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A household chore list can be used as a foundation to
keeping your home humming along smoothly. Plus you can get your own free Mama Tools parenting tips reports here.
- You can stop trying to keep everything in your head when you
utilize a household chore list. Write everything down you want to
accomplish in your house and then organize those tasks on a chore list
like this one.
- You can tell when you are over organizing, too, using a
household chore list. When the schedule is full, it's full!
Give yourself some time off to enjoy your home, not just maintain it..
- Using a chore checklist such as this one, everyone in a family
can see their responsibilities at a glance.
It does take some time to get a family's organizational momentum up to
speed, but once your household members are used to their chores, it's
amazing the amount of time and stress that is relieved.
- You can also use your household chore list to determine family
members favorite chores. Or at least the chores each person will
tolerate! Let your family know that everyone MUST pitch in to do
household chores, but that you are flexible as to who does what
(keeping in mind age appropriateness and safety, of course). In fact,
sometimes a revolving chores schedule is the best answer; that way
everyone learns how to do everything, but no one is stuck permanently
with a disliked task.
- Need more ideas for using a household chores chart?
Then check out my house cleaning checklist page.
(Scroll down for more useful insights about using a household chore
list.)
Print the household chore list. or
Family Chore Game (Requires a PDF file reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader).
A household chore list can be used to turn a cluttered home
around in 30 days or less.
Make that master chore list we talked about above. Walk through
your home and write down EVERYTHING that needs to be done. Make
special notice of those areas of clutter that drive you crazy!
I think those deserve top priority for fixing. Sit with your master
chore list for a few days so you make sure you have as much on it as
possible. Consider those seasonal chores, too, that often get neglected.
Print out multiple household chore list copies. Using your master
list, start scheduling chores. Don't worry about who does what
yet, your goal this week is to get everything on a schedule.
Attach
multiple pages of your chore list as needed. Again, mark those chores
that are really bugging you so we can give them priority.
After a couple days break, take a long hard look at your household
chore lists. Does it look overwhelming, even to you? This is the stage
to be realistic. It may make you feel good inside to clean the
bathrooms 3 times each week, but if that's all you manage to get
accomplished, how frustrated will you be? I'm a big believer in making
progress, not perfection. After all, at the end of 30 days if your
household is 50% cleaner on a regular basis than it was before you
started this project, you'll be pleased, right? Absolutely. You can
still tackle additional chore list improvement, but think of it as a
process, not an event.
So, the bottom line here is, if there are too many tasks on your
household chore list, you need to take some off at this step. If
you
like, put those chores on another chore list and keep for future
reference. Take the chores that remain and compare your chore list with
your family's schedule. Don't schedule a lot of chores on days when
everyone is busy doing other stuff. It just won't work. A lot of
household chore lists go down in flames from over- and
double- scheduling. Again, make sure your priority tasks get on the
chore list first.
Get to work. Have a family meeting and discuss the household chore
list.
Point out that this chore list is not a ball and chain...it is a
liberator! You see, once the chores are done, everyone can concentrate
on what they really want to do.
Together, distribute chores. Allow teamwork on chores, allow trading
chores, be flexible. Be firm, however, on the bottom line...the chores
gotta get done and nobody's gonna nag! Our household rule is if chores
are not done, then cherished plans don't happen either. Sure, you'll
hear some grumbling (your family is only human, after all), but stay on
task. Once using a household chore list is a habit, your household
will swim along nicely.
Make sure that you have the appropriate tools your worker-bees need
for their chores, too. Cleaners,
tools, resources and any appropriate safety equipment. Training on your
standards should occur,also. And those priority tasks that are truly
bugging you? Depending on what those chores are, you might consider
doing those yourself and delegating other tasks. At least until you
figure out exactly how you want those tasks done and what is the most
efficient method of doing them. Then those crazy clutter chores will no
longer bug you. That's tremendous success right there!
From here on out it's observing and adjusting to make your household
chore list system work for your particular family. Be flexible! And
give lots and lots of praise.
This is a big transition for most households, but people are always
surprised to discover how much time they spend thinking about the
clutter in their homes, as opposed to doing anything about it. Once you
begin to do more than you worry, a genuine load will be lifted.
Colleen Langenfeld is a mother with over 29 years of parenting experience and helps other busy moms around the globe at www.paintedgold.com.
Note from Colleen: Remember, I earn my living making excellent recommendations to you, Mom, so when you choose to click any of the links on this website and make a purchase, I may earn a commission.
Naturally, that means I care about what you think! If you try a product or service I recommend, I'd love to hear from you. How else can I keep my recommendations top notch for all my visitors?
And thank you, for stopping by.
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