Chores (and the charts that help!)

I've bee SUCH a slacker. Pitifully so. The more sane our life becomes the more I realize how much those three years working Hilton disrupted our lives. It's been a year & a half since we quit & we're still getting things in order.

Speaking of order, I thrive with it. The more organized & tidy things are the better I function.

Lately, I've been completely overwhelmed with keeping the house clean. It's so difficult for me to function if the house isn't clean but there are too many other things that must take priority (eg. school & eating: eating=cooking=more mess & not always the time to clean it up)

Yes, somehow, I forgot about chores. Can you believe that?! It's embarrassing to me that we never had official chores. There were certainly expectation with the kids - pick up your stuff from the house, clear your dishes after a meal, stuff like that. But, we never implemented a system (again, I love organized systems) so there wasn't consistency & I did all the major cleaning. Not anymore!

I finally got around to figuring something out that would work for us (that was another reason it hadn't happened yet, I wasn't sure what the right system was for us). We still haven't finalized everything, but, we have enough in place to start & we can build from there. The kids have done a fabulous job & now even my baseboards & windowsills are clean, without any work on my part.

So, here is our lovely & flexible chore chart wall:

I just love it. I really do! I say it's flexible because it's easy for me to switch up who is doing what, decide that day what really needs clean, add more to the day if they get done quickly & I can easily add more magnets with different chores.

I've actually already added more chores since I took this photo. I also didn't include the every day expectations. (make your bed, put away your pajamas, pick up your room, etc.) These are the "extras." Chore time is at 4:00 every afternoon. We're still early enough in the process that everyone is VERY excited to pitch in! The first day Kate kept adding more to do & ended up completing 7 chores that afternoon.

Currently, the kids earn a ticket for every chore they complete & a ticket is worth 10 cents each. Yes, that means they won't each make the same amount of money. As I told them, the more you work, the more you earn. I also check their work to make sure it's not haphazard. They won't earn their ticket if they don't do the job well.

I also see this as an opportunity to teach them how to do a task well from the get go. I do expect a better job from the older kids, but, I still work with Clay. He vacuumed the family room today & he tried his best & I trust that as he gets older he'll get better!

The chore charts were simple to make - 8.5x11 whiteboards (yes, I bought one for Jackson & saved a spot for him on the wall!), a pack of 30 magnets & little pails that were on clearance for 30 cents each. Also, a big roll of carnival tickets. I've seen people use things such as pebbles, but, this was easier for me & the kids love getting a ticket! I'm also thinking of doing a drawing at the end of each week & whoever has the matching ticket for the one I pull gets an extra quarter. (may the odds be ever in your favor!)