Work, work, work.

I despise things that have to be done over and over again.  I love to check things off of lists forever.  Unfortunately that's not how life works.  Life is just plain old work.  You have to do the same things over and over again to get ahead.  I always equate it to walking up a down escalator.  You have to put forth effort just to stay in the same spot.  Extra effort to get ahead.  This is true in all areas of life.  If you want to get ahead spiritually, you have to have daily personal prayer, daily scripture study and be focused on getting closer to God every day, all day.  If you don't add these daily drops of oil to your lamps, you'll end up getting left behind.  You can't stop trying or you'll go downhill quicker than you can imagine.  Quicker than you'll even notice sometimes.  If you want to get into shape, you can't just go run around the block one day and expect any results.  Trust me, I've tried.  You have to work at it everyday.  I sometimes get overwhelmed by the things that are never done and just want to sit on the couch and read a good book.  It's a lifelong struggle for me to be consistent in all my efforts to keep up and get ahead. 

One of the most challenging areas for me is housework.  I really enjoy a clean home. I want it to always be in order. I think I have a basic need for order and when it isn't there, I turn into a crazy person.  Beds always need to be made.  Dust is always collecting.  Toilets seem to always have pee on them.  More toothpaste is smeared on the sink than used to clean the teeth.  (I am grateful that they are brushing at all.)  Papers on the desk and counters are like rabbits.  Toys defy the law of gravity and always seem to find their way up rather than down to where they belong.  When I only had a couple of tiny kids I could do most of it myself.  The challenge now that the kids are getting more and more capable has been teaching them how to work.  It's so much more efficient to do it yourself.  Usually that ends in me lying on the floor in tears wanting to move out into my own one room apartment that is easier to maintain (crazy person thoughts).  I have to share a story from my childhood here.  I hope my mother isn't too embarrassed but she taught me a great lesson one day.

We were eating dinner and I'm sure we were all being obnoxious and complaining about the food that my mother slaved over for hours.  You know how horrible and rotten teenagers are.  My mother had had enough and she either threw something at someone or screamed and yelled.  This part is foggy, but she ran from the table in tears and went to hide in her room.  The amazing part of the story, and something I'll never forget, is what she did next.  She came back.  She sat down in her chair and said, "I heard there was a crazy person down here."  My mother taught me a great lesson that day.  Humor always helps.

So I'm trying to change my attitude about housework.  I'm trying to make it fun and trying to get the kids off their bums to do most of it themselves.  Here's the latest system.

Like everything else in my world lately, I found this on Pinterest.  I copied the idea and made my own.  The quote is by Maya Angelou, and it's a good reminder to me.  Here's how it works.  Each kid has their initial on the board with a hook above and below.  Each night before I go to bed I put their next day's jobs on their hooks.  As they complete the tasks, they can put the job under their letter.  They are not allowed to watch tv, play or do anything but eat breakfast before they are finished.  Practicing an instrument is an exception here.  Some jobs are on their hooks every single day.  Others appear weekly.  The two extra hooks are to store the non daily jobs.  There are really only a few daily jobs.  Here they are:

Say your prayers
Make your bed
Pick up your things - this means go through the entire house and put your things away
Pick up your things outside

Then there are jobs according to certain tasks like dusting, vacuuming and cleaning which take place on certain days of the week.  Monday & Tuesday are laundry days, so I'll add:
Bring down your dirty laundry
Change your sheets
Put your laundry away

Wednesday is dust and vacuum - I vacuum almost every day, but here's their chance to get their hands on my beloved vacuum:
Dust your bedroom
Dust the living room - each kid gets a different room in the house
Vacuum your bedroom
Vacuum the living room - or which ever room I give them

Thursday is the kitchen each kid will get one of these jobs:
Wipe off the counters
Wipe down the appliances
Mop the floor
Clean the microwave
Sweep the floor

Friday is bathrooms each kid will get a couple of these jobs (I do my own bathroom - I have to help too).  I split them by bathrooms upstairs, downstairs & basement:
Clean the toilet - there are 3 different toilets, so 3 kids will get a toilet to clean - the card specifies which one
Clean the bathroom mirror - again 3 mirrors to clean
Empty bathroom garbages
Sweep and mop one of the bathroom floors

So those weekly jobs get added on those specific days.  I may change days around but it helps to focus on one task at a time. 

Then there are jobs that can earn a child extra money or can be added during spring cleaning time:
Dust baseboards
Wipe on wall of fingerprints
Wipe down kitchen cabinets
Mow the lawn
Weed the flowerbeds

I ended up with 90 cards once I was finished and I keep thinking of more. I need to add brush your teeth, exercise and read your scriptures to their daily jobs. I had them laminated at Office Max.

I probably should add that the kids get an allowance the first day of every month.  They each get one dollar for every year old they are.  This is independent of jobs.  I want them to learn how to manage money, so they need to have a little to manage.  If they want extra money, they have to work.

Just two days ago I read about another brilliant idea that we are going to try.  I'd like to go to bed in a clean house every night, so we are going to have an afternoon cleanup time.  Each kid will be assigned their bedrooms and another room in the house to straighten right before daddy comes home.  The book suggests taking a picture of the room how it should look and providing that to the child in charge of that room.  Let them have that room for a month or so, so that they can get really good at it.  The book said to give each child their own feather duster to even dust their area.  This would take away the need to have a dusting day.  This will allow dad to come home to a picked up house everyday and we can just focus on being together as a family.  Plus it's silly to have them pick up all the toys in the morning just to send them off to play with them all day long.  So I will add the card that says Straighten the living room to whichever child has that room and they can do that in the afternoon.

I know all systems have to be flexible, and I realize that it won't always work.  For now it's working and that's all I can ask for. 

Whoa, that was so much work.  I better go sit on the couch and read a good book.  :)