Chores

    Well, we survived!  Yay!  Today I'll share our chores that we do now.  As I've said these have changed often over the years but this is where we are now.  I'm trying to think of the best way to write this without being confusing!

Before Breakfast Chores (done EVERY morning at 8:00 except Sundays)
Mom- Disinfect counters and tables, fold laundry
Carter (13)- Switch and start one load of laundry- bring basket up to Mom, scoop cat litter
Caleb (10)- Empty and load dishwasher
Elijah (7)- Tidy the downstairs family room, sort clothes in laundry room
Hannah (5)- none, she's usually sleeping still

After Breakfast Chores (done every week day) if these have a / that means we do one one week and the other the next rotating back and forth
Monday-
Mom- Straighten Laundry Room/Store Room
Carter- Sweep and Mop Kitchen
Caleb- CLEAN sinks and Tub/Shower
Elijah- Vacuum Family Room and clean TV
Tuesday-
Mom- Clean under upstairs furniture (dusty hard wood floors)
Carter- Clean an entry way (dust, wipe finger prints, sweep or shovel porches)
Caleb- Vacuum Girl's Room, Front Room and School Room
Elijah- Dust School Room, Empty Recycle, Vacuum Laundry Room
Wednesday-
Mom- Extras (cleaning microwave or trash cans, bedrooms or something that's been bugging me as I pass)
Carter- Glass cleaning (mirrors, slider door etc.) and Wipe Down Refrigerator Shelves (2-3 a week)
Caleb- Wipe Sinks and CLEAN toilets
Elijah- Vacuum Steps and Nook, Mop Nook/Wipe Down Steps
Thursday-
Mom- Do a follow up cleaning of the bathrooms
Carter- Check and Record Store Room Needs/Clean Out Van
Caleb- Dust Front Room and Take Trash to the Road
Elijah- Vacuum Front Room and Take Recycle to the Road
Friday-
Mom- Vacuum Furniture
Carter- Wipe Fronts of Kitchen Cupboards and Appliances
Caleb- Wipe Down Bathrooms, Sweep and Mop Up/Down
Elijah- Dust Family Room, Vacuum Boy's Room

Hannah's Morning Jobs
(5 years old)
-get dressed
-brush teeth
-get hair done
-empty bathroom trashes
-feed Moses (cat)
-make bed
-tidy room
-vacuum hard floors (we have a mini stick vac she loves so I run with it!)

Table Chores
After lunch Carter is responsible for wiping down the counters and cleaning them up, Caleb the table and Elijah the floor.
After dinner there are 3 chore options: 1- Dishes (this is washing pots and pans and wiping down the stove top) 2- Table (help clear table and wipe counters and table) 3- Floors (sweep when everyone else is done)
They just call what they want to do or "shoot" for it (rock,paper, scissors or odds/evens) or sometimes I'll send them all down with Daddy and I'll clean it up, just depends on the day.

   I catch up with laundry on Saturdays (we would need to do a good 2 loads a day to keep up and I'm not into doing laundry that often!).  We switch sheets when needed on Fridays. On Saturdays I also try to plan and prep meals for Sunday and lay out clothes and things we need for Sunday mornings. The kids often have an activity on Wednesdays so I try to make that my errand day and spend Tuesday gathering up a list so hopefully I don't have to run out any other day.

   That's it.  It may sound or look like a lot but it takes about 15 minutes before Breakfast and 15-20 after with a little extra work on Friday or Saturday for Mom. Truly many hands make lighter work!  Addison will join us when she turns 2 starting with the bathroom trashes :0)  This keeps our house in working order and I don't need to ever have an all day cleaning marathon unless we neglect it all for a week or more which rarely happens.  I've got a lot of my ideas on handling our home from Fly Lady.  She's big on 15 minute jobs which has worked so well for us.  She also does Zones so she never has to do "Spring Cleaning".  That's kind of what I do on Wednesdays, do something that often gets put off.  Having a plan and writing it all down has helped me tremendously! Having so many hands helps get the cleaning done but it can get overwhelming if they're always asking what they're suppose to do and you're just thinking stuff up as you go. Remember if you're looking at our list and don't have 5 kids you probably have no need for cleaning your bathroom as often as we do!  We have a small home so it's quick to clean but quick to get dirty too! Hope that helps you some!

Would life be easier if you sat and planned out what YOUR home needed done each week?  What jobs can you break into smaller tasks to teach your kids as they grow?