A perfectly organized home isn’t realistic, but I am determined to fight for basic cleanliness and functionality. My best weapon is our routine.
Our day can start at any hour, thanks to my husband’s work responsibilities, so a strict schedule really doesn’t work for us. But a routine is different from a schedule. A routine is a list (ahh, feel the order already?) of things that we do in the same order every day regardless of the time that we start.
The kids’ lists are laminated and have velcro dots so that they can “check” off each task as it is done. Some are static, like “brush your teeth,” but other tasks change daily. The “Clean Zone” task is one that works really well for us. When the kids are little I assign which zone they are to focus on in their room every morning. One day it will be cleaning the floor of their closet, and another day they will have to change their sheets.
As the kids get older, they are responsible for telling me what one thing they think they should focus on cleaning in their room each day. (Note: They CAN in fact see what needs to be cleaned. This was an eye opening discovery for me.) I am hoping that eventually this training in seeing what needs to be tidied will pay off in eternally clean rooms … yeah, I’m dreaming, but it is a nice dream.
Even the 2 year old has her own list. She delights in moving the check marks after she completes each task. Granted, she can’t reach her own clothes or squirt her own toothpaste, so she requires help, but she knows exactly what to do every morning.
So, what am I doing while the kids accomplish their morning routine? I am standing in the hallway folding laundry (A good routine for myself. It keeps it to a manageable heap). I am available to reach high objects, remind dawdlers that they have only x amount of time left, and to ensure that the checked tasks are, in fact, completed. When they are done they stick their chart to my dryer using the magnet I attached to the back.
My goal is to add at least one task to our morning routine every year. At the same time, I also plan to drop something each year too. They do not always need to be reminded to wear underwear. Once it is a habit, it is dropped from the list. Eventually they will be proficient in the obvious, and will be doing that laundry for me, so I will be able to pick up another task to do while supervising them.
When I am diligent at making sure we follow our routine I can feel the change in our home. We are dressed, the upstairs is tidied, and the kids are ready for school.
Not a bad way to start the day.
This is wonderful. Can you point me in the direction of the clip art? And could you share which chores you rotate and when? My kids are 6,8,10. I was raised in a house where my Mom just did everything, except we helped with laundry. And I’m finding this is hard for me to change and am need of serious help!
Lizzie, thanks for your kind words. I can’t remember where those particular images are from, but you can get lots of free images at pixabay.com. Just type in the chore your are looking for and select “vector graphics” on the right, to get cartoons similar to the images I chose.
I think making a list of when we rotate out chores is a great idea. I’ll pull something together asap and send you an e-mail when it is done.