Getting Organized

Let's see how long this lasts ;)

Inspired by our now incredibly organized and uncluttered downstairs, we are attempting to figure out how to keep the house more like it's current state, rather than it's normal just-been-hit-by-four-tornadoes state. We have created weekly chore charts for each of the kids where they can check off their chores as they do them (these are basic chores including things like "put pjs in the laundry basket" and "brush teeth"). The girls are going to take turns helping Daddy with the dishes after dinner each night and they need to help tidy up their rooms, but most of the stuff on the list is pretty simple. We're just working on developing responsibility. It also helps with reading skills :) We've also (with the kids' help) created a list of family rules (such as "be nice" and "no food in the playroom").




The item I am most proud of though is our reward chart. We've used reward charts before - I created one that had a bunch of squares that we would have the kids put stickers in when they did something good and we would take the stickers off when they did something bad. When they filled up the chart, they would earn a Mommy or Daddy date. The concept worked well, but it was difficult to peel off the stickers. I used a piece of posterboard, some left over elastic from a bracelet-making kit, and some beads to make a new reward chart. Now we can move the beads forward or backward along the elastic and reuse the same chart over and over again! Megan helped me with it and it turned out really well!



The pictures I posted of our playroom did not include most of the kid's stuff. We took it down so that we could fit enough chairs in there. This is what our playroom actually looks like (when clean)~




I also took a few pictures of Kylie and Beth's room. K & B helped me deep clean it yesterday morning and it looks really good :) Their top bunk still has their fan on it as we haven't gotten a chance to install it yet, but everything else is put just where it belongs!





One final picture - I thought this was funny. Many pictures of model kitchens in magazines like "Better Homes and Gardens" have bowls of fruit sitting in the middle of the table or counter. We have that too (probably the ONLY thing from those pictures that we have ;) ) as we get our produce from an organic co-op and I like my kids to snack on fresh fruit. I wash all the fruit when we get it and then fill my grandfather's old wooden salad bowl. Apples and bananas are a favorite snack in our house, which I'm glad about, but there are some negative aspects. I need to make sure to search the whole downstairs each night for apple cores and sometimes the younger kids leave surprises such as this one ~


I figure it gives my fruit bowl an unique look missing from all those magazine-featured homes :)