Saturday Is A Special Day

I have to admit that for many years now I have found Saturdays to be a particularly painful time. It has always meant "lots of chores/low fun" for me. Houses to clean, grass to mow, weeds to pull, groceries to buy, baths to be taken, blah, blah, blah. And it seemed like my darling hubby ended up with the outside chores in the blazing sun and I ended up doing inside chores in the stifling dust and the kids ended up somewhere in between getting into messes. Well, we have tried something new and it has changed my world and my "Saturday" attitude. I thought I'd share...

Saturday morning we all wake up, eat a delicious breakfast together, and then organize ourselves on to teams. One grown-up per one child. (Or one big kid with one little kid if you have "big" kids!) There can be more than one child on a team but the point is to have AT LEAST 2 people working together. We then decided what the fantastic reward is that we are working towards...a snow cone, fun field trip, treat at the store, picnic, etc. Each team is handed a list of "Must Do's". Our list has the following things on it:

1) Make bed
2) Clean Room
3) Get Dressed

Then we have a "Mystery" can (which is actually an old raisin can) that is filled with 6 "clues". (Can you tell my 2 boys came up with portions of this game?) The 6 clues are additional chores that need to be done in the house. The idea is that you start with your "Must Do" list and then you go pick a clue/chore from the can. Once you have finished your list & done 3 chores from the mystery can, you are done. Finished. No more work and lots more fun.

The kitchen timer is set for ONE HOUR and the start button is pushed. When that timer goes off, we are done. If there are chores not finished then they are left for the following week or another day. The idea is for each team to compete against the TIMER, not each other. We have not had a week where we haven't finished our chores and we work faster and more efficiently. After chores inside, we put cleaning stuff away and head out for our "reward"! I can't believe how spectacular our house looks, how well the jobs get done, and how much my attitude has changed about cleaning the house. Doing together as a family with everyone helping has been fantastic. Let me point out the serious benefits:

a) Doing something TOGETHER is so much easier and more fun than being sent off alone.

b) I get one-on-one time with a different child each week and we spend the whole hour talking about stuff, singing songs, and telling the dumbest jokes you have ever heard. I love the time alone with my kids!

c) I am really teaching/training my kids how to do the chores around the house. My kids are working right next to me cleaning toilets, sinks, bathtubs, vacuuming stairs and floors, washing windows, organizing playrooms...nothing is off limits. I feel like they are really learning how to do these chores and will hopefully one day be able to do them effectively and without any stress on their own.

d) My kids get to see my husband and I doing chores equally and as a team. There isn't any chore that is considered "mom" or "dad's" chore...they get to see us working on different aspects of the house together.

Really, I can't say enough about how well this has worked and I can't claim any credit for creativity because I got the basis of this idea from a book called "The Potentially Sane Mother's Guide To Raising Kids" by Tammy Fackrell. (I don't know if I got that title and author completely correct but I'll check on it!) Let me know what YOU do to get cleaning done. I can use all the help you've got!