Assigned cleaning areas

[USAmma]

My family is trying a new approach to housecleaning that so far is working well. I was tired of being wholly in charge of the house and all the messes, people putting things in the first convienent place expecting me to put it away in the right place later, and so on. So . . .each of us who is old enough to clean has assigned areas.

dd1 who is 5: her room, the kitchen table area, and her bathroom. This weekend I'm going to get her the sponge, cleaning rags, and vinegar spray and show her how to clean her bathroom mirror, sink area, and toilet. I'll scrub the tub for her.

dh: our room, the family room area (we have a greatroom so we have "areas" instead of rooms), the entry way, and a hot spot in the hallway that always collects misc stuff.

me: the master bathroom (it's really big), the laundry room, and the kitchen, as well as dd2's room.

So far dd1 and dh have been really good about owning their areas. If I remind dd1 that the kitchen table needs to be cleared, or if there are toys under the table, she will cheerfully clean up.

[ShellBelle76]

Way to go Team USAmma! That's a great idea... And as DH and I are only expecting our first wee one, our team is smaller than yours, but it could still work for us. He's still snoozing, but I may just run this idea past him once he gets up... Such is the life of a pregnant lady - exhausted and in bed by 8pm, WIDE awake by 5am...

[momto l&a]

One of the organizing book I am reading right now says that for kids you need to have all cleaning supplies for a project in one area in a basket so the child doesnt have to go all over the house getting everything she need for example to dust. All the child would have to do is grab the basket off the shelf that is labeled dusting and everything that is needed to do the job is in the basket/bucket/apron with big pockets

The books says is very frusterating for a kids to get everything together to do the job.

Should be easier for adults also if everything needed to do a job is in one container.

dd1 who is 5: her room, the kitchen table area, and her bathroom. This weekend I'm going to get her the sponge, cleaning rags, and vinegar spray and show her how to clean her bathroom mirror, sink area, and toilet. I'll scrub the tub for her.

I must say I am suprised that your dd is in charge of cleaning so much. I must be not requiring enough of my oldest dd who will be 6 in 2 days. She has a terrible time just cleaning her room though she does a very good job of unloading and loading the dishwasher. Guess I need to find some other stuff for her to do.

[USAmma]

Originally Posted by momto l&a

I must say I am suprised that your dd is in charge of cleaning so much. I must be not requiring enough of my oldest dd who will be 6 in 2 days. She has a terrible time just cleaning her room though she does a very good job of unloading and loading the dishwasher. Guess I need to find some other stuff for her to do.

Thanks for the idea! I will keep a basket of rags and a vinegar bottle under the bathroom sink for her.

I guess I expect more of her now that she's five. I think of all those Amish kids and farm kids that probably would be out collecting eggs and feeding animals and cleaning up their own messes by this age. I was raised by my dad from age 9 up. I was expected to pretty much do everything by myself and in a way, I'm glad now that I was raised that way. I was washing my own clothes, cleaning my own bathroom and room, and helping to chop veggies, etc for dinner. It has made me very self-reliant.

My dd1, at the current time, has very little sense of responsiblity. She will just leave her stuff all over the place, cry because she can't find her shoes because she didn't put them back where they belong, cry because she can't find a certain toy. It's time for that to change. One good quality about my dd1 is she's willing to chip in when I ask her to. She's a hard worker.

Her idea of cleaning her room is to get everything off the floor, make her bed (not perfect but she tries), and to reshelve her books.

[USAmma]

Originally Posted by ShellBelle76

Way to go Team USAmma! That's a great idea... And as DH and I are only expecting our first wee one, our team is smaller than yours, but it could still work for us. He's still snoozing, but I may just run this idea past him once he gets up... Such is the life of a pregnant lady - exhausted and in bed by 8pm, WIDE awake by 5am...

Oh this will be epecially useful once baby comes! Good luck selling him on it.

My dh and I used to bicker about "you left that out, you need to put it away" but now there's no arguing. We just each clean our areas.

[momto l&a]

I was raised a farm kid

I did my own laundry at age 6.
At age 5 I had chores I did.
I think I was 6-7 I started cleaning the house every Saturday. Once it passed inspection I was free for the day, mom couldnt ask me to do anything else
The list goes on.

For some reason I just cant imagine my oldest doing all I did. Which is strange to me. I loved being a responsible family member. And for all the work I did I had loads of play time, seems all I did was play


I guess I need to start teaching my dd more. Thanks for the motivation