Helping out around the house is an expectation in our house!
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect everyone to help out because in my mind, we all live here together so no one person should be responsible for keeping our home clean and tidy. Generally everyone is quite good about doing their fair share but I do find that if I leave them to their own devices then nothing gets done.
To make sure that everything gets done and there’s no confusion over what job should be done by who, I’ve started using a chore chart to document the jobs I expect them to do on a daily and weekly basis. It really helps us so I thought I’d share a version here so you have your very own printable chore chart.
(just click on the image to go to the full size version your free printable chore chart)
Here’s what I expect of Miss Frugal (aged 13):
Daily
Put the pots away in the kitchen.
Clear the table after meals.
Wipe all of the tops down.
Wipe the table down.
Sweep the kitchen floor.
Keep her bedroom tidy
Weekly
Polish the bureau in the kitchen.
Wipe all the kitchen shelves.
Put her own clothes away once they’re washed and dried.
And here’s Master Frugal’s jobs (aged 10):
Daily
Hoover the living room and hall.
Tidy the shoes up.
Tidy the cushions and throws up in the living room.
Set the table for tea.
Keep his room tidy.
Weekly
Dust the sideboard and everything on it.
Polish the side table.
Wipe the living room windowsill.
(just click on the image to go to the full size version free printable chore chart)
All the jobs are written on our printable chore chart which is on the side of the fridge and if they don’t have everything they need ticked off by the end of the week then they lose their privileges and don’t get their pocketmoney. Luckily, this hasn’t happened yet!
Just to be clear, I don’t pay the kids for doing their jobs but they do receive weekly pocketmoney and if they don’t do their jobs then they don’t get their pocketmoney. I do occasionally offer extra jobs for a small payment though if there’s something that I don’t have time to do or if they’re saving up for something and need a little help. I pay Miss Frugal £10 to do a whole house blitz every now and again as she does it when I’m working late and it’s amazing to come home to a sparkling clean house.
Mr Frugal isn’t left out of the jobs list either but he’s only been added at his own request because he likes to have set jobs to do so he doesn’t forget to do them although he doesn’t lose his privileges if he doesn’t do them all. 😉 He generally does all of the washing up (his own choice instead of a dishwasher), most of the ironing, he keeps the cars filled with fuel and does all the bins and recycling. In all honesty, he does lots of other jobs too but they’re his set ones that he does all of the time.
I don’t think the jobs they’re expected to do are excessive and actually, they can usually get through them in 10 minutes (not including their bedroom which get VERY messy VERY quickly) so they’ve still got plenty of other time for fun!
Giving everyone their own jobs helps me out massively as it frees up time for me to do other things as well as teaching them a life lesson (I’m sure there’s a life lesson in there somewhere).
Do you encourage your children to help around the house?
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