I posted this picture of the bathroom chore chart on my
Facebook page today. I am *so* sick of cleaning up after other people! (This system, by the way, is only partially successful -- the kids don't actually have enough money to pay up every time they leave the bathroom a mess, but the reminder of the threat that I *will* collect generally works. A copy of it is in each bathroom.)
So, vegans or near vegans or
whatevers -- what tricks do you have up your sleeves to get your people to pick up? Or have you miraculously raised paragons of virtue? Or are you just really tight with mess and just live with it? (I'm a Virgo, I can't go there.)
:)
We have started making Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays "pick up days." They know those days are ones we will pick up their rooms and the playroom and that we will all do it together. Zach and Maia are down with the program, but Rowan is quite difficult! It takes about an hour to get the rooms thoroughly GI'd -- but I think doing it 3x per week rather than daily is far more tolerable for all of us.
ReplyDeleteAs far as not smearing toothpaste on the sink and not flushing the loo, well, I've decided that comes with kids and I just try to remind them kindly to wipe up the toothpaste or flush the toilet if they are nearby. If the kids are out of sight, I just take care of it.
In terms of laundry -- which I find positively never-ending!! -- I wash daily but put away only about once per week. That has required me to have several huge laundry baskets and to tolerate these sitting around with nicely folded clothing until the mood moves me to put it all away.
If you figure out how to get anyone else interested in putting laundry away, let me know!
I am trying - trying - to foster a communal sense of housework. It might be your toothpaste, it might be mine, but please do a swipe of the sink with a paper towel when you leave the bathroom.
ReplyDeleteOur boys, 13 and 10, do the laundry as do my husband and I. (okay, mostly my hubbie) They also regularly load and empty the dishwasher, along with me and my hubbbie doing the same.
A family is, essentially, a commune. Communal living requires the ability to clean up after one another.
As far as I can tell, you either get a messy kid or an everything in it's place kid. We have one of each. They just seem to have come that way. The older one maintains a meticulous lifestyle and the younger would let moss grow in the toilet bowl. So, I guess I'm saying it's internal wiring ... can't claim to have overcome nature. :-)
ReplyDelete50 Something Guy has a point!
ReplyDelete