Every Monday is Family Happiness Tip Day, where I share something that’s worked for us, and you’re welcome to try it with your family as well.
Today’s tip is to divvy up household chores and insist that they’re done daily. It takes a lot to keep a house relatively clean, in good repair, and fairly tidy. And just because you’re the adult does not mean you should do it all! Make sure everyone contributes. Even small children can put their toys away. Not only will this keep the house clean, it will teach a healthy work ethic and demonstrate the value of sharing responsibilities.
It’s up to you whether your family is three or four or six or eight separate individuals living under one roof, or one cohesive team. Sure, teams have fun—but they pitch in to share the load. We’ve explained to the kids (sometimes over and over!) that everyone needs to help out so the house is a comfortable, safe place to live. And it doesn’t hurt that they see us scrubbing, straightening and organizing too.
What are your tips for keeping the house neat?
I have 3 16 year olds in my house. we have them on a monthly chore that we rotate, besides laundry and room cleaning. How do I make sure that I divvy the daily chores (i.e. bathrooms) and make it fair to all. They are all over the place and not always home because of events and such. Please, I need advice to have a peaceful cohesive home. Thanks for any help you can offer!
Ughhh…a perennial challenge for sure, Beth! And I fully understand having everyone on different schedules with varying workloads. Have you tried facilitating a discussion where they all try to work out an equitable solution? I’ve found that since they’re the ones who notice what the others are doing (or not doing) — and often harbor resentment — it helps to have them hash it out and come to some agreement, building in their own commitments and penalties. That’s basically how my guys have worked out after-dinner clean-up, monitoring and reminding each other and negotiating their own “if you do this tonight, I’ll do it tomorrow night” deals. Wish I had a better system to suggest;) Best of luck, thanks for writing and happy new year!