cleaning: ever wonder how to divide the chores in your house? here's another option: We call them "zones".

We used to write all the "jobs" on little papers and then draw those jobs out of the jar. But of course that didn't work, due to the fact that we haven't mastered the teamwork concept yet. ha!

So, now we have zones in the home, that are the soul responsibility of the young person.

Our zones go like this: kitchen, family rm, living rm, entry rm, downstair ba, lower stairs, upper stairs w/ landing, hallway, and upstairs ba. My oldest child is responsible for the kitchen and hallway. main job is dishes in the dishwasher, counters, sweep floor, and recycling can. If child keeps those clean, mom washes "hand-wash", washes counters, helps with trash, cooking, etc. Second child cares for the entry & living rm--pickup & vacuum, lower stairs, and upstairs ba. Bathrooms include clean sink, sweep and pickup floor, and keep toilets flushed. Mom cleans toilets and tubs. third child cares for the downstairs bathroom--which includes a coat closet(I know, weird place), family room--pickup & vacuum, and upper stairs. Pickup includes dishes put away in the kitchen, trash in can, and others belongings into the "pick-up" bin. Which everyone checks twice a day. They are also responsible for their own rooms pick-up and getting laundry "sorted". Sorted means to pull clothing right side out, sort whites out, and check pockets. (I'm getting rich in GI Joes.) Mom takes care of her room, bathroom, vacuuming for youngest, vacuuming bdrms, mirrors, windows, youngest 2 childrens & parents laundry, and general help where lessons needed. I am liking this method a lot. At first, it seems like a lot, especially for the younger children, but I do watch what they are having to clean up or picking up after. The ba sinks are the hardest job for them both. The oldest and the kitchen are not friends yet. i'm waiting for the attitude to go from hate it to has to be done-like it or not.

A great way to start this is slowly. do a thorough clean on one room and then assign it. that way you have a large task broken down to smaller ones and they have a fresh place to begin with.

A picture of the cleaned room is a great reminder for them. if they claim cleanliness, pull out the picture and ask it they match.

hope this helps!

happy zoning...