Let Them Work

I have not always been the best housekeeper.....  Our house has always been clean in the sense that you would not find food, dirty plates throughout the house, laundry all over the place, etc.  However, we have always had dust and your general clutter on countertops and that sort of thing.  Well....no more!  (At least for the past three weeks)  

I have started a new cleaning routine and this time I included the girls.  They are 7, 5, and 2.  Some of our clutter issues have developed because we did not always enforce the cleaning up after yourself rule.  But now each girl has her own chores for each day of the week.  This has been a huge help to me in that I do not have to do it all now and it has given them a real sense of ownership.  Lulu's jobs are vacuuming, helping with laundry, emptying the dishwasher, changing her bed sheets, cleaning her room and the school room.  Monkey's jobs are mopping, emptying my laundry basket into the laundry sorter, cat's food and water, changing her bed sheets, cleaning her room and the school room.  Lil helps me dust, helps Monkey change their bed sheets, cleans her room and helps put away toys.  Two days a week they all help with the bathroom and the kitchen.

So far so good.  No more cluttered counter tops in the kitchen.  The bathroom is always clean.  The floors are clean consistently.  And the girls are learning that they are a part of this family.  Jesus came to earth and acted as a servant.  You never found him laid back waiting for someone to clean up after him or provide his every need.  He was the one serving.  If our Lord and Savior worked....how much more do we need to work.  My prayer is that as the girls get older and take on more responsibility around the house they will be prepared to run their own home when that time comes.  I also look forward to the day when I no longer do the laundry or the majority of the cooking!

So my advice is if your kids are not working........let them work!