This blog is about our adventures as a large family. We have fourteen kids in our family. Not every one lives at home. Sometimes life is easy and sometimes its weary to the bone hard.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
sooooo
I made up these cute little cards and they just pick one. on the other side is a chore. whichever card they pick thats the chore they do. I guess I finally figured out no one is going to come to me and say Mom lets do chores! so I just have to make them. if we all do chores together it takes 10 minutes to make it look clean in here. so one card says sweep, one says trash(that means pick up all stray trash on the floor. you would be surprised how much accrues in one day!), one says shoes(toss all the shoes in shoe cabinet), one says toys(pick up all toys), one says laundry(again just pick up stray laundry and toss in laundry room), and stairs(clean the trash and whatnot off stairs.), and books(gather all the books and put back on shelf) takes ten minutes tops. after the vacuuming we dump all the clean clothes on the floor and each kid takes their stuff. Anything left after Last Call goes away. so far only a few stray socks and underpants that have already been through several kids have been tossed. It was so nice the other day to come home to a clean house since we did chores before we left for the day. its a start. the clothes in their rooms is still a problem. but there are just too many kids in each room. 5 girls in a room have a LOT of clothes! 4 boys also have a lot(altough less since I took out long sleeved tops and heavy sweaters) so when we move there will be no more than 3 in a room. THAT will help. pick up some dressers at goodwill when we get there. THAT will help. there just isnt enough space here.
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I love the "pick a card" idea! Clothes are a hard thing when you have multiple children, aren't they? Our challenge is storage as well. I am good about getting them washed/folded straight from the dryer, our issue is getting them put away. I've started putting the clothes into laundry baskets (rolled vs folded, and stacked sideways so that they can grab the one they want without riffling through a pile) and have been sliding them under the bed. The cheapest rectangle laundry baskets from wal mart are low enough to fit beneath. Best Wishes!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy you have found an idea that works. And them picking their own card is brilliant - then it is not YOU giving out the tasks, but them choosing themselves. I know of other large families who divide up chores this way, and the work gets done so quickly, and even little ones can help. I am sure that you are feeling much better for having some success in this area.
ReplyDeleteAnother idea I have heard of is sorting clothes into hanging baskets, shelves, where one day's clothes are all together; repeated for the seven days of the week. Excess clothes can be stored for an emergency. That way the decision about clothes is only made once a week. I love to hear about your family, and empathise with you through the adjustments necessary when adding multiple children into your family. Blessings.
Melissa I tried rolling under the bed baskets from target but they couldnt keep them straight and when what they wanted wasnt on top they tossed them all on the floor anyways. now they just wear dirty clothes because I wont go in their room and sort clean from dirty(and they dont care) if it has food or snot ALL OVER IT I wont let them wear it but otherwise if it isnt in the laundry room(and put there by them) then it isnt dirty. Laundry party seems to be working. I only wash dry and put in basket them dump them all out for them to take their own and put where it needs to go. I take care of mine erics and sophies, towels and kitchen towels. I just cant wait till summer when they dont have to get up and hurry to find clothes!
ReplyDeleteHi! I have found that behavorial charts work well. My children can track their progress easier because they can see it daily.I feel seeing it is a good motivator for them to work to achieve their goals they are working on.Based upon the progress they are making they can pick either to do a one on one activity with me or a gift card to walmarts to buy themself a gift.I have a social worker who also has input with this behaviorial program and the programs goals and rewards are changed as my chldren change.Good luck, Pat
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