About this time during the summer I (Wei) am torn between enjoying the long unstructured days and then wanting some sort of structure back so that the house can look a little tidier! We asked our SLOCA community to share any hacks they have that help them stay on top of household chores.
Click here for earlier posts in our Helpful Hacks series!
What hacks do you use that help you and your family stay on top of household chores?
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- Robin: Each child has days that are assigned to them. On their day they have specific chores, responsibilities, and privileges that are heavier than their off days. This way there is zero argument about who does what or goes first. If it’s their day, it’s them. We’ve done all sorts of games to help the kids learn household chores & responsibilities. One that worked very well was a Bingo card. Each space had a chore or new skill they needed to learn. They could choose whichever order they wanted to learn skills. Prizes were awarded for 5 in a row, 4 corners, blackout. We included basic household chores but added meal plan a weeks meals, bbq dinner, clean oven, etc.- stuff that required us to show them how to do it and then they would need to do it independently. There was a reasonable time frame that the game had to be completed by and prizes were things they really wanted.
- Sarah: Every morning I throw 1 load of laundry into the wash. In the afternoon I throw it in the dryer and it gets folded and put away that night. It’s so much easier and quicker to tackle 1 load of laundry rather than dealing with 7 or 8 all weekend (which does happen and it’s awful)! In our laundry room each child has a laundry basket labeled with their name. As laundry comes out of the dryer it’s sorted right into their baskets.
- Stacey: I have a chore chart with daily responsibilities, weekly responsibilities, and a Saturday morning list for the kids to complete. They get a few bucks which they often spend at the school store and I get a lot of help keeping the house clean. I try to schedule in that Saturday morning cleaning every week so we stay consistent.
- Stephanie: As the kids have gotten older, they now vacuum and dust the house each week, in addition to cleaning their bathroom. We have divided two house “in half” and they take turns with who vacuums and who dusts each half.
- Deena: We are always trying to find way to become more organized. When everything has a place it is easy to say, “Don’t put it down put it away.” We are a work in progress.
- Janvi: We have a list of house hold chores we need to finish daily, weekly and monthly. The one who eats less healthy gets all difficult chores like sweeping.
- Cheryl: Designate who’s in charge of helping with unloading the dishwasher, unloading the dryer, cleaning up after the dog, etc.
- Tessa: Do laundry often. Don’t wait till it’s scary. Small little loads get put away much easier then baskets full.
- Catherine: Having themed days for chores. For us Monday is “Laundry and Life Skills”, etc.
- Jenny: We have a chore list for the kiddos, it is clear and acts as a reminder.
- Sarah: Even my youngest can put a load of laundry in and I’ll start it.
- Anna: Robotic vacuum. Worth every penny.
Thank you to our community for your helpful tips! I am inspired to get the laundry done on a more consistent basis this month.
