Delegating and Chores For Many

I love to delegate. At one time I did all the work myself. Now I delegate. Believe me, I am still working all the time. If I didn't keep things moving I am sure that they would quit! And with them doing most of the cleaning and laundry I am freed up to do the: Schooling (remember I have seven in fulltime school); running the business end of a company; and doing all the jobs that are necessary to keep a family of ten functioning. Trust me, there is little down time!

In the meantime, the training and delegating has paid off. I have noticed that my little boys value their freetime more than my girls. I frequently wake up on a Saturday morning to the sound of my boys cleaning their rooms. They work hard and are done by 9:30! And they don't just clean their room. They also clean the master bedroom and bathroom. They are a good little team. The girls also work very hard, but they seem to take their time and don't appear to have a great desire to be running free, so somehow their workday ends up being a lot longer than the boys.

One morning I was awoken by a knock at my bedroom door. In walked Cooper ready to do the master bedroom cleaning. Ray had left at the crack of dawn for work and it was only about 8:00 am but the kids were up bright and early with their Saturday chores. They had plans for the day and wanted to get their chores behind them!

I walked through the house and these pictures are the scenes I was greeted with in each room!

 Savannah's TV Room Ready to Vacuum

 Team Workers

 Raine's Bathroom Cleaning Chore

 Bedroom Ready For Vacuuming

 Boys' Room Spotless With Beds Made

 Cooper Cleaning the Bathroom Sink

 Briton Scrubbing the Tub 

(that honestly, they use more than I do!)

The older boys do their own areas of the house, but really they like to sleep in, so there was no sign of them yet! By lunchtime on Saturday our house is spotless because each person has their own area. Each of these areas is maintained by the same child through the week (minus our bedroom, which of course, I maintain).

Because I am frequently asked about routines and how we manage to do things, I will show you how easy it is to keep your house shipshape with a handful of helpers. First, it has to be routine. Each Saturday our children know it is the day to clean house. Then each day they also have a set routine of chores. So there is no complaining; it is simply what they do.

Dane:  Washes kitchen windows; Wipes down marks on walls; Cleans out refrigerator; Tidies pan closet; Vacuums floor; Washes floor in kitchen; Does own laundry.

Cassidy: Organizes and tidies: entry ways, laundry room, and half bath on main floor. He vacuums out shoe cubbies and rooms; Washes down washer and dryer, picture frames on walls; Thoroughly washes the half bath toilet, floor, sink; Washes the floors; Does own laundry.

Austin: Tidies bookshelves in living room and sitting room; dusts and vacuums both rooms; tidies pantry; Does own laundry.

Cooper: Shares vacuuming, dusting, and organizing of his bedroom with Briton; Washes bathroom sink and toilet in master bathroom; Vacuums master bedroom.

Raine: Vacuums, dusts, and tidies her and Savannah's bedroom; Thoroughly cleans her and Savannah's bathroom; Does own laundry.

Savannah: Vacuums stairs and landing; Cleans, organizes, dusts, and vacuums TV room; Does own laundry.

Briton: Shares vacuuming, dusting, and organizing of his bedroom with Cooper; Washes bathroom floor and tub in master bathroom; Dusts and picks up master bedroom.

Each of these children also has evening or day chores that makes the weekend chores so much easier.

Dane: Dinner dishes and kitchen cleanup.

Cassidy: Pick up and wipe down of entry ways, laundry room, and half bath. Makes lunch and lunch clean up.

Austin: Makes breakfast and does breakfast clean up.

Cooper: House pick up on call; Stacks logs and hauls to house; Yard clean-up; Laundry assistant; Keeps bedroom picked up daily.

Raine: Empties dishwasher; Vacuums hardwood; Mops kitchen floor; Laundry Boss; Quick wipe of her bathroom sink and toilet at night.

Savannah: Moves washing loads over; Laundry assistant; Vacuums schoolroom and kitchen; Quick sweep of her bathroom floor at night.

Briton: House pick up on call; Stacks logs and hauls to house; Yard clean-up; Laundry assistant; Keeps bedroom picked up daily.

Overall, each of the children puts in about 60 minutes of help a day. By expecting them to maintain their bedrooms it really makes Saturday cleaning a breeze. Briton and Cooper generally have their room cleaned in 30 minutes. And that is if they are pulling out the dressers and vacuuming behind, or dawdling.  And their Saturday jobs should take them about 2 hours. So not a lot of work because many hands make light work. Plus, I *never* have laundry build-up.

Each of these baskets holds one child's laundry. The very bottom basket holds socks, pajamas, towels and rags. It makes for very easy laundry work for a child. They know who they are folding for. And I rarely have more than one basket a day.
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