The Chore Jar

We're trying a new approach to cleaning the house this year. Three weeks in, I have to say, I think I like it. It has some downsides, which I'll get to in a minute.

The simple details: we do school Monday-Thursday, so Friday morning is "cleaning day." I wrote down every chore I could think of that 4- to 9-year-olds can do, each one on a popsicle stick, and popped them in a jar. After breakfast, they start picking jobs, and we keep going till it's done, about 30-40 minutes. (Many hands really do make light work!)

Three boys and a knight with their popsicle sticks.

While they attend to their chores, I hover in the kitchen, answering questions (which cloth do I use?) and cleaning things they can't reach. I also do the sweeping, because I'm never satisfied when any of them do it. Definitely Levi ought to be able to sweep efficiently by now, but . . . I'm allowed to keep a few things aside to assuage my perfectionism, right?

Because I'm not following up on any of them. This isn't exactly what you'd call good training. I am choosing to believe, at this stage of our lives, that if all of them are wiping down various surfaces with a Norwex cloth in hand, then things are at least getting cleanER if not completely clean. They're learning about cooperation and helping the family, anyway, and the whole house is noticeably cleaner on Fridays. I'm calling that a win.

Here's what's on our sticks:

• empty bathroom trash cans
• wipe doorknobs and lightswitches
• shake out kitchen rugs outside
• dust family room
• wipe dining room chairs
• dust baseboards
• wipe appliances (stove, dishwasher, refrigerator)
• wipe bathrooms (toilet seat/rim, sinks, counters)
• empty recycling (a box we keep in the family room to help control the paper accumulation)
• wipe dining room table
• wash sliding glass door
• dust bedrooms
• vacuum area rugs (with one of those roller-types that doesn't use electricity)
• wipe kitchen cupboard doors
• pick 5 things off the floor and put them away (this one goes back in the jar until everyone has picked it once)
• mop kitchen/dining room

And here are the downsides:

• As mentioned above, I'm not training them to clean well.
• Sometimes, "wipe table" gets picked after "mop kitchen," and then the floor is crumby again. But since it's going to get messy again in an hour when we eat lunch, I don't fret too much. I sweep frequently throughout the week, but most thoroughly on Fridays before mopping.
• We host small group on Wednesdays, and sometimes on Mondays. Cleaning well on Friday doesn't guarantee anything for a Wednesday. I can't change the schedule right now, though. We're just going to have to get better at a quick tidy on Wednesday afternoons.

Also, just to note, this is not the only day they have chores. They're each responsible for wiping down the bathrooms one day a week, and they each have a day to help me in the kitchen before meals. Levi and Toby empty the dishwasher together, Levi moves laundry into the dryer, and they all do a toy/book clean-up every night before bed. Even still, I feel like there's more they could be doing to contribute to our general household maintenance.

So: what else do you think kids ages four to nine can do?? I'd love to hear your ideas!