Kristen at We Are THAT Family is asking for cleaning tips this week.

I know.  She definitely came to the wrong place, unless she wants the hot tip that vinegar spray will clean duct tape.

My cleaning tip this week?  Get someone else to do it.

In our house, the slaves progeny do a lot of the work.  We have a chore chart, but it’s not fancy.  It’s one of those pocket charts that Target sells for a buck around the beginning of school.  I wrote chores on the back of business cards and put them by each kids’ name.  We swap chores once a month.

We used to swap chores once a week, but some kids would shirk and the next kid would get the short end of the stick with a whole week’s worth of toys shoved behind the couch.  Monthly is easier on my memory, t00.

Currently, we have after dinner chores, trash chores, and room chores.

The room chores are done about once a day, and it’s a general pick up.  The kids are shorter, therefore closer to the floor, so that’s the basic job.  Pick stuff up off the floor and put it away.  Sometimes, vacuuming is involved.  I do the heavy stuff, like using spray cleaner, because I’m not an ogre.  Also, if I give up the spray bottle to a kid, squirt gun fights erupt.

The kitchen chores are also pretty basic.  Someone’s in charge of the dishwasher. (Loading and unloading.  I find that making the kid who loaded the dishwasher unload it helps them understand why they need to do it neatly.  Natural consequences, you see.)  There’s a water kid, in charge of rinsing the dishes for the dishwasher and wiping the table.  One kid is in charge of sweeping.  Someone else puts away the food (realistically, mom and dad help a lot with this.)  Miss V, age 5, always is in charge of clearing the table.

Trash chores are pretty straightforward.  I have a 10 and 11 year old.  One’s in charge of getting the trash from the kitchen to the garage.  One’s in charge of getting the trash from the garage to the curb.  Once a month, they switch.  My 8 year old and 7 year old are in charge of dumping the bathroom wastebaskets on trash day.

I wish I could say chore training was easy.  It’s not.  But it is worth it!  Families stick together, and everyone has to pitch in.  Even the ones who feel entitled, and there always is one, although it’s usually a different child each day.

Many hands make light work, and although the workload for a family of 10 isn’t light, it’s bearable when everyone pitches in!