

We have a chore list for the girls. Sometimes we are busy and miss a day or so, but they are cool with me announcing that they are to catch up Monday through Wednesday chores for example.

I train each kid in a new chore for a few times. THey have a bout 20-30 minutes worth daily. Pet related car is not considered a list chore and each has a pet, that is just something they are stuck with because "I'll take care of it Mommy, I promise" LOL

All dishes are done by myself or my dh on the spot after each meal every time. I wash and clean as I cook so this is not too bad most of the time. The stove top gets cleaned each day also. Garbage goes out once or more a day. Most days it is taken to the convenience center as we pass it when we leave the house most of the time.

Laundry is done too often really. Dh is abit compulsive about having it all done and does not wait for full sized loads. He also swiffers daily.

I iron shirts late at night while watching a movie or show in the basement. I do bathrooms once a week and the kids each have spot checking them and cleaning them as a chore.

I vacuum the floors and baseboards once a month, but that will be traded off to a chore list soon. I rotate things on an off so they kids get crossed trained on as many thing as they are old enough to do.

Dh usually cleans the fridge every week or two and also the microwave.

When we were both working we used to keep kitchen adn bathrooms and garbage and laundry as needed during week then spend about 3 hours aon Sat. AM doing housework and yard work. WE then bailed and played the rest of the day and usually SUnday also.

 

I have a daily list and each day of the week has a focus. The list I use is here. I print up a week at a time and then have it hanging on a clipboard in my kitchen.

If something doesn't get done, I don't freak, but I try not to skip it the next day.

Some things the kids help with. They unload the dishwasher and dish drainer-I haven't done either in like a year!

The youngest will rinse dishes sometimes, the oldest will load the dishwasher sometimes. The oldest is in charge of feeding the fish and hamsters, they help feed and water the dog. They have to clean their rooms, pick up after themselves, take their plates to the sink, wipe of the table, sometimes they sweep and mop, they switch out laundry, help put it up, they clean bathrooms (we clean them daily so it's not a big deal to let the 6 year old do it, and I use natural cleaners, so no fumes....and he doesn't complain about chores that involve a spray bottle haha), they do the 5 minute room rescues (I got the FlyLady MP3-that helped, my youngest now doesn't complain about our midday clean up because he knows once the song is over, he can play! LOL)...

If you haven't checked out flylady, do. I dont' follow her system to a tee, but, I have walked away with some good stuff-I have to get dressed, 15 minutes can make a HUGE difference in your house, etc...

Example- here is some before and after shots of my house the other night...

15 minutes in the laundry room

20 minutes in my kitchen

Another 20 minutes in Kitchen on dishes

It looked overwhelming to me in the before pics-like it would take HOURS, but in an hour-it was perfect (I also took 15 min to sweep and mop)

 

This is what we do:

I have four kiddos, three of which are old enough to do chores. I split the chores up by room, and assign each kiddo a room that they are responsible for every time it's messy and needs work. Kitchen, dinning room, living room, bathroom and hallway. Kitchen and bathroom go together, because the kitchen is a lot of work, but the bathroom isn't. They are responsible for the daily chores in those rooms (sweeping, loading unloading the dishwasher, vacuuming etc) They are also responsible for their rooms. I do the deep cleaning, (cleaning the toilet, hand washing any dishes that need it, or any cleaning that requires chemicals as I don't want their hands in that) It's not perfect, and I will admit my house is usually picked up but not deep cleaned...I'm working on that

Now laundry is a totally different issue all together...I cannot seem to stay on top of that...