Archives for October 2012

Scheduling kids chores is a great way to teach them to get and stay organized.  If kids are used to completing tasks on a regular basis it sets them up for understanding the good results that a schedule can bring. I highly recommend scheduling your kids chores and randomly having them do them.

Start with a list of chores that you want your kids to learn to do and do well. Then figure out what time of day works best for them to complete them.  You can have a daily schedule as well as a weekly schedule.  If you have multiple kids you can rotate the chores every week so they have some variety.

In my house, our kids have chores after breakfast, after lunch, before dinner and after dinner.  I know it seems like a lot but with everyone working together it really isn’t.  It’s basically cleaning up after mealtime and cleaning up the day’s activities before dinner.

We also assign a bigger weekly chore {according to the child’s age}.  This is usually dusting multiple rooms, or straightening an entire room for the little ones {5 to 9 years old} and dusting, vacuuming and mopping entire rooms for my older kids {10 and up}. They love it! Ha! I hope you didn’t think that was true.  They don’t love it but I know it’s so good for them to learn to work and to follow a schedule.  They’ll thank me one day {am I dreaming?}.

Do you have a system in place for your kids? Any tips or advice?

Yesterday we talked about helping kids help you by doing chores.  Today I wanted to set you up for success by sharing with you how to make a kids checklist for chores so that they can complete the chore knowing exactly what needs to be done and what is expected.

You will want to create a checklist for each chore that you give your kids that details all of the steps they need to take.  For younger kids this can be a very simple one or two step checklist with pictures.  For older kids it should be more detailed {see the one I have above for bathrooms}.

You can create your own {I used Word} and print them out and laminate them so that they last.  You can also download the one I have above for bathrooms here.

I hope this is helpful! I am currently making these checklists as part of my 31 Days to Becoming an Organized Mom. If you’d like other checklist I’ll be posting more soon.  If you want a specific one let me know in the comments and I’ll see if I can make one.

Do your kids do chores?  I grew up doing chores and I have to admit now that I am glad I did.  Of course, I grew up in a BIG family with 9 brothers and sisters and chores were pretty much a necessity in our house. But I wonder what I would have done if I never learned the right way to clean a toilet or how to cook?  Teaching your kids to do chores is a kind thing. They may not see it as such but it really is.  One day, like me, they’ll look back and be grateful to you {or at least their spouse will}.

So what does kids doing chores have to do with you getting organized?  You can’t do it all.  You just can’t.  I know this from experience.  I try and try to handle all of the work of managing our home but I simply cannot stay on top of it all.  Teaching your kids to do chores is a way that you can help your kids help you.

Start small and be sure to teach them the correct way to do a job before leaving them to do it themselves.  Kids as young as 3 or 4 can start with little jobs {and they think it’s fun at this age}!

Tomorrow I’ll share about giving kids a checklist for their chores to set them up for success and the next day we’ll talk about scheduling chores for them. Stay tuned…

Do your kids do chores?  Do you have a well working system in place?

The idea of getting organized is thrilling for me but actually staying organized will take effort beyond the effort to organize my stuff.  I need to have a plan in place, not just for how I get organized now, but how I will stay organized.  So I thought today would be a really good day to look at goals and lifestyle changes to create new habits of organization.

Take some time today {as I am doing} to think about what will help you continue to stay organized.  Does it mean scheduling weekly decluttering sessions?  Does it mean daily tasks that are repetitive? I know it means these things for me.  I must schedule and stick to a cleaning schedule every week and regularly schedule time to tackle tasks that are added to my organizational to do list.  These are the things I am thinking about today and planning for.

How are you planning for your success in the future of staying organized? What kind of routine do you need to have in place {or already have in place}?

Check out great organizational finds on Zulily today!

I’m very excited about this week of 31 Days to Becoming an Organized Mom! I will be away this week attending a blogging conference so I am being organized about it and have a bunch of post already scheduled {super happy about this!}.  This week we’ll be chatting about the kids helping out around the house and I have some cool printables for you so check back for them later this week.

Today I wanted to share what has been working for me when I feel like the whole house needs attention and it all seems overwhelming.  I mentioned before my thoughts on where to start, but this goes beyond where to start to how to effectively make progress, not just in one room but in the whole house. You need a plan to be successful especially when you already feel behind.

The plan of attack that seems to work best for me is to declutter first.  This is not the go-through-everything-and-throw-a-ton-of-stuff-out decluttering but rather a quick decluttering of what you immediately see that you can get rid of.  Take a box and trash bag with you through each room in the house and just start filling them with the first things that you see that you know you can get rid of or throw away.

Next comes the cleaning.  Once things are decluttered start with only the basic cleaning tasks in each room of your home.  Dust, sweep or vacuum, wipe mirrors and take out the trash. For the bathrooms add wiping the sink and cleaning the toilet.

Now, step back and take a deep breath. Progress.  Rooms should be clean and look decent.  Now you are ready for the deep decluttering and deeper cleaning that goes beyond what you see with a first glance.  That will come, but for now just enjoy your progress so far.

Do you think this method will work for you?  Do you have other steps in place to get or stay organized?

Check out great organizational finds on Zulily today!