Chores

The big project of late has been the organization of daily tasks, duties, chores, and various other scheduling around the Andrew abode. I have done cursory research online of cleaning schedules and have found myself in hysterics barely able to read, "Sweep floor-once a week" without breaking down either in unrefined snorts of laughter or dejected sobbing.

Once a week, are you kidding me? Does the word "spelunking" mean anything to you? Well, that's what I would be doing in my kitchen if I swept once a week, after having repelled down my impassable debris-strewn stairwell.

Add school assignments to it all and I just want to lock the door and curl up on my bedroom floor...which I, a-hem, have never done.

I am done now feeling defeated and overwhelmed and am ready to pass all this off to my children.


I have made daily responsibility charts for each of my children. After a family meeting discussing our responsibilities and in order to be more positive we have narrowed these responsibilities we have into four categories.

• Caring for my body.
• Caring for my spirit.
• Caring for my mind.
• Caring for my home and family.

I must say, I'm very happy with this breakdown. There is some overlap, which the children pointed out, and I found that to be very desirable because after all they are all connected. You can't only work in one area and think we're done. Even the smallest tasks fit in at least two categories. But for our intents and purposes these are good. Each category has it's own color on their charts that they check off and complete daily. Caring for home and family includes three daily chores (which I haven't quite knocked out yet).

The goal is really more than chores. The goal is really more than having a clean house (I'm really glad I'm not that delusional). The goal is to raise self-reliant, confident, capable, disciplined children in a self-indulgent, capricious world. I hope I'm not that delusional.