Thursday, October 28, 2010

Chore Day

Monday is 'Chore Day' at our house.
We spring into recovery mode from the busy weekend.

Our Saturdays are free for whatever.
We're either out & about {doing something fun}
OR we're together at home, enjoying the day without the 'regular weekday activities'
{like work & school}.

Sunday is generally a busy day, going back & forth to church with not alot of extra time to keep things tidy.

That's why I chose Monday.
We put things back where they belong,
the house is cleaned & we're ready for the week.
It's like a fresh start every Monday.






Each Monday morning, I write 4 lists & lay on the counter...
one for each of the boys & one for me.
There are certain chores I always do....& there are some that I divide up between the boys.
Each boy has their preference, so I usually assign the chore I know they kind of 'like'.


Your boys do chores...cleaning?
I've heard this question a time or 2...and the answer is YES!
Not only do they do chores, they do them well!
They are hard workers, doing a thorough job on any task!
I couldn't manage a home the size of ours (3000 sq. ft) without their help.
We are training young men who will someday have a job & will be responsible to provide for a family.
By working at home, the foundational building blocks are being put in place for their future.
Besides that, it builds character & strengthens our family unit.
We can't make it without each other.


Below is how I divide up our chores.


The chores for our 3 boys are as follows:


Each must clean his own room (tidy, dust, vacuum & bring down dirty laundry).
Yes, they do this every Monday, as soon as school is finished.
All chores must be completed before getting free time.


Here are the chores that I divide up between them:


Weekly
-swiffer the lower-level tile
-straighten & dust loft
-vacuum loft & hall
-dust office
-dust dining room chairs


Bi-weekly
-shop vac the steps
-clean upper-level trim
-clean lower-level trim


There are 3 chores that are assigned to 1 boy for the whole week.
Once they've completed their week, they have 2 weeks off until they are on the schedule for these chores again.
We rotate this by birth order, so everyone knows when it's their turn.


These chores are:


1)  Bathroom duty   (the boys have their own bathroom)
     -clean sink, faucet, toilet, shower, floor, empty trash
2)  Dishwasher duty
    -empty it when needed
3)  Dog duty    (we have a mini-Schnauzer named Cooper)
    -responsible for feeding, watering & letting out dog


Here are the chores that I do on Monday:


-dust living room, dining room, our bedroom
 (dust wall hangings/decor bi-weekly)

-vacuum entire lower level & our bed/bathroom

-clean kitchen (counters, appliances)

-clean lower bath & master bath

-all dishes, dishwasher loading (daily)

-laundry (washing, drying, folding, distributing)

-clean glass doors (front & back of house)


All in all, I'd say the boys are finished w/their chores in 30-45 minutes.
It usually takes me 2 hours, minimum, with laundry going throughout the day.


Every morning, each is responsible to make their bed & tidy their room.
Each night before bed, we tidy up & put away anything that needs to be.
This is what helps keep the home orderly throughout the week.


My motivation for keeping a clean & organized home is that it not only promotes a sense of well-being for all of us, it's a major part of maintaining an atmosphere that's warm, inviting, & relaxing.

~ The daily grind of hard work gets a person polished. ~    unknown
   

6 comments:

  1. I love your chore list.I think having a list for yourself too is a great way to stay focused too and to cover all the bases.I may try to make a similar schedule for myself.Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Can I please borrow your boys for a while? lol

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  3. This chore schedule has definitely simplified things for us.

    And Mary, what a blessing these boys are;)

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