Monday, July 27, 2009

How do I get more help cleaning my house?


With summer here and the kids always here, my house has turned into a war zone. Remnants of the snack eaten after lunch litter the family room carpet. Barbie houses designed by the girls fill the downstairs den and could never be thought of being picked up because "It took so long to put it together". Puzzles that have been put together are not allowed back in their boxes because they want to enjoy looking at their hard work in physical form. Clothing that has been dirtied from outside play waits in line by the washing machine that never seems empty. Wet towels from the beach or the pool need to be constantly washed and dried. Pens, pencils and colors that were missed when the girls "cleaned up" seem to find their way into your bare feet while making the beds or when carrying a load of laundry.

I've had it!

My mother always had a day of the week when we cleaned: a time to dust, a time to fold, a time to empty the dishwasher. Although it was only her and I for many of the years of my childhood and not much mess ensued, we did our duty to keep the house as clean as we could find time for.

Last night, as it tried to relax on my back porch, my youngest daughter wanted to play cards. As I look around at the shambles my house had become since summer vacation began, my blood pressure started to rise. From somewhere deep down, a fire was beginning to burn and at some point my voice was destined to get loud-- real loud. I tried to calm myself down by getting up out of the chair I just settled into, after cleaning up some mess destined to be in my sight, and began busying myself again. Attacking the mound of books sitting on the kitchen table, she came at me again.

"Mommy, will you play cards with me." This is all it took for me to snap!

I had enough. While every other person in the house watched TV, made a paper craft with glitter, or found a way to stain the carpet in the den by some new, different way, it came. My voice had found its volume and the attention in the house was all on mom. By the time the cleaning extravaganza was over and my notebook was in front of me, I asked myself a question.

Why didn't we have one day of the week we cleaned the house? This would be the best option in getting everyone involved in the clean-up of process in the home we all shared. This could lessen my load, I thought. As I sat with my notebook, I became interested in what chores other parents have for their children.

I have tried allowing my oldest to unload the dishwasher and something always seems to get broken. Folding clothes is another chore that never seems to find a bidder. How about putting the clothes away? I feel as if it's more difficult to get this job done than pulling teeth.

What's your cleaning routine at your house? Is this a weekly things, need by need basis or maybe it never gets done?

How about your children's ages? How does this affect what they can and cannot do?


Help!!


3 comments:

  1. My son is 15 - but he has had chores his whole life, he started very young helping with things. The trick is to make them pay attention to what they are doing, so it is done correctly. You will have to make sure they don't have the mentality of "If I do it wrong enough times, I will never have to do it again" so instead of fixing what doesn't get done right, they have to do it over and over until it is correct.

    Worked for me! Of course, all kiddos are different - good luck with it!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm in the same boat ... four kids ages 11, 8, 4, and newborn. While I try to get them to clean up after themselves, they usually only actually do it when I start screaming at the top of my lungs. We do sort laundry into separate baskets for each of them and they put away their own clothes. We do laundry constantly so this is definitely an every day thing. I tried throwing away everything I find on the floor that they leave out and it didn't phase them at all. I finally decided that I was just wasting my own money that way. Basically I clean up after them and hope that as they get older, I can teach them to clean up more. My oldest does have a lot of chores - he feeds the dog and mows the yard and takes out the trash - they just aren't cleaning chores. Good luck to you and let us know if you find anything that works :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I don't have kids, yet...so I can't be any help there, but I do some chore memories to share. I remember when I was 12, begging my mom during the evening news to wash my favorite shirt for school the next day. She fumed and let us know she was sick of the huge piles of laundry that never got done and how my brother and I always seemed to need something washed right before bedtime. I told her that I would be willing to do my own laundry if she would teach me. I really just wanted the power to not have to rely on her for my clothes...I was an "independent" child that already knew everything. After a few weeks, my brother wanted to learn to do his own and then even my dad said that if the kids could do it then he could to. I remember making a poster for my dad with step by step instructions! Now days at home alone with my mom, he washes daily. He can't hardly stand it if there is something in the hamper. My mom says he practically follows around waiting for her to dirty a towel! I also remember my mom getting so sick of our messy rooms...with trails dredged through the mess to get to our closets and beds. She would let us switch bedrooms so that we would have to clean out. My mom got her wish of clean rooms (temporarily) and we were excited to get to choose a new comforter and some posters for our new room. We were all winners!

    ReplyDelete