Cleaning made easy - with kids!

so we have four kids aged 9 thru 13 (almost 14 - HOLY CRAP!). our house isn't huge - but it's decent sized. i do a "cinderella day" every monday. this means that i deep clean the entire house top to bottom. since all the kids are in school, it's not THAT big of a deal. it's a pitb, but worth it. it even stays clean for like 30 minutes or so. yay!

anyhow, my cinderella day includes:

basement:

straighten

deep clean

sweep

mop

vacuum

garbages out

wash & dry basement linens

vacuum stairs from basement to main level

main floor:

straighten

deep clean

sweep

mop

vacuum

garbages out

vacuum rugs

polish floor (makes it shiny - i do this once a month or every two weeks, depending on my mood)

clean out fridge

run dishwasher

unload dishwasher

wash & dry main floor linens

refill meds & vitamins (every 2 weeks)

upstairs:

straighten

deep clean

sweep

mop

vacuum

garbages out

wash & dry upstairs linens

vacuum stairs from upstairs to main floor

regular stuff:

laundry

ironing

match socks

it sounds like a lot, but really, it's not. why? because my kiddos help keep up with the cleaning during the week.

i divided the house into four zones: kitchen, bathrooms, basement, living / dining / family room (which includes picking up dog poo outside). each kid gets one zone to do for two weeks. at first, i thought they were doing a good job and i wasn't checking on the chores as often. DUMB MOVE on my part! when i finally did, the toilets were nasty (and i only have ONE boy - who can't aim to save his sweet little life!) and the sinks had gobs of toothpaste in them; bookshelves were messy; etc. what the heck? when i sat them down, they questioned, "you have to wipe down the toilet and sinks EVERY day when you have bathroom? i didn't know that!" egads ...

thus, i decided to fix this little 'problem'. i put together lists for each room. each list included the following categories: "the xxxx is clean when ..."; "the xxxx is deep cleaned"; and "monthy to-dos for the xxxx". i went above and beyond and printed out each list for each person in the house. they were laminated (and put on pretty / handsome paper, of course!) and put them on d-rings. each family member has a copy of all the lists on these. now there is NO excuse for anyone to not know what is required and when!

this is the 4 pages together - there is a list on both sides of the pages. they are laminated so things can be checked off as they are completed.



an example of one of the pages up close

oh this has been so great for our family! i know have a 'checklist' to look at when i check the kids' zones at night and in the mornings. if i'm in a nice mood, i tell them what still needs done. if i'm in one of THOSE moods, i tell them to look at their lists and figure it out.

it's nice not having to do it all every day. just "cinderella day".

Summertime Success: SNACKS!

We've all had the same problem.  When they are home for extended periods of time, kids get bored and want to eat!  And good heavens, can they eat!

I will have to admit, I got this idea from a Super Nanny episode and adapted it for the kids. 

Here is what we do.  The big baskets contain snacks.  The top blue one is for cupboard snacks, the one on the right is for stuff in the fridge.  The kids then each have their own, smaller basket. For things such as popcicles, etc, I have a craft/popcicle stick with that treat written on it that they put in their basket. They were able to choose 2 treat snacks, at least 1 had to be healthy (string cheese, raisins, etc).

 Each night BEFORE BED, they pick out three snacks for the next day and put them in their own basket.  Then, during the day, they are allowed to eat those snacks anytime they want, without asking, before 4pm.

This gives them choice, an opportunity to plan and think and they can see it all visually. 

No more "can I have...." questions all day long! 

Good luck!

Summertime Success: Dishwashing Overload - CUPS!

This is a series of articles showing up throughout the summer in regards to ideas and strategies that I come up with or utilize to make the time the kids are home that much easier!

Now, I can't take credit for this idea.  My mom did this when we were growing up one summer.  Now I understand why!

Every day, we'd go through EVERY.SINGLE.CUP. in the blasted house.  Some only used for a quick sip.  Others left on the table half full of Kool-Aid or (ugh) milk.  And, really, it's just crazy.

At Wal-Mart last night, I picked up some nice, sturdy PLASTIC cups on clearance (4 for $.25  KACHING) and wrote the kids' names each on a cup.  Now they each have their OWN cup to use throughout the day, and I'll make sure they're washed each night.

Now no more asking "Who's drink is this on the table!"  That alone was worth the quarter.

Chore Wars

The generation-old battle between parent and child and the completion of chores continues on in my household.  My kids are fairly good at getting things done, but they often rush through it just to get it done, skip steps, etc. 

A couple things I've learned about my kids:

• They are easily distracted (like raccoons and shiny objects)
• They do better when they only see what they need to do, and are able to check off when things are done
• They like knowing ahead of time what is expected of them
• They do better when they can touch, feel, physically check something off, etc

We used to have a weekly chore list, and they'd check it off each day.  Some of the chores alternated between the two of them, and we found that they'd often get confused who was doing what on which day. 

I came up with the idea of a small, individual checklist.  I bought 1/2 sized clipboards at Wal-Mart.  I made chore lists for each day, then put them back to back on a piece of construction paper and laminated them w/ the self-lamination sheets you can get at the store.  They have chores for Mon-Sat.  They use a dry-erase marker to check of when they're done, then they will get a parent signature to verify that it is done to expectation.

At the end of the week, they will turn in their clipboards and we will calculate their allowance based on the percentage of the work that they completed.  For example, if they did 80% of their work, and their allowance is $5, they will get $4.   We still haven't figured out the amounts, I'm trying to determine what would work best.

Here are some great links and resources for chores as well:

Age appropriate Chore List: http://www.familyroi.org/Family_ROI_Age_Appropriate_Chores.pdf
Online, interactive chore chart: http://www.chorewars.com/