source: Roy Luck

We’ve been talking about kids and chores lately. I shared our philosophy on whether chores should be tied to allowance, and Joshua shared a list of five everyday chores and why they’re important. And this morning I told you about a free online allowance-tracking tool.

I also want to share a bit more about our chore philosophy and “how” we get our kids to do their chores. Admittedly, it’s a little bit easier when pitching in is expected almost from birth (as it has been for our younger kids), but these are strategies you could use with any pre-school or elementary aged children.

Make It Routine

One of the most important part of Joshua’s post was this line:

They are just typical household chores that require our daily attention. But the more often we encourage our kids to see them as such, the more likely they are to develop these life-improving habits.

This is our goal for giving our children chores. It’s not to make our lives easier (because while there are times it does, it often requires a lot more effort to teach and help them do something than to just do it ourselves), but to give them the skills and habits to carry them into adulthood.

Chores are just part of everyday life, and that’s how we treat them. We want them to get used to cleaning up after themselves, leaving a room better than when they came, and doing all of those little things that they’re probably going to have to do for the rest of their lives — dishes and laundry and making their bed, etc.

Don’t Expect Them to Remember

And that brings me to my second point — and one of the keys to successfully giving kids chores: we don’t expect them to remember the things they’re supposed to do or do them without prompting. Our kids are seven and under, so that seems a bit unrealistic. Expecting them to do things without being asked is setting us all up for failure and conflict.

Instead, we ask them to do something when we want them to do it. We follow daily routines, so they know when to expect things in general — and we’re not dictatorial about it, requiring that they drop everything at our whim — but when it’s time to put the laundry away, we simply ask them to take the laundry basket up, fold the clothes and put them away. If they’re in the middle of something — for now — I keep the basket and remind them when they’re done.

At some point this will change and the onus to remember will be on them (and we’re already laying the foundation for that with some of our routines that have been in place longer, such as brushing hair and teeth in the morning), but for now the goal is not to have them remember what they’re supposed to do and do it without reminding; it’s to have them learn the skills and practice habits for the future.

Work Together

Similarly, chores are a family affair in our house. We’re often all working at the same time, and we share different parts of various routines (such as laundry, which everybody helps with in some way or another).

For example, Sean and our oldest daughter load the dishwasher together everyday. He rinses, she puts the silverware in the dishwasher. What seven-year-old girl wouldn’t want one-on-one time with dad, especially when she’s made to feel like an important part of the team in the process?

I’ve mentioned our after dinner routine before, but that’s another time when we’re all working together. Sean cleans up the kitchen or sweeps, I work on laundry or clearing clutter in general, and the girls put away toys, dirty laundry, etc. I know it seems unrealistic to call chores fun, but there is a definite energy that comes from all working together that makes them easier and, yes, sometimes even fun!

Focus on the Privilege of Responsibility

One thing that has really worked in our favor — and we didn’t even do it on purpose in the beginning, honestly — was to treat certain chores as a privilege. We encourage our kids to be faithful in the little things if they want the opportunity to work on chores that they consider more appealing. For example, our seven-year-old has been asking to do the dishes with dad for probably six months. We used that as an opportunity to encourage her to do the chores she did have without complaining or arguing and then she was allowed to join Dad to help with the dishes once she did that.

I’m not sure that this one will always work, but for now — at an age when they’re eager to help — it works perfectly!

Lower Your Expectations

When I mentioned on Facebook that my two oldest daughters had taken over folding and putting away their own laundry, one of the replies was that I might regret it when I saw the state of the drawers.

But here’s the thing: before I passed the baton to them on that chore, I decided that I would be okay with messier, imperfect drawers. And at this point, they’re actually doing a pretty good job, both because of their personalities (like their mama, they like things in order!) and because we have fewer clothes, so they each only have one drawer of clothes to deal with.

Expecting perfection from young children will result in frustrations all around. I’m a big believer that children rise to expectations — a byproduct of my Montessori education, I’m sure — but I also think it’s worth lowering my standards in order to give them a chance to learn!

source: D. Sharon Pruitt

Chores by Age

Here are a list of chores broken down by age, based on what our kids do (with some input from Shaina at Food for My Family based on what her kids do as well). These will no doubt vary by family, but hopefully this gives you a starting point to know what other people do and consider chores for your own family.

2 to 3 year olds:

• put toys away
• put clothes in laundry basket
• throw things in trash
• hang up coat and put away shoes
• put their dishes on counter after meals

4 year olds:

• everything above, plus…
• clean toys from under the couch
• sort toys
• make bed
• dust
• set/clear the table
• sort socks

5 to 6 year olds:

• everything above, plus…
• straighten shoes/coats
• fold/put away laundry
• fold napkins
• wipe table
• give pets food/water
• water plants

7 to 8 year olds:

• everything above, plus…
• vacuum
• help load/put away dishes
• wipe down bathroom sink/tub
• sweep

Of course the oldest isn’t expected to do everything on the list, but she does know how, and we rotate chores based on what’s needed at the time!

How do you handle chores in your home? What chores would you add to my list?

	Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life…Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

Chores for Kids: How We Do It is a post from Life...Your Way

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The following post is from Joshua of Becoming Minimalist:

Source:Clogozm

Hey look, I get it. Kids and chores don’t always play together very well. Some days, it can be a downright battle to get kids to complete their duties around the house. I have two young children myself (9 & 5), and I know firsthand that getting kids to do chores around the house is often times easier said than done. But it’s a battle worth fighting. It teaches kids proper work ethic, responsibility, time management, and the importance of family.

Around our house, we have “daily” chores for our kids and “weekly” chores. For some parents, it can be so difficult to get kids to complete any chores at home that the thought of requiring daily chores may sound like too much to ask. But we believe there are a number of benefits to having kids complete their chores on a daily basis:

• Chores are more likely to become routine when they are completed on a daily basis.
• Most household chores take far less time when they are completed daily rather than weekly.
• Children learn that life requires daily maintenance.
• Children get used to living in an organized environment… and are more likely to desire it.
• Children learn responsibility and the importance of caring for things they own.
• Children begin to recognize that “cleaning up” is the last step of any project.
• Children begin to quickly appreciate you and your daily sacrifice as parents (just kidding… though I do hope that comes sometime down the road).

With that in mind, consider encouraging your kids to Complete these 5 Simple Chores Every Single Day. They aren’t big, fancy, new, or impressive. They are just typical household chores that require our daily attention. But the more often we encourage our kids to see them as such, the more likely they are to develop these life-improving habits.

1. Make the bed. No hospital bed corners required. Instead, just put the covers and pillows back in place… and get on with your day.

2. Put the clothes away. Coats and shoes in the closet. Pants, shirts and underwear in the dirty clothes pile. Nothing more, nothing less. And nothing laying on the floor.

3. Clear/Clean the dishes. I used to consider cleaning the kitchen as its own unique chore. But my mindset towards the task changed considerably when I began to view it as just the last step of eating a meal. Prepare, enjoy, clean. Hopefully, involving our children in the process makes them realize the same.

4. Tidy up the bathroom. Bathrooms can get so cluttered. Too many people with too many tools working in too small of a space. We’ve found a simple remedy: tidy up every time you leave. Hygiene products return to their home. And little messes/misses are wiped up before you leave.

5. Put the toys/crafts away. Every toy has a home and every toy should find its place back there at the end of the day. Granted, there are some extenuating circumstances that may impact the completion of this every day, but as a general rule: if you used it, return it.

You’ll notice that none of these chores take too much time or effort to complete if done right away. But that’s the point… most household chores don’t if we direct daily energy towards them.

What chores do you require of your kids on a daily/weekly basis? (Be sure to include your kids’ ages in your comment.)

	Joshua Becker inspires and encourages others to live with less on his blog, Becoming Minimalist. He has also authored two e-books, Simplify and Inside-Out Simplicity. But more importantly, he loves his wife and two small children.

5 Simple Chores for Kids to Complete Everyday is a post from Life...Your Way

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This giveaway is now closed! The winner is Carmen (sweepluv09@…)!

Can recycled office products save the world? Maybe not. But by creating products from recycled materials that are 100% recyclable and strong, they can keep 60 million pounds of toxic material from landfills each year improving air quality and preserving forests and wild spaces.

Here’s how:

Naked Binders are made in the USA from 100% recycled, 97-100% post-consumer waste board which means all Naked Binder products are 100% recyclable. They are proud to use FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified board when making their 3-ring binders and folders and are happy to be members of 1% For The Planet in which they donate part of proceeds to environmental organizations striving to preserve the wild spaces we all love.

A sustainable binder should also be strong and good looking, so Naked Binder designed them to be both. The Naked Binder is crafted from one piece of board with the hinge pressed directly into it. This leaves no weak spots on the binder and makes for a super strong 3-ring binder.  An independent lab flexed the Naked Binder 250,000 times without failing which means if you use this binder 20 times a day for 34 years, you still will not break the hinge. Now that’s strong.

So, whether you’re buying a few for the shelf at home or cases for the office, you can be sure that your purchase, not only stylish, will go on to help the greater good.

Features:

• Made in the USA
• Round or  square binder spines
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Choose from a variety of colors and sizes for all of your needs!

Enter to Win

This week, Naked Binder is giving one lucky Life…Your Way reader a set to try for themselves, including: a Naked Binder, a Naked Notebook Binder, a Project Binder, a set of Naked Tabs and a set of Notebook Tabs!

To enter, tell me what you’d organize with your Naked Binders!

This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, 2/3. The winner will be selected randomly and notified by email, and this post will be updated with their name as well!

Giveaway: Get Organized with a Set of Naked Binders is a post from Life...Your Way

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source: sindesign

I’ve been blogging in this space — first Organizing Your Way and then Life…Your Way — for over three years now, and there are some great posts in the archives that don’t get much attention anymore. This week, I’ll be sharing some of my favorites. Whether you’ve been around since the beginning or are a new reader, I think you’ll enjoy them!

When I made the decision in December (2008) to finally launch Organizing Your Way, which had been a dream of mine for many, many months, I had no idea that I would be facing extreme nausea and exhaustion in January and February. As it turns out, we found out we were expecting a baby just weeks after the official launch, and as my morning sickness increased, so did my need for sleep!

Because I had just launched this blog, a project I was very excited about, I worked hard to continue to provide quality content through the morning sickness, although you’ll definitely see my post counts dip there at the peak of it all. However, I’m the first to admit that I can’t do it all, and the organizing and decluttering around my own house took a backseat.

I learned an important lesson during the past two months – maintaining an organized home means you invest a little bit of time each day, week and month in your system.

Organizing is not a one-time task that you complete and never have to revisit. It’s something that requires maintenance, and the degree to which you’re willing to invest in that maintenance directly correlates to how long your system will last.

What I’ve noticed in our home is despite the fact that we don’t have a lot of disposable income, we seem to be acquiring stuff at an alarming pace, and there is clutter around every corner (some of which is left over from the Christmas season and a December that kicked our butt with several medical issues that needed our attention more than our home did).

All of that to say I don’t necessarily feel like my home is all that organized as I sit here today. And I’ve been okay with that because there have been other things that have needed my time, energy and attention.

But now, as my energy is returning and my nausea seems to be slowly decreasing, the clutter is starting to call my name. I’m having a harder time looking past it as I go about my day, and I’m feeling the urge to start cleaning out every cabinet, closet and crevice of our house to get rid of the unnecessary stuff (which I know sounds a lot like nesting but in this case is actually just a reflection of my type-A personality!).

And because the clutter has been neglected for three months – and not, say, three years – I know that it will only take me a weekend or two of quickly going through each area to get back on top of it all.

How about you? Do you approach organizing as an ongoing task, or have you always thought of it as a one-time event? Does this perspective make sense to you, or does it seem overwhelming?

	Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life…Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

Organizing as a Lifestyle Rather Than an Event is a post from Life...Your Way

© 2010-2012 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Organizing Your Way subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please send an email to contact@yourway.net to let us know. Thanks.