Intentional Housekeeping Part 8: Organizing Chores for Kids

My how time has flown! I can't believe it's already been a week and time for another installment of Intentional Housekeeping. I hope you are implementing some systems in your home for yourself and your children. And if you already have systems in place, it never hurts to tweak them from time to time.

This week I'm sharing our summer work schedule with you. As I mentioned before, during the school year, we go light on chores. Our children are in public schools and for those of you who have this in common with us, you know how little time is left in the day once homework, dinner, showers and quality time are done.

So during the school year, I pick one afternoon or a weekend morning and create a short list of things I need help with. I assign the chores, we all dive in and that's it. Other than taking care of their own things and the occasional pick up session, they don't do much.

But when summer comes....well, summer time is a whole different story. This is the time of year I use to teach new skills, hone ones already learned and work on responsibility/accountability.

During the summer, I have a weekly chore chart and a kitchen clean-up  chart. On the weekly chart I have five inside chores and five outside chores. Each child is assigned one of each and we rotate each week so that everyone has a chance to do every chore at least once.  As you can see, I outline each chore and the expectations at the bottom.

We usually start on Monday and everyone works at the same time. Then throughout the week, it is up to them to keep up with it at their own discretion. If it comes to the end of the week and they have not maintained their assigned task, their time becomes my time and they work according to my schedule (which I make sure I plan for a time when others are playing freely).

This summer I will change the chores up a bit to train in new areas, and I will also make everyone responsible for folding/hanging their own laundry.

We also follow a kitchen routine. I have four nightly kitchen chores: set the table, clear the table, sweep the floors, rinse the dishes. Again, I list at the bottom of the chart the expectations for each chore. I take care of Sunday and Monday nights, and then the children rotate the rest of the week, each having one more night off.

Since creating this routine, it seems the kids have really taken to it. They enjoy checking the chart each week to see what they were assigned and they like knowing exactly what's expected of them. They also like knowing that once done, they are FREE!!

Next week is our last installment of Intentional Housekeeping and we'll cover what I feel to be the MOST IMPORTANT element of maintaining a stress-free, organized and productive home. You won't want to miss it!

And as a special treat, I'll be giving away two copies of  Housekeeping Skills for Kids by Davidene Humphreys to two readers. She has some great ideas for teaching your children household skills without feeling like you're working twice as hard.


While I don't use her exact formula, I do tweak some of her ideas to work for my own family as well as use her recommendations for age appropriate skills.

Mrs. Humphreys has been a stay-at-home mome to four children, a writer, speaker and Bible study teacher. She now spends her time being a grandma, writing and speaking. She lives right here in Oklahoma with her husband, Kent.

To enter this giveaway, just leave a comment this week telling me what you have enjoyed most in the Intentional Housekeeping series. Don't forget to leave your email if it is not included in your login profile information. The giveaway will end Wednesday, January 20 at midnight CST. I will announce the winner in next week's  Intentional Housekeeping.