the !@#$% chore sticks, done!

Okie dokie, so these chore sticks that never seem to get done and just hover in my semi conscious demanding I finish them with the intoxicating promise of being helpful ... yeah, I want them done.  I have mentally attached the completion of these sticks to the success and smooth running of this household, so I am feeling a smidgy desperate.

So I gave you the massive list of chores, and I showed you how to make the sticks, and how to take a really ugly picnic utensils basket and make it be something you'd actually want in your home.  So now, how to use it!

Here is the gist of it:

There is the section for the chores not being used this week.

Then there is the section for the regular chores that are always expected and never a commission.  This is the daily stuff that Meatball has to do every day.  We don't think that he should be paid to take care of his basic responsibilities and contributions to the house.

Then there is the section for the 20 chores that are available this week for commission.

I will put the chores in on Sunday and they will remain there all week.  We do not control Meatball on when he does the chores, when and how many are entirely up to him.  There are only 20 chores here per week because he can only earn a maximum weekly commission of $5.  This doesn't sound like much (as far as chore numbers) but with Meatball's other responsibilities -- his daily non-commission chores, school, sports, being a kid -- it really is pushing it for him to hit all 20.  At least, we think it will be.  Obviously we will adjust as needed, and I know that during school breaks we will have to develop a plan of some sort.

Each stick is worth twenty-five cents.  This may sound steep, but Meatball is 11 and we didn't want him to have a max earning of $2.  When the Beans is older and he starts getting chores the amount per stick will be much less and will grow with him.

The very last section on the basket is the "done" section, which is divided into two parts.

One is for the daily non-commission ones, the other for the weekly commission ones.  This makes it easier on Meatball to start each day by grabbing yesterday's done dailies and just putting them in the section he still is working on.  When they mix together it takes longer, which means he just skips it and defeats the whole dang point.

Oh and the container that Meatball insisted that he needed because four sections in the basket wasn't enough?

We have no use for it currently, so it is just sitting behind the chore basket with the "I'm Bored" sticks ... which I don't think I ever posted about either ... I will get on that.  So here it is at a glace, I didn't bother to label the dog kennel or my Scentsy warmer, but I think you get the idear!

So, now they're done, is my house clean and organized yet?  Am I hoping for too much?

child labor and commissions

I have been feeling particularly down and failurey as a homemaker lately.  Perhaps it is the constant state of disarray the house is in, or perhaps it is the constant state of disarray the house is in, but it has left me craving simplicity and order like Thin Mints during PMS (thank the gods that Thin Mints are nut free, I would have had to throw myself in front of a bus).

I wanted to start off with a list of just household chores, that everyone can do.  Myself, the kids, and the husband.  But kept getting stuck on laundry and toilets, and how much I'd like to never deal with either, and couldn't think past them.

So I click on over to Pintercrack just certain there will be a treasure trove of helpful lists and ideas.  Instead I find about a million "chores that burn 100 calories," ways to attach mops to crawling children's clothes, and a whole lot a jokes about chores and marital congress being directly proportional.

Did you hear that Paul Bunyan?

At any rate, it seems Pintercrack is telling me that my only hope for an organized clean home is child labor or 30 minutes of mini golf.

Aaaaand a clean home is seeming even more hopeless over here.

Then I remembered my stellar yet never fully utilized chore sticks.  Remember these?  Beautimous, but not like I really finished posting about them, right?  Well that was kind of a premonition of what was to come because I was totally a bad ass at putting the chore sticks out for Meatball ... for like three weeks.  Then he had to remind me for like another three weeks.  Then he, unsurprisingly, stopped.

So I am Resurrecting them!  Because, well, I want a clean house and Pintercrack made it clear child labor was the way to go!  Oh, and they were a poop ton of work to complete so I'd rather them be used!

So picking up where that last post left off I have purdy painted sticks and a basket.  I also have a short list of  100 chores already established (what was I searching for on Pintercrack for again?  Oh ... yeah, that's right. Something I already have.  Lovely.)

The list can be found at the bottom of this post, and it is quite comprehensive.  Feel free to pin the crack outta dat!

So then I decide, because it makes sense and because I am on a huge Dave Ramsey kick right now (in the Snowball stage and we are rollin' that muthah!) that allowance is now commission.  Meatball hasn't actually collected an allowance in a while, so he is down for anything that gets him paid again.

So the price is twenty-five cents a stick with a weekly cap of $5 as the most he could possibly earn for the time being.  If you are wondering why on earth we'd cap his chore earning/doing capacity it is simple -- he'd forgo sleep.  At any rate  between school, sports and kidness he really can only fit an additional 20 chores max in there anyway.  His usual chores (dishes, bed making, dog poo, etc) are non-commission because they are part of being a family member.  Especially the dog poo one, mama no wanna.

Tomorrow I will tell you about how we use it -- what are all those sections of the basket for anyway?! -- and what payday will look and feel like for the Meatball.

Clean organized house?  Instituting child labor and hope to have it soon!

So here is the list, 109 things including the "Freebies" which are there so that if Meatball has to pull chores at random he may get lucky.  Without the Freebies there are a total of 100 chores.  


Meatball’s Room (YELLOW)
1. Laundry
2. Feed/water turtle
3. Dust all surfaces
4. Windex all glass
5. Make your bed
6. Vacuum
7. Change bedding
8. Clean out closet
9. Organize your toys
10. Freebie

Meatball’s Bathroom (HOT PINK)
11. Scrub toilet
12. Scrub bathtub/shower
13. Empty garbage
14. Shake rug
15. Sweep floor
16. Swiffer floor
17. Mop floor
18. Wash sink
19. Freebie

The Garage and Laundry Area (GREY)
20. Empty garage garbage
21. Sweep garage
22. Vacuum washer area rug
23. Wipe down washer and drier
24. Wash mom’s vehicle
25. Empty Mom’s vehicle garbage
26. Wash flat interior surfaces of Mom’s car
27. Check Mom’s oil
28. Check Mom’s antifreeze
29. Check Dad’s tire pressure
30. Empty Dad’s garbage
31. Wash flat interior surfaces of Dad’s truck
32. Wash Dad’s windows
33. Vacuum Dad’s Truck
34. Wash Dad’s truck
35. Freebie

General Cleaning (ORANGE)
36. Wash baseboards in hallway
37. Wash baseboards in beds/bath
38. Wash baseboards in kitchen/dining
39. Wash walls in the kitchen/dining area
40. Wash walls in the hallway
41. Wash walls bed/bath
42. Dust all picture frames
43. Vacuum all carpet
44. Wipe up bathroom when done
45. Sweep all tile
46. Sweep all wood
47. Swiffer all tile
48. Swiffer all wood
49. Mop all tile
50. Mop all wood
51. Wash all light plates
52. Windex all glass
53. Clean all windows
54. Freebie

Kitchen (TEAL)
55. Load/unload dishwasher
56. Empty recycling bin
57. Feed dogs AM
58. Feed dogs PM
59. Empty garbage
60. Wipe down oven
61. Wipe down stove top
62. Wipe down chairs
63. Wipe down microwave
64. Wipe down cabinet exteriors
65. Wipe table
66. Mop kitchen
67. Wipe down dishwasher
68. Wipe down juicer
69. Wipe down refrigerator
70. Wipe counters
71. Sweep kitchen
72. Sweep eating area
73. Dust eating area
74. Dust kitchen blinds
75. Swiffer kitchen
76. Swiffer eating area
77. Clean sink
78. Freebie

Outside (GREEN)
79. Pick up dog poop
80. Sweep patio
81. Wash patio furniture
82. Wash the “park” and “truck”
83. Water plants
84. Mow backyard
85. Weed the backyard
86. Weed front yard
87. Weed garden
88. Freebie

Living Room (BLUE)
89. Swiffer
90. Sweep
91. Empty garbage
92. Wipe down furniture
93. Organize/clean up toys
94. Vacuum rug
95. Dust knick knacks
96. Mop wood
97. Dust flat surfaces
98. Vacuum the shelves*
99. Freebie

Adult Bathroom (MAROON)
100. Scrub bath/shower
101. Windex mirror
102. Mop floor
103. Empty garbage
104. Sweep floor
105. Shake rug
106. Scrub toilet
107. Wash sink
108. Freebie
109. Freebie

* Yes, it does say vacuum shelves.  Trust me, it works better than dusting.

wasn't this supposed to be easy?

Keeping in mind, this multi-step project was launched in an effort to be lazier than the inspiration pin from Pintercrack, you may be wondering by now if I actually saved any energy.  Since this is actually not my final reveal on the !@#$% chore sticks I must say I am wondering that as well.

The sticks are done, but the container, well it was hideous.

I had this in my classroom back in the day, and frankly, "hunting orange" is okay in a classroom.  My house? Not so much.  So I busted out some Rustoleum spray paint that could go on plastic that is supposed to look like wood.

Sprayed it on the driveway while it was eight million degrees outside.

So now it is a nice shade of brown.  It needs pep.  So I add hemp.

Then I add a little more hemp.

And I try to melt a plate.  Twice.

Now I stick the sticks in the basket.  

It is usable, but not labeled.  Meatball knows where everything is supposed to go, but I don't remember which section is "done" and which section is "not done."  So now I need to make labels for it so that I don't mess his system up.

Also, he ever so {insert eye twitch here} kindly informed me that having four compartments is nice, but really he would like a fifth.  Huh? Why?!  He explained, I zoned out ... hey, don't lie, you do it to your kids too.  Ultimately, I needed another container or something.

That was when I heard the Mod Podge calling me and I made a honey roasted nuts container look purdy.  

Mod Podge under the paper, then over the paper

Used a scrap to cover the little gap where it wasn't long enough

And POOF, I am a little closer.  Now I need labels.  Sigh.

(Yes, I am playing with an online photo editor and using all sorts of weird frames.  Hang in there, it will be out of my system soon.)  

chore sticks, lazy girl style

I fell madly in love with the idea of chore sticks.  Not only would they be something tangible that could be moved around to indicate a job is done (something my tactile kiddo needs), but they could also be adorable. So I started off this saga with free printable ones I found online that are simply drool worthy.  The down side of these beauties?  I had like 5 made after 30 minutes.  Yeah, I am far too lazy and seeker-of-instant-gratification-y to be down with that.  It was also a couple days into summer and I was sick to death of our lack of schedule and organization and becoming wildly desperate.

Cue the paint and Sharpie fest.  Did I mention I have a thing for Sharpies?  Um, yeah.  Disappointed that I really could only use black and silver pens, I had some fun with the colors of paint.  I did these chore sticks in conjunction with my even more desperately needed "I'm bored" sticks.  More on those later though.

So I started off with creating a list of chores that evil Mom and slave driver Dad expect done daily, weekly, and then all the other stuff we would like done that we think is kid safe (no changing lawnmower blades or checking the AC unit on the roof).  Then I put them into categories, color coded the categories, and hit Hobby Lobby for paint and craft sticks.

paint one side, then the other

let them dry

admire your pretty colors

write chores on sticks

figure out what to do next

Once I had them all made and written out I needed a system for actually using them.  I could have done separate cans, but I happened to have this horrible looking utensil holder from Hobby Lobby in a lovely shade of eye bleeding orange ... so the next part of the project was to make that not look hideous ... more to come ...