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How to Get Kids to Help with Chores

Carol — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:17:01 +0000

I am the mother of three sons…three sons that I did NOT want to grow up dependant on a woman, whether it be a mother or future wife, to cook and clean for them. I was a stay-at-home mom, but that shouldn’t make a difference in teaching kids responsibility. So at a fairly young age, I had them learn various life lessons for themselves. They made their own breakfast, did their own laundry, learned to sew on a button, and had basic cooking lessons. At age 15, they got their own checking account and learned just how fast money can disappear, or accumulate, depending on their spending habits. And of course, they all had required chores to help around the house.

Chores help instill pride in your work, good work habits, responsibility, and a sense of belonging to a family…at least that’s what I told them! Kidding aside, it did instill all of those things and more, and certainly helped me maintain a house of rambunctious boys. My guys are now college aged, and they thank me for teaching them valuable skills that they can see their friends lacking.

Here are some suggestions that I used, and some that I found on the internet from other savvy people, to get your kids to help with chores. I especially like the last idea of tickets; it reminds me of my time in Vacation Bible School where you got to spend your tickets at the end of the week. That was the best! With the new year upon us, this would be a perfect time to start a New Year’s resolution to begin a similar program. Let me know how it goes!

Using A Chore Calendar and Other Tidbits

In our family, we used a whiteboard chore calendar. We would have basic weekly assignments such as picking up their rooms, and rotate other standard chores such as collecting the garbage, cleaning the litterbox, and helping make dinner. It all was written on the whiteboard with a checkbox that they marked when completed. Even the youngest of kids feel a sense of pride when they pick up that marker and check that box…DONE! With 3 boys, they only needed to rotate these chores once every three weeks, so not too bad for them. As they grew older, they helped with more complex tasks such as snow shoveling, sweeping out the garage, and vacuuming.

From an early age, I cleaned out one of the bottom drawers in the kitchen and put the kids’ plastic dishes in there. They had cereal bowls, cups, plastic wear, and plates, all easy to locate and get on their own. In the pantry was their cereal, kept low for easy reach and in easy-to-pour containers or portion-controlled baggies. I put milk in small, kid friendly containers so I wouldn’t find a mess to clean up in the morning.

This worked well for our family, but here are other great ideas that I found.

From the Thrify Tips website…

Use A Job Jar For Chores

As a working parent of 6 kids (the oldest 4 are in a 5 1/2 year age span), the kids helping with chores was a given. Our system was the job jar. All household chores were written down and put into a job jar. Pink paper for the under 6 set, and yellow paper for those school age and above. Every Friday, we all sat down and everyone, including parents, drew their jobs for the following week. We had a chart hanging on the wall that had everyone’s name, their jobs for the week, and a space for Mom (or Mamaw) to sign off when the job was done satisfactorily (without more than one reminder) and finished each day of the week.

On Saturday, anyone that had their assigned chores done at least 6 out of the 7 days participated in a “treat day”. We took turns choosing the treat for the week, from a list provided by Mom (depended on time and money available). The treat might be a picnic, a trip to the pool, a movie, a trip to the zoo, or a Baskin Robbins ice cream treat, etc. Anyone not completing their assigned chores was left at home with grandmother, with no TV or phone privileges for the weekend.

We do not give our kids enough credit. Even a 2 year old can empty a waste paper basket or pick up toys, and put them away. It is not just a case of helping out Mom. Everyone lives there, eats the food, and wears clothing. Everyone needs to feel a sense of ownership and responsibility for their home. When we don’t teach our kids to clean their homes, wash their clothes, cook a decent meal, manage their time, manage their money, and accept their responsibilities, we do them a grave disservice because someday they are going to have their own homes and families to manage. You can’t teach those things by starting the week before they leave for college.

Tickets for Chores

When my kids (and fosters) were young, I bought a roll of tickets (like those at a carnival). They are available at places like WalMart. I made lists of chores, age appropriate for each child. Each chore was assessed as to how many tickets it was worth. (I also included personal hygiene things like brushing teeth, etc.). Some of the chores were really simple - hanging up your towel or putting clothes away. I watched clearance racks for prizes, such as: toys, stuffed animals, fancy pencils, new notebooks, art supplies, and so on. Other prizes might be things like 1:1 time with mom for an evening or choice of video for family night. Each prize was assessed an amount of tickets. Then as the kids accumulated tickets, they could “buy” their prizes. Some kids couldn’t wait to spend their tickets, and would buy the trinket prizes, but soon realized that by saving them, they could get better prizes.

So, chores got done and the kids learned the lessons of earning and saving. This tends to work best with younger kids from little to maybe age 10 or so.

Make a Rose-Filled Centerpiece for Under $7

Carol — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:17:08 +0000

After successfully staging my home, I’m helping my friend stage her house for selling. So far, we have spent very little money by reusing pretty items that she already had or by making decorations with supplies from the local thrift store. You can do this easy project yourself with great finds from the thrift store or around the house.

I want to share with you how I made this pretty rose-filled vase for her bathroom. I started with a rectangle vase; having each rose the same height makes for a lovely contemporary effect. It would also be a lovely centerpiece for weddings or other special events.

Supplies you’ll need for this project:

Artificial roses, tulips, or other pretty flowers
Clear, short square or retangular vase
Floral foam or Styrofoam
Small amount of moss
Hot glue gun
Wire cutters

At the thrift store, I bought a clear, rectangular vase for only $2.99 and one bunch of peach-colored artificial roses for a mere $0.99. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any floral foam either at the thrift store or at my house, so I had to purchase it for $2.50 at the local craft store. But if you can snag some at your local thrift store, dollar store, or save some Styrofoam blocks from a package, you could save even more money.

Cut the foam to fit the vase (cut the width and depth about a ¼ inch shorter than the vase dimensions). I used a steak knife and sawed my way through; it doesn’t have to be perfect. Just watch your fingers. Remove the foam from the vase so you can decorate it with leaves.

Next, determine how high you want your roses to be, remembering to leave enough stem to push into the foam. Just eyeball it, and cut the first one with wire cutters. Now cut all of your roses the same height, using the first one as a template.

Snip off any leaves from the lower part of the stem that will be hidden in the foam. Use these extra leaves to decorate the front of the foam. Put a small amount of glue on the back side of the leaf, and hot glue it in a random pattern to the hide the foam. It doesn’t have to be perfect.

Carefully slide the foam into the vase making sure you don’t tear off the glued leaves as you go. Now push each rose into the foam. I counted my roses, and then keeping each rose in line with the next one, pushed them into the foam, like this.

You can then add the finishing touches. I turned the leaves around so that the good side is facing out (most will rotate on their attached stems), and filled in the gaps with some moss.

That’s all it takes to make a beautiful, inexpensive centerpiece for under $7. By changing up the type of flower, you can make lovely centerpieces for Christmas, springtime, or fall. And, by the way, you can also use this same technique with real flowers. Just hide the front of the floral foam with moss or decorative stones, fill the vase with water, and enjoy.

Make Gift Wrap using Reused Mylar Balloons

Carol — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:29:10 +0000

Being my frugal self, there’s a part of me that hates throwing away Mylar balloons after a party. They sadly float around the room, each day hovering lower and lower, until finally they’re just too sad and flimsy to tolerate and I throw them away.

But no more! Cut old Mylar balloons into squares and use them to wrap small gifts for other birthday parties and events. With the holidays and wrapping gifts just around the corner, we can reuse deflated Mylar balloons as beautiful gift wrap. Mylar is shiny and elegant, and some stores sell Mylar gift wrap for a lot of money.

Look how this small gift box is wrapped in a used, blue Mylar balloon, decorated with wide strips of the same balloon (reversed) for a “ribbon,” and a metallic-silver bow. Narrow, curled strips of wrap enhance the bow and nicely coordinate – the blue side matches the wrapped box and the silver side matches the ribbon and bow. How pretty! Or use the designs and words like “Happy Birthday” to wrap a cute birthday gift.

Here’s another adorable idea from FreeKidsCrafts.com. They have instructions on making this cute Mylar tote, but I think it’d make a very cute gift bag.

Here are some more ideas for reusing your Mylar balloons:

Cut them up into strips and use them in gifts baskets, Easter baskets and even for packing materials for shipping.
Cut them into pieces and use these pieces for scrapbooking, making crafts, decorate a frame, collages and many other crafts.
Wall Decor – Deflate your balloon all the way and tape onto your child’s wall in their room or a playroom for some fun decor.
Make balloon weights – Use your Mylar balloons at your next party to cover rocks to be used for balloon weights.

Starbucks Buy One, Get One FREE thru Nov 20

Carol — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:18:50 +0000

Peppermint Mocha, Gingerbread Latte, Caramel Brulee from Starbucks. The only thing better than these yummy coffee treats during the holidays is the Buy One, Get One FREE Event going on right now from Nov. 17-20, 2-5 pm. Just buy any one holiday drink, and get the other for free. Yes, FREE!

Here’s a complete list of the Holiday Drinks that you can get for free, so bring a friend and enjoy that whipped cream mustache!

Caramel Brulee Latte
Peppermint Mocha
Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha
Peppermint Hot Chocolate
Gingerbread Latte
Eggnog Latte
Caramel Brulee Frappuccino blended beverages
Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino blended beverages

SwapaDVD and Have a Free Movie Night

Carol — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:39:51 +0000

This Friday, Geri, myself and 2 friends are staying in for movie night. Our friend is living in a condominium complex that has a small private theater, so she’s reserved the whole space for us! We’ll bring something for dinner, popcorn and snacks, and make a night of it.

The hard part is picking a movie to watch. We each have our own tastes, and have already seen most of each other’s DVDs. No problem! SwapaDVD.com helps movie lovers swap, trade and exchange DVDs for free.

Here’s how it works. Once a DVD is requested, mail it to the club member. In return, you may choose from 247,176 available movies! DVDs you request are mailed to you for free. There are no late fees and no hidden charges.

Here are some details from SwapaDVD website.

You have original, playable DVDs that you do not want to keep.
You post those DVDs to your “DVD Tower” to offer to other members.
After you have posted the first 10 DVDs to your DVD Tower, you get 1 “gift” credit from SwapaDVD to get you started swapping (limit one per household). After that, you earn credits by sending out DVDs to others.
You may order available DVDs for 1 credit per disc (some DVDs do cost more than 1 credit)
If you want a DVD that is not currently available, you can place it on your Wish List and we will notify you by email when it is available for you to order. You can even have it sent to you automatically when it becomes available, with no email necessary.
When a DVD is requested from you, we notify you by email, provide the address for you to send it out, and even provide a wrapper with postage printed on it if desired!
Wrap and mail your DVD.
When the requestor receives it, you earn 1 credit per disc mailed. Yes, you pay the postage to send out your DVDs, but when you request a DVD, the sender ships it to you and you pay 1 DVD credit (some DVDs do cost more than 1 credit)!
The DVDs you receive from SwapaDVD are yours. We hope that you will repost them to share with other members when you have viewed them, but you can certainly keep them, or give them away. Similarly, the DVDs you send out to others belong to their new owners.