Organized Thursdays

This week at Between the Worlds, the topic for Organized Thursdays is chores. Karen asks us to share our system for getting regular housework done along with how you get your kids to help out (or prepare for their future).

Let me first say that out of all the things to do in life doing chores (or at my house we call them "responsibilities") is not one of the top things on my “to do list”! Personally, I would rather read a book or bake some cookies than clean! But after growing up in a home where my parents are "pack rats" and deciding that when I had my own house and family that I was not going to follow in their ways, I strive to have a decent, clean, and relatively(hard to have it totally with having kids!) clutter free home. Also I am married to a man, who I love dearly, and is a perfectionist, so everything has to have a place.

Before we had kids, dh and I had decided that we were not going to allow the kids to "play" or have toys in their bedrooms. We were going to have a place in the corner of the living room or basement that could be their playroom. The rule is that the bedrooms are for book reading and sleeping, basically they are kept as a "little quiet getaway" for everyone. I can't tell you how much I am glad that we have done that! It makes the cleaning of bedrooms so much easier.

So with those things in mind, let me tell you what I have come up with for a system for those daily responsibilities.

I have broken down the responsibilities into 3 groups--morning, afternoon, after dinner. This way we are not taking all day and we have time for other things (like school work!)

The morning responsibilities are:

• make beds
• vacuum bedrooms and living room
• clean up kitchen--this is a quick clean after breakfast making sure that the dirty dishes are in the dishwasher and the floor is swept.
• clean the bathrooms(sweep floor, clean sink, mirror, and toilet)
  

The afternoon responsibilities are:

• pick up play room
• take care of clean clothes in laundry baskets--this only happens on laundry day.
• set table for dinner
• clean up kitchen--another quick clean and lunch dishes
  

The after dinner responsibilities are:

• clean up kitchen-- I love waking up in the morning to a clean kitchen!
• sweep eating area/kitchen floor
• quick pick up of the playroom(if needed)
• take care of trash and recycle

The above list is what is done on a daily basis. Then on Saturday mornings, the whole family works together and does a deep cleaning of the playroom, the kitchen, and the bathrooms. Saturdays is also when the ceiling fans, furniture, and knick-knacks get dusted.

Now you are probably wondering..."she does all that by herself in a day's time plus home-schools plus has time for her dh and even takes time for herself?"

To answer your wondering....NO! I delegate!! The kids are old enough now that I am more of a trainer/overseer of the responsibilities rather than doing everything myself. I take care of my bedroom, the laundry, and the mopping of the kitchen floor. All the above responsibilities listed are done by my kids! As a part of this family, they have a responsibility to help us work together to have a clean, healthy, and orderly environment. I don't want my kids once they have their own place not knowing how to keep a place clean and orderly. They are learning now that helping to do the mundane every day responsibilities is a way of life. On the home-school front, I classify it as "Home Ec class"!

I have found this system to work well for us. If we are going to have company, it only takes us about a 1/2 hour to go thru the house and do a quick pick-up and clean of our "hot spots".

To find out what system works for others in doing their chores/responsibilities, head over to Between the Worlds.