Chore Charts

September seems like a good time to organize. I think that I am more of a Fall cleaner than a Spring cleaner. I'm talking the deep-down-purge kind of cleaning, not just every day tidy stuff. Some people are every season cleaners, but I have just cleaned out a few cupboards and made piles for the trash and for the goodwill stores, and kids' clothes to give to friends for their kids. I think it stems from the feeling you get when you buy new clothes for school and the joy of cracking open a new notebook. I love school supplies. Fall is when I think things feel fresh, more so than Spring. Spring is the hanging on season... the final push to the big break you get during Summer holidays. "If I can just make it to June, then I know I can rest!" Ever feel that way? I especially did this past Spring. But, Fall is perhaps my favourite season. No, let me try that again... Fall is definitely my favourite season!

To embrace this Fall Clean feel, I wanted to do something to encourage organization in our house.

My kids are generally good helpers. They have gotten into a routine of making their beds daily, and clearing the table after a meal. But for other things, I feel like I am one big nag. I hate that. My kids wouldn't always believe that I hate it, but I do.

So, we came up with a plan... Chore Charts. I think they are a really big deal in some homes, and I did find many good sites online just by typing in "Free Chore Charts for kids" in a Google search. However, there was one thing that typically every single resource had in common... they were only for one week at a time. I'm all for weekly rewards, but I'm not for the constant printing and replacing of charts. So, I created one that is for a 2 week period.

One idea I came across in my search of charts was to have your kids decorate their charts and then take them to an office store to be laminated, then just use a dry erase pen and they can check off the boxes... I do believe we will do something like that. Then I won't have to buy excessive amounts of stickers that will just be chucked at the end of two weeks. I think we will go through the first round with the paper copy, and then I will know if these are the chores that should be on the list, or if I need to personalize them for each child, etc. And at that time, I can revise the chart to one week if I think it is a good idea to laminate for reuse.

We are going to start on Monday. Wish us luck :)

Do you do chore charts with your kids? Or other kinds of charts? I came across ideas for potty training charts, behavioural charts, and basic household chores. It all sounds like a great idea, but I reserve the right to eliminate charts from our house if they become more bother than benefit!

What are some of the things on your charts? I would love to hear so that I can revise our chart if need be before we laminate the final draft.