What Tricks Do You Use To Help Your House Run Smoothly (or smoother)?

[she-earl]

We are a small family. I have a dry erase magnetic marker board on the refrigerator with a column for each day of the week. Each family member has their own color maker and their activities or events are put under the proper day. That way at a glance you can see what the week's schedule is. When the task is done it can just be wiped off the board. At the end of the day, anything not completed is "dumped" onto the next day. Then the day just completed is marked with the schedule for a week later. We have found this to be very helpful.

 

[HennysMom]

Oh gosh - I cannot live by a calendar schedule at ALL - it just doesnt work in this house, too structured for me

The only calendar we have is for drs appointments or school functions, thats it.

Chores:

I do most of them but the kids do have assigned ones as well:

DD (18) has dishes 2-3 times a week, bathroom on Tues/Thurs, Feed chickens every day, clean coop on Tues/Thurs/Sun. She must do her own laundry and keep her room clean - feed cat, change cat box.

DS (10) helps with cat, empties trash, keeps his room clean, dusts and vaccuums when we tell him to. He tends the chickens (again when told, he's a little afraid of them) but he does get the eggs.

As a family unit: we all do yardwork (leaves, pick up sticks, rocks, etc) for mowing time. DS vetches about that but...he's 10 so..I expect it.

My philosophy is we all live here - we all dirty it up - so we are all expected to clean it. My kids do not get an "allowance" persae for doing their chores - they will get paid for doing things over and ABOVE their chores however. They dont need an allowance as we provide what they need, but if they want something special or extra spending money - then yes, they must do other things to obtain those extra funds (wash the car, cut grass on their own, cook dinner, etc).

Its how we were raised and how they are raised as well.

 

[CountryMom]

Being a home school Mom and traveling most weekends to horse shows doesn't leave a whole lot of time for a beautifully perfect home. I would say ours is a place of constant progress. Progress on school projects, progress on laundry (we call Mount Washington), progress on meals, and progress on packing/unpacking. All three of my children help with chores both inside and outsides. Rule of thumb for the outside critters is that if you don't take care of them you don't keep them. I have only had to enforce this once and it changed things greatly. Inside is a battle, but it is better now that the kids are getting older. I like the room rescue, 15 minute pick up, or zoobidy zoo as we sometimes call it. A timer is a wonderful motivator. I like Flylady, but just can't always stick to a schedule as our lives change quickly with animals and all the traveling we do.

 

[serendipity22]

Thank you for so many great responses! Please keep them coming! It's really helping me figure out a strategy as well as seeing what I am doing right and what needs tweaking.

 

[Donnadzitall]

I use the website and emails from flylady.com. I run a daycare out of my home and I NEED to be told what to do sometimes! LOL! Anyhoo, she has the you can do anything in 15 minutes attitude. I live by it MOST days, of course like anyone else, I fall off the wagon here and there. Check it out, alot of good ideas including calendars and menus.

 

[ChevygirlBeth]

There are a lot of great ideas on here! I'll have to try to remember some of them for when DH and I start having kids!

My mom had chore lists and such for us growing up. We always had to help - it was part of living there. I'm glad she raised us that way. She had one thing that she did on Saturdays every now and then to change things up. She would take put the chores that needed done (vacuum livingroom, sweep and scrub kitchen floor, clean the bathroom, etc,) on little strips of paper. They would be folded up and put into a jar (we called it the "job jar"). Each kid would draw a chore out of the jar and go do it. When that chore was done, you drew another, and another until all the chores were done. Mom also threw in some little surprises now and then (a few "take a break," "have a popsicle," or something along those lines). It seemed to make cleaning the house go quickly.

 

[me&thegals]

That's a wonderful idea, Chevygirlbeth

I love the fun "chores" mixed in with the real work. I think that hits on something really important for having a smoothly run home: Make life fun! If there's something fun to look forward to at the end of the work, it sure makes the work more fun and fast.

 

[mom'sfolly]

At our house:

The kids clean their bathroom and the downstairs powder room, each boy cleans his own sink in the shared bath because Sam is a pig and Nick is tidier.

Laundry not in the hamper doesn't get done, no exceptions. There are four hampers: red, blue, green and white. Clothes are presorted and put in the hampers each evening.

Everyone in the house puts away their own clothes, the kids often fold their clothes.

Kids are expected to clean their rooms.

I do the cooking, and I plan ahead. I also do a lot of cooking of things for the freezer, so on the busy days I just have to nuke something.

Kids get an allowance but it is independent of the chores. You do chore because you are part of the household, and you can help out.

 

[hennypenny9]

I was thinking about this, and I realized something my mom did that was actually a "trick." She actually never really used the word "chore." All the things that needed to get done were just stuff. Laundry, cleaning, whatever. She is also so darn happy. Seriously, she'd be doing the dishes, listening to the radio LAUGHING and smiling. So there was never this negative vibe about housework. And if I got to help cooking, I got so happy! (I still went through a horrible "teenage" phase, though)



This of course, doesn't apply on this forum, 'cause you all rock. But I see others doing it, and it just can't be helping!

I see so many grumpy parents, that no wonder their kids have bad attitudes! When a little girl is happy and talking, and the mom says "Can you just be quiet, I can't deal with this right now!" I get really sad. Again, not you guys!

 

[warmfuzzies]

I am definitely not an expert on this! I have weekly 'fits' about the state of my house. I HATE clutter and dirtyness, but I am seriously the worst housekeeper ever!

Anyway, the thing I have found that keeps me the sanest: Figure out what one or two things are your triggers, and fix them. The reast of it will either fall into place or it wont matter so much anyway!

For me, I realized that I spent a lot of time cleaning and stressing, and making lists and charts. And then I thought about what really bugged me most, and it is a messy kitchen, and not having healthy, homeade meals made on time.

So, I decided my goals were going to be getting supper on the table every night, (No frozen pizza!) and having the kitchen clean after every meal.

When this happens, I feel like everything is in order. And, I am so happy to see my clean kitchen, that I juast naturally WANT to clean up other stuff!

So, what I try to do every day:
-Clean Kitchen first thing after breakfast
-30 min pick up of house
-Plan supper in morning

I have three kiddos, and the oldest just turned four. I give them alot of jobs. They need to work, it makes them happy to be needed.

Now, if I could just stay of BYC and do it....