I sat down with the children and we came up with Before Breakfast, After Breakfast and Before Bed routines. I typed them up and they hang in the kids' rooms. I made detailed lists broken down into daily increments for the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. I combined the den, school room, porch and deck into one set of chores. The dining room, hallway and laundry duty are included on another set. The kitchen chores are all by themselves.
I divided the living area chores among three children: Aaron-14, Kaelan-11 and Jackson-6. The chores lists are labeled A, B and C. Each week we rotate so no one has to be on kitchen duty more than a week at a time. As Jackson is only 6, he is in training and I will be working with him on his responsibilities. All the children are responsible for bathroom and bedroom routines.
Devin and Jordan were not included in the ABC chore division as they are away from home a good bit. However, when they are at home they are to pitch in wherever needed....which is mainly in the kitchen!
If we can keep up with our routines and scheduled chores then our home should be relatively in order each day. One huge detriment to this whole endeavor, though, is the fact that there are several areas in my home that have too. much. clutter!! Our house only has three closets: one closet per bedroom. The laundry room is really a closet and I have a lot of things stored in there on two shelves above the washer and dryer and all my soap making supplies are stored on the dryer itself. (I have a door laid over the top of the washer and dryer that gives me more storage space.)
My biggest clutter is found in the master bedroom. The attic access is there and anything that needs to go into the attic gets put in a stack. The stack now has taken over the room! We have just moved Caedmon out of our room and into the boys' room, but we still have some baby things that need to be sorted through, stored, sold or given away. Jeff's studio for his home business is also in there and so are many stacks of boxes with equipment, books he rarely or NEVER uses and just stuff. The school room is another area that can quickly get cluttered. It is really a part of the den just slightly divided by partial walls and quite open to the living areas. I put a table in there a few years ago so that we could do our table work in there instead of cluttering up the dining room each day. The table, however, is generally covered with items that need to be put away and is seldom used for school work.
This week I spent one afternoon decluttering in the school room. I had three bags of trash which included magazines, papers and toys. I also had three large boxes of toys and books to put up in the attic until I decide what to do with them and I finally decided to get rid of the small easel/desk combo that we have had for years. We continually had to move it to get to other items that were needed and I decided it wasn't used enough to warrant all the handling it received. I still have a huge cabinet to go through, a set of shelves above my desk, my desk drawers and the file cabinet to go through. One day I hope to have another school room that is much bigger and has a door that can be closed!
We hope to tackle the laundry room this weekend. We will pull everything out including the shelves on the wall, scrub it completely, paint and install cabinets and one shelf on the wall above the appliances. I plan to work in small increments in the school room and my room over the month of February and hope to have those two rooms in good order by the time warmer weather and gardening prep gets here. Having less clutter will really help us get the routines and chores done in a more orderly way. I can't wait to get to that point.
Here are our daily lists for each area of the home with the exception of our morning and evening routines and our bedroom chores. Apparently I did not save those on my word processor.
Kitchen Chores
Monday
-Cook meals
-Put away clean dishes
-Load dishwasher
-Wash dishes
-Scrub countertops and freezer tops
-Wipe stovetop
-Wipe down cabinet fronts
-Wipe down front of dishwasher, stove, fridge and freezers
-Wipe off table
-Take out garbage
-Scrub kitchen sink
-Vacuum and mop
Tuesday
-Cook meals
-Put away clean dishes
-Load dishwasher
-Wash dishes
-Scrub countertops and freezer tops
-Wipe stovetop
-Scrub kitchen sink
-Wipe off table
-Take out garbage
-Clean microwave
-Vacuum
Wednesday
-Cook meals
-Put away clean dishes
-Load dishwasher
-Wash dishes
-Scrub countertops and freezer tops
-Wipe stove top
-Scrub kitchen sink
-Wipe off table
-Take out garbage
-Vacuum and clean window
-Vacuum and mop
Thursday
-Cook meals
-Put away clean dishes
-Load dishwasher
-Wash dishes
-Scrub countertops and freezer tops
-Wipe down front of dishwasher, stove, fridge and freezers
-Wipe stove top
-Scrub kitchen sink
-Wipe off table
-Take out garbage
-Clean under and behind microwave
-Vacuum
Friday
-Cook meals
-Put away clean dishes
-Load dishwasher
-Wash dishes
-Scrub countertops and freezer tops
-Wipe stovetop
-Organize cabinets--deep clean one
-Clean out one drawer
-Wipe off table
-Take out garbage
-Scrub kitchen sink
-Vacuum and mop
Saturday
-Cook meals
-Put away clean dishes
-Load dishwasher
-Wash dishes
-Scrub countertops and freezer tops
-Wipe stovetop
-Wipe off table and clean off buckets
-Take out garbage
-Clean out refrigerator
-Scrub kitchen sink
-Vacuum
Dining Room and Hallway
Monday
-clean up clutter
-set table
-clear table
-wipe off table and chairs
-clean high chair
-clean off all surface areas
(bench, shelves, bar, cabinet)
-vacuum
-mop
Tuesday
-clean up clutter
-set table
-clear table
-wipe off table and chairs
-clean high chair
-clean off all surface areas
-vacuum window sill
-vacuum floor
Wednesday
-clean up clutter
-set table
-clear table
-wipe off table and chairs
-clean high chair
-clean off all surface areas
-dust bottom of table and chairs
-dust other furniture
-vacuum
Thursday
-clean up clutter
-set table
-clear table
-wipe off table and chairs
-clean high chair
-dust chandelier
-clean windows and doors
Friday
-clean up clutter
-set table
-clear table
-wipe off table and chairs
-clean high chair
-clean off all surface areas
-dust all furniture
-vacuum--especially baseboards and molding
-mop
Saturday
-clean up clutter
-set table
-clear table
-wipe off table and chairs
-clean high chair
-clean off all surface areas
Den, School Room and Porch
Monday
-clean out from under furniture
-clean up clutter
-dust
-straighten books
-vacuum window sills
-vacuum couch and chairs
-vacuum floor
-spot mop with rag and spray bottle
Tuesday
-pick up clutter
-vacuum
Wednesday
-dust TV shelf
-clean up clutter
-clean glass and windows with vinegar
-vacuum
-clean off and sweep porch and deck
Thursday
-clean and dust toy shelves and bookshelves in schoolroom
-clean out from under furniture
-clean up clutter
-dust ceiling fans
-vacuum
-pick up trash in yard
Friday
-clean up clutter
-dust bookshelves, piano and cabinets
-clean off desk and school table
-clean out individual school space
-vacuum
-mop
-clean up yard toys
Bathroom Routines
Monday
-put your things away
-clean out your drawer
-scrub sink, faucet and knobs
-wipe off countertop
-clean mirrors and light fixtures
-scrub toilet
-scrub shower and door or scrub tub
-put towels in the laundry
-put out a fresh hand towel
-vacuum
-mop
Tuesday
-put your things away
-wipe down sink and countertop
Wednesday
-put your things away
-wipe down sink and countertop
-put out a fresh hand towel
-wipe down base boards
-vacuum
Thursday
-put your things away
-wipe down sink and countertop
-put towels in laundry
Friday
-put your things away
-clean out your drawer
-scrub sink, faucet and knobs
-wipe off countertop
-clean mirrors and light fixtures
-scrub toilet
-scrub shower and door or scrub tub
--put out a fresh hand towel
-vacuum
-mop
Saturday
-put your things away
-straighten cabinets
-clear out empty bottles
-wipe off countertop and sink
Laundry Detail
4 x 4= Do 4 loads of laundry by 4 in the afternoon!
Sorting and Washing Directions
-bath towels--wash in hot water with 1 heaping spoonful of detergent, one scoop of Oxyclean and a compartment full of vinegar--WASH ON MONDAY AND THURSDAY
-sheets- wash in hot water with 1 heaping spoonful of detergent, one scoop of Oxyclean and a compartment full of vinegar--WASH ON FRIDAY
-reds/oranges/purples-wash in warm water with 1 heaping spoonful of detergent, one scoop of Oxyclean and a compartment full of vinegar
-whites-wash in warm water with 1 heaping spoonful of detergent, one scoop of Oxyclean and a compartment full of vinegar
-wash clothes/white socks/light undies/dish towels--wash in hot water with 1 heaping spoonful of detergent, one scoop of Oxyclean and a compartment full of vinegar
-jeans and dark blue towels-wash in warm water with 1 heaping spoonful of detergent, one scoop of oxyclean and a compartment full of vinegar
-darks-wash in warm water with 1 heaping spoonful of detergent, one scoop of Oxyclean and a compartment full of vinegar
-greens-wash in warm water with 1 heaping spoonful of detergent, one scoop of Oxyclean and a compartment full of vinegar
-lights-wash in warm water with 1 heaping spoonful of detergent, one scoop of Oxyclean and a compartment full of vinegar
Monday and Thursday
-wipe off front of machines
-clean off top of machines,
-blow out dryer vent
-vacuum
-spot mop with rag and spray bottle
6 comments:
I have really been wanting to buy Large Family Logistics but wasn't sure if it had much more than I have already read from her through the on line magazine a few years ago and it was great I might add. I think I need to put this on a want list. I recently bought the Americas Cheapest Family book about grocery shopping and really like it. I noticed a few posts back that you mentioned something about your daughters curr. Would this be the Far ABove Rubies( tI may have the name wrong) it is I think for middle and high schoolers and is great for future homemakers. Just wondering if that was it and are you pleased with it. I always love to read your posts as they are very informative. Thanks, Missy
Hi Missy. I definitely think Large Family Logistics is worth it...especially if you can find it on sale. I used Far Above Rubies with my older girls and am eager to get started with my last daughter who will be 12 in May. Thanks for reading my blog!!
You are an inspiration! I found your blog through the Homemaking link-up, and your industrious family is so encouraging to me! Thank you for this snapshot of your routines!
http://mindofthemother.blogspot.com/
Wow you are one organized mama :-) I ordered the book, it's now in the mail, can't wait to read it!!!! Is it really a good one?
This is great!!! Thank you so much for sharing this and for linking up to my Simplicity Saturday, made my day!!! :).......I love the feeling of purging a room and getting all the clutter out, only thing...I usually wait too long to do it!! Blessings!!!
This is soooo wonderful!! I am going to print it up for me to use. I've been needing some helpful guidelines and this is just perfect! Thank you!!
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