It's SUMMERTIME!!! Also, known as the time that "my kids tear apart the house" time... yayyyyy....
But I need to let you in on a little secret... I refuse to clean up after my kids all day long... Why you ask? I'm their mother after all.. Well, yes, you're right.. EXCEPT I'm not their maid. So as soon as my oldest could understand the phrase "let's put toys away" he started helping. Same with my girls.
And ALSO.. another secret.. the summer is often the time that my house is the CLEANEST. During the school year, when the kids leave messes around, and this sometimes drives me CrAzY, I wait for them to come home and clean up.. This is because if I am constantly cleaning up after them, they will come to expect someone else to clean up their messes when they become adults. Do I clean them up sometimes? Yes. Do I put their dishes in the dishwasher for them sometimes? Of course! But if it's something that can wait til they get home, I let it wait.
All that said, I got LOTS of questions about my kids chore charts. Keep in mind, that my younger two are still being trained on how to clean and I often have to help them get their stuff done. But they quickly learnt that if they can do it themselves, they will get done WAY faster.
OK, before I move on, I need to credit my friend Brittany for being a motherhood genius and sharing all her ideas with me.. She gave me this idea and then we tweaked it to what works for our family.
First, I divided the house into 4 sections because I have four kids. (When my younger two are totally self sufficient, I'll add another and give myself a section) We call these "Zones" and we are in charge of our zone for an entire week. I break down what needs to be done daily and weekly and then after the weekly Saturday clean-up, we rotate zones.
All right now, without further ado, you will find our chore chart below! Feel free to take the idea and tweak it to fit your own family needs. I added some notes in a different font next to the chores as needed.
Kitchen/Dining Room Zone
Daily:
Weekly
Choose dinners, allows them to learn how to make their fave meals!
Grocery list
All daily tasks
Wipe cabinets, and backsplash
Wipe handles, door knobs, and light switches
Clean sliding glass door
Mop
Replace water dispenser water, for lemonade bar
Bathroom Zone
Daily
Clear counter
Wipe toothpaste spills
Put toys away
Wipe toilet seats
Spot clean mirror
Polish faucet
Check garbage
Weekly
All daily tasks
WIpe down Cabinets
Wipe handles, light switches, and Door knobs
Clean Toilet all over, including around the floor, and behind.
Clean tub and walls
Clean sinks, and counters
Vacuum/sweep and mop floor
Take out garbage
Clear mirror all the way
Loft/Hall/Stairs/Laundry
Daily:
Pick up everything off the ground, put away or in the room of whom it belongs.
Straighten pillows
Put blankets where they go
Clear off coffee table and cabinets
Make sure nothing is on the stairs
Remind everyone to put their laundry IN the hamper
Make sure all trash is in the trash
Help with laundry, wash, change laundry, fold.
Weekly
All daily tasks FIRST
Dust- Ledge, shelves, cabinets.
Vacuum
Make sure the desk is cleaned off
Wipe hand rail
Vacuum all Vader hair off the rails
Vacuum under furniture.
Wipe all door knobs, light switches, and and smudges on the walls
Family room/Drop zone/Piano room/Entry
Daily:
Pick up everything off the ground and put it away
Straighten pillows and blankets
Clean off coffee table
Clean off bench
Check piano room, make sure it’s clean and tidy
Pick up all trash and throw away
Check entry, make it’s clear of anything that doesn’t belong there
Weekly:
All daily things FIRST
Dust- shelves, tables, bench, desks, piano
Wipe light switches, knobs, and any smudges on walls
Vacuum, with the big vacuum. Make sure to empty the vacuum.
Make sure you vacuum under the furniture
Shake entryway rug outside
Vacuum floor before you put the rug back, then vacuum rug.
Some of these jobs require supervision with my little kids, but my older kids know what is expected and usually get it done really quickly. They know if they are done then they can go play!
So, below I added in a little bit about age appropriate jobs.. This is a very loose list.. Some kids can do certain things earlier than others. And some kids can't. That's the beauty of life!
Age specific jobs
Ages 1-2: help put toys away. Throw trash away. Dirty clothes in laundry, help switch laundry, Put pillows on the couch.
Ages 3-4: match socks, dust things low to the ground, put clothes away, unload groceries and help put them away,.. (really they can do any type of putting things away- books, toys, clothes, etc) Set table, Help make their bed especially when you have Beddys.. Feed pets, wipe cabinets, Water plants, help sweep, sort laundry, Wipe glass surfaces, help cook (they are amazing at stirring), toilet bowls.
Ages 5-7: Unload dishwasher, wash some dishes, vacuum, Empty trash, wipe counters, clean toilets.
Ages 8-9: Pull weeds, Organize toys, load dishwasher, wash tub/shower.
Ages 10-12: prepare simple meals, Take pets for walks, Wash/dry own clothes, pack lunch, mow lawn
- Age 13+: at this point, a child really can do much/most of the household chores if you take the time to teach them.
Last but definitely not least! I added our daily task list here!
In the summer, our daily task timing is very loose.. Sometimes we throw reason out the
window and just choose to have a fun play day!
Thanks for reading! I would love to hear how all this helps you in your home!
Send me a message or tag me on the 'gram so I can cheer you on!
xoxo, Sharee
