Housework systems that work
 

What works for you? I need a revamp for our busy life! I have to juggle Homeschooling, activities, my night job, and my chronic headaches. Ive spent most of the summer feeling like I am cleaning non-stop. Messes trigger my anxiety, so that is fun.

13 and 10 year old who are super capable and fairly willing. 8 and 5 year old tornadoes who need lots of direction and a clean up crew.

Re: Housework systems that work
 

My kids each have a small daily chore that has to be done every morning by nine am. Between all of these my house gets cleaned weekly when it comes to vacuuming, dusting, bathrooms, windows, baseboards, doors and doorframes, wiping fronts of large appliances, etc. They also each have a kitchen job. When things get messy I tell everyone to pick up as many things as their age (or twice their age if it is really bad). That makes it doable for everyone and usually by the time they are done there is just a small amount for me. I also have chronic headaches and anxiety triggered by mess (among other things) so I can relate. The daily chores were a game changer! Also most of our toys with lots of pieces are kept in a locked room and I get them out by request if they are done with their stuff and the house is clean. Also everyone has a laundry day once a week (I do the two littles with mine- I love folding little kid clothes, too- helps reset my brain, as does scrubbing the kitchen floor on hands and knees, which is my job as well and I try to so it once a week but it’s more like every two weeks).

Re: Housework systems that work
 

We are just moving from a cleaning day - we do everything on Saturday- to spreading it out over the week. We will see how it goes.

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Re: Housework systems that work
 

Following... :shifty

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Re: Housework systems that work
 

I was hoping you would chime in. :)
Does each kid have the same chore every day?

Re: Housework systems that work
 

No. I’ll take a pic of the chart later.

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Following for kids chore ideas, ours needs a shift. My older two I don't think are doing enough

Re: Housework systems that work
 

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...dd6ea70029.jpg
Our house has 3 floors and our kids alternate which floor they have. They also clean bathrooms and vacuum on Saturday.


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Re: Housework systems that work
 

My kids are all "big" kids now, but the picking up as many things as their age was a game changer when they were younger.
Also, assigning a laundry day to each and not having mixed owner loads was also life changing.

My house is not in good shape now, but when it is, it is because we have each been keeping up with our zones. Each person has a zone, and they are to do daily tidying and one cleaning task per day. I unload the dishes first thing if I get up early enough.
I've been ill off and on since August, so while the kids have responsibilities, I found that is really my staying on top of them/things that makes the difference.
Unfortunately.

I think any system works if we work it.

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:popcorn

My 7&4yo make 90% of the messes around here and I feel bad making the older kids clean it up. I just cannot keep up alone though.

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SAME. 8 and 5 are tornadoes. I try to keep them accountable and help them. Also, if my bigs do have to help with those messes, i remind them they were one that age and we helped them out. We are a team.

I’m working on giving each girl a chore with their school assignments for the day. 5 year old boy gets an easy task. That gets the top three chores done each day, whatever they may be. It’s been a good first half week of school. :giggle

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My 12 year old's chores

Monday
Feed dog
unload dishwasher

wipe cabinets &
put away groceries

brush teeth, floss
5 min pick up

Tuesday
Clean bathroom/shower

Wed
walk dog
5 min pick up
brush teeth

Thursday
mow grass


Collect Trash
Put Cans on Curb

Friday
Wipe appliances

vacuum upstairs

Saturday
vacuum basement
shower



Sunday

Church
walk dog
clean car

Re: Housework systems that work
 

Honestly? I just do things as I can. I work full time, but I work from home - so if I go to use the bathroom, I throw a load in the washer and/or drier. If I'm on a meeting I know I don't need to speak in, I'll fold laundry. Need a 5 min break? Sweep the floor...

After work, I just do things as they need to be done and ask the kids to help. I found having a chore system worked well for us when they were younger, but not so much now that most are older. I just ask them to help and they do.

My husband also pitches in a lot. He does pretty much all the cooking and dishes, so that's a huge help for me too.

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Following because oh my word this house lol. I'd love a good chore app but I feel like I've tried most of the free ones and don't like them for one reason or another.

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With so many schedules to accommodate we have a similar system. Three people working, team sports, etc. We are working on having an "agile" system. I'll come back when we've figured something out.


I also highly recommend the book "Fair Play" by Eve Rodsky. It's not about a cleaning system but about recognizing and distributing mental load.