Chore Chart

Thanks to a gentle suggestion from my mother, which at first I took exception to, but then realized she was correct, we are attempting to formalize the sharing of housework we all do. The other four people who live in The Shoebox, who are not Ginnie, are very willing to help with chores…when asked.

The person who lives in The Shoebox who is Ginnie, gets really tired of asking.

So, Buds came up with a great way to balance this issue.

We had a family meeting where I shared my frustration, and the crew came through like the champs they are. Ideas for jobs that could be shared, and how to make the process work flowed fast and free.

Then, Buds created the beautiful wall chart for us so we would all be accountable to each other.

It’s only been three days, but I’m loving this already. The kids are super willing to do the work, and after working through some jobs together for a couple weeks, they will have them mastered.

Much like with potty-training, I think waiting until now was helpful in some ways. The kids were very open to it, and I’m realizing that for years I just did the jobs myself because I wanted them done quickly or in a certain way. It may be that I will still want them done in a certain way, but part of that is just teaching another person to do a job. There needs to be a process, then the kids can create their own options.

For those of you who have children who have been helping with tasks for years…great job. I’m grateful to be joining your ranks, but not sorry that it didn’t happen until now.