July 13, 2006: Summer Chores

So this summer I've implemented a chore system that is working well so far. I made an extensive list of specific chores that need done around the house. These are things that aren't part of the regular cleaning routine, but rather those kinds of deep-cleaning items that always get shoved to the end of the list. Some of these include: clean a kitchen drawer, bathroom drawer, kitchen cabinet, dining room baseboards, living room baseboards, a window; clean in your own room, in the sunroom, in the playroom; iron one shirt, etc. I cut these into slips of paper. We have 12 kitchen drawers, so I made 12 slips that say, "Clean a kitchen drawer"; similarly, I made the number of slips for the number of cabinets, etc. Ironing and window washing are endless, so I just made a bunch of these. I then put these into a bowl, and every day the kids and I each draw one and then go off to do our assigned chore. I've had to provide guidance for them and work side-by-side with Duncan, but they are doing a great job. For me, this accomplishes two things: one, some of these nit-picky cleaning chores are getting done; and two, the kids are learning new cleaning skills and helping out more around the house.