A chore system that is (finally) working. Finally.

Ok friends.  Settle in.  I've come up with a chore system based on a few different that I've seen on Pinterest and from my friend Kathleen.  It seems a bit overwhelming at first, but it really isn't. 


Each day, the boys have four items that have to be checked off. 

1. AM Chores
2. Practice
3. Zones
4. Reading

Here's the break down:

AM Chores:
Brush teeth   
Make bed   
Clothes to laundry
Put away own laundry basket  
Dishes to sink after each meal


Practice:

Practice math cards three times daily
Practice Bible verse three times daily
Practice Bible quiz cards three times daily


Zones:

Living Room:
Pick up toys/clothes/dishes etc., clean under TV stand and computer desk, vacuum daily, mop on Monday - including couch and under couch, dust on Monday, clean TV screen, put Kindles and iPods on charge, spray couch with EO spray on Monday and Thursday, feed pets daily - dog and chicken.


Bathroom:Clean floor daily, clean toilet daily, wipe sink daily, put away towels, clean mirror daily, clean tub on Monday, mop hallway and stairs on Monday, dust hallway on Monday, wipe off light switch and walls on Monday.


Kitchen:Unload dishwasher daily - dishes and silverware, wipe off fridge on Monday, gather trash and take to porch daily and replace trash bag, wipe off table daily, wipe off chairs on Monday, mop floors on Monday, vacuum on Monday.


Bedroom & Playroom:Pick up toys daily, pick up clothes daily, change sheets on Monday, vacuum on Monday - both bedroom and playroom and couch. Dust and clean TV screen on Monday, spray couch with EO spray on Monday, wipe down walls and light switches and stair wall on Monday.


Reading:
Read quietly each day for 20 minutes. May also listen to audiobook.



All squares must be checked and signed by Mom or Dad nightly.

If all squares are checked, you will be paid $1 for each year of your age.

If one square is missed, you will be paid half the amount.

If two squares are missed, you will receive no pay that week. One square may be made up by reciting a memory verse or poem. Anything over two squares unchecked will result in no pay despite number of verses memorized.

We will use the 10-20-70 system for money. 10% for tithe, 20% for savings, and 70% to spend.

20% Savings is to be used only for Mom and Dad approved expenditures such as long term goals like a four wheeler, gun, car or educational purposes.

Payday will be every Saturday. At the same time, new Zones will be chosen for the following week.

All money will remain in the lock box until asked for to keep from losing money.

You will be responsible for all of your toys, non educational online subscriptions, and personal expenditures. You will be responsible for 50% of your clothing purchases with the exception of church clothes, socks, pj’s and underwear. (For example, if you want a new under armour sweat shirt or TMNT shirt, you have to save up half).  I know this sounds a little intense, but just to be clear - this is for things that we don't really feel they need.  Of course, we still buy their clothes.  This is for the extra things that kids want - like yet another Star Wars shirt because the 72 they already have aren't as cool as the one they want.  That kind of thing.

Anything above and beyond what we normally get when we go out can be paid for with your money. (Example: if you want candy or the box deal at the movies, you can use your money. If you want to just eat our normal popcorn, we will cover it).

Additional jobs are available for additional money as long as your original chores are done.

They are as follows:

Pick up yard - $1
Clean out van - $1
Clean out truck - $1
Bath Izzy - $1
Clean extra zone for the week - $2

To help them remember, I made up notecards with what needs to be done in each zone.  They can take the cards with them to remind them what needs done for the room to be considered clean.  We keep a copy of the above information in the planner that's on the fridge as well as their check off sheets for the week. 

So far, so good.

Josiah ended up saying a verse to us this week because he had a hissy fit on Friday and wouldn't clean his zone. 

I admit.  It's been a pain to implement, but now that it's working, I am loving it.  Not only is the house staying cleaner, I've already noticed little things.  Like the boys picking up after themselves or reminding each other to take their cups back to the sink because who ever is assigned that room doesn't want to have to pick up after them.  (Who would have thought it was irritating to constantly pick up after someone else?) 

It's also rewarding to see how their spending money is changing.  Suddenly, when it's your money being spent, you don't absolutely have to have a new and improved whatever. 

Now that we have the hang of it, it's been pretty great.  And it turns out, even with paying them $1 for each year of age, I'm not spending extra money because I'm not being constantly bombarded at the store or movies to get this or that. 

This system is totally a win-win for us!

Cleaning tip for today: The shower curtain.

Today's blog is short and sweet. 

You know, like me. 

This is how I clean my shower curtain.  Both fabric part and the plastic liner.

1.  Put both pieces in the washer with warm water.
2.  Add 1/2 the amount of your normal laundry detergent.
3.  Add 1 cup of white vinegar.
4.  Wash on gentle cycle.
5.  Hang back up to dry. 

If it's a nice day, I'll throw them over the clothes line instead. 

This keeps my shower curtain clean and free from any mildew. 

Easy peasy!  Just how I like it.

Caring for my solar clothes dryer.

Solar clothes dryers.  Honestly, that term makes me roll my eyes a little.  The humble, but effective clothes line has been around for centuries.  Apparently it needed rebranded into something "cool".  Let's just get it straight:  a solar clothes dryer is nothing more than a clothes line. 

And you know how I love my clothes line.

There is a little bit of care that needs done to the clothes line each year.  And I do mean a little bit.

Each year, once the weather starts warming up I head outside with a rag and a bucket of vinegar and water mixed 50/50.  I simply wet my rag and wipe the lines.  Over the winter a lot of grime can build up on it.  It's good practice to give your lines a quick swipe about once a month.

Now is the perfect time to tighten those lines if need be.  Since my lines were built by my electrical lineman husband, I don't have the physical strength to tighten them.  My old line was as simple as untying the line and tightening it back or turning the screw.  Don't think I'm complaining about my current line - it is a beast!  After seven years of use, this will be the first time it's sagging and that's more from children swinging on it than from laundry.  Ronnie can build an awesome clothes line!

Now that your lines are clean and tight, the only thing left to do is check your pins and see if you need any new ones.  I try my best to not leave my pins on the line.  It wears them out too quickly. 

That's it!  It's ready to go for another year.

No wonder solar dryers are all the rage.....



I'm linking up with Frugally Sustainable.

Get Your Aprons On: Week One.

This week began my month long challenge to clean my house following Sarah Mae's 31 Days to Clean.  I'm cleaning along with 48 of you and of course, Tracey from Building My House. 

Good news, this week is just about over and I'll have a nice clean kitchen soon.  Of course, we are harvesting our honey tomorrow, but I still have hope we won't make too much of a mess. 

This weeks challenges weren't too bad.  Monday was my favorite - all I had to do was think about what I was cleaning and what supplies I needed.  I can do that!

We picked up the pace after Monday, cleaning the fridge::

Before



After

 Then I worked on the top of the fridge/freezers and cabinets, washing the fronts down as I went:

Before

After

 

Day four was washing the curtains and windows.  I'm behind a day from my extra work day this week, so that's on today's agenda along with cleaning out my cabinets. 

As I was cleaning yesterday, it kinda hit me that once again I have gotten used to the stuff around me.  I do a great job keeping things in order for a while after this challenge, but as the year goes on and life gets busier and busier, it seems that stuff slowly creeps into my house. 

It all boils down to this:  I want a clean house, not a perfect house.  I'd rather spend time with my family than my sweeper.  I'm simply going to try my best to keep my home in order and realize that it's ok if it's not perfect. 

It works for us.

Feel free to hop on over to the group's Facebook page for Get Your Aprons On.  Just start where we are!

31 days to clean: Week 1 Martha challenges.

How do we get so used to our junk that we don't even see it anymore? 

I clean all the time.  All.  The.  Time.

How do I walk around and not even notice the stuff?  I was looking through the pictures and realized that my house is much worse of a mess than I thought.  Especially with all the post Easter stuff just hanging around.

Alright.  No more beating myself up.  That's why I'm working on this challenge, right? 

Here are my before pictures:

This week's Martha challenges were:

1.  Gather your cleaning supplies. 
2.  Clean the fridge & freezers inside and out.
3.  Dust tops of cabniets, fridges, freezers, ect.  Shine cabniets.
4.  Clean microwave and oven - inside & out.

I decided to finally paint my kitchen as I was doing this.  I've had the paint since the Sherwin Williams sale a couple of months ago.  No better time then now, right?

I scrubbed the fridge and freezers with baking soda and hot water then reorganized using my baskets like before. 

I then attacked the tops of everything.  I cleaned out the baskets - putting like items together and sending some stuff on to the mission for someone else to use and some to the trash.  I also displayed our antiques.  Ronnie & I used to collect antiques and they've been put up out of the way.  I had been using the shelf tops for extra storage, but I'm sick of looking at all that junk up there.  I want it to be pretty!

The oven and microwave were actually pretty easy.  I clean the microwave weekly and the oven was just cleaned about a month ago.  I just did a good scrub on the outside and pulled it away from the wall to mop behind and underneath.  So gross.

Here's my afters:

I have one wall left to paint, but it will have to wait.  This weather change has really stirred up the boys' asthma and painting won't help anything. 

One room almost done!  (Insert happy dance here).

Make your own: an update.

Remember when I jumped on the make your own wagon?   Well, it's been a couple of weeks and I've had time to use my goodies and come to some conclusions.  

• I really like the laundry detergent.  It's easy to make and it works well.  We are all clean and no one is itching - that's success in my book.
• I'm not as crazy about using vinegar in my Downy ball.  It's fine and it works well.  I'll keep using it, but if I find fabric softener for a good price,  I'll most likely buy it.
• The dishwasher detergent cleans well, but I'm noticing that my glasses have a film.  I also have to actually wash my dishes before loading them and in my book that's just not good.  I'm switching back to Cascade action pacs.  At least I'll have back up detergent if I run out now.  
• Finally, the foaming hand soap is still foamy.   It's a keeper.

If you made any of the items, leave a message and let me know how they're working for you.

Charli

Make your own.

I've jumped on the make your own bandwagon before.  I usually jump right off at some point between buying the supplies and actually making the item. 

No more friends.  No more.

Finally, I have actually followed through.

I've had Borax, Fels Naptha soap and Washing Soda sitting above my washer for almost three years.  You read that right.  Three years.   And while I frequently use and replace the Borax, the remainder of it sits there...mocking me every time I put a load in.  Trust me, that's a lot of mocking.

Here's what I made:

Homemade dishwasher detergent

1/2 box Borax, 1/2 box Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, 1 1/2 cups Epsom salt and 1 bottle citric acid.

Mix it all together.



Store in a container with a tight lid. 
Use 1 TBSP per load.

 Homemade Laundry Detergent:

1/2 box Borax, 1/2 box Baking Soda, 1/2 box Washing Soda, 1 1/2 bars grated Fels Naptha, 1 cup OxiClean.

Use your food processor to grate the soap.

Mix it all together in a bucket.

Store it in a container with a tight fitting lid. 
Use 1 TBSP per load.




I'll probably use 1 TBSP for regular clothes and 2 TBSP for Ronnie's work clothes and towels. 

I have less than $20 total in both recipes.  At 1 TBSP at a time for both the dishwasher and washing machine, I expect it to last anywhere from 4 to 6 months.  I do an average of 3-4 loads of laundry and 1-2 loads of dishes daily. 

I'm sure I could make it for less if I left out the Oxiclean.  I just threw it in because I had it in the laundry room and Ronnie's work clothes are a greasy mess from the aluminum plant.

One final project for today:

My sweet friend Cessna gave me some wonderful smelling foaming soap for my birthday in February.  I just recently ran out and was wanting more.  Luckily, I found a recipe for it too.

Add 3 TBSP clear liquid soap to a foaming soap bottle.
I used the last drops of Avon honeysuckle bubble bath.

Slowly add warm water.  Do not shake.
Gently rotate to mix.
Let sit for 3-5 minutes.

Ta Da!  Foaming soap. 

I think I'm going to have a hard time paying $3 and up for foaming hand soap from now on. 

And for the record, all this homemade stuff took me less than 30 minutes to do, with kids helping.  I think I could pull this all together in 20 minutes on my own.  Not too bad.

OK, now pick a project and just go do it!

Update:  I actually made all of this on Wednesday.  Since then I've done a few loads of both dishes and laundry.  I'm impressed.  Our clothes look and smell clean and no one is itching - the sign of success for us.  And the dishwasher detergent even cleaned my icing bowls from the Angry Birds cupcakes.  Getting Crisco and butter off of plastic is no small feat.  So far, so good.

How (not) to clean your fridge.

I've mentioned before that I do the majority of my grocery shopping once monthly.  Of course I do have to stop from time to time to pick up something that I ran out of (usually milk, eggs and bread) or to take advantage of a great sale, but I get the bulk of my groceries at one time.

I usually clean out my fridge on trash night, but I forgot to this week.  When I got home from the store I had to do a quick clean before I could get everything put away.

Here's how I clean out my fridge, your results may vary (if your lucky).

1.  Pull your trash can close to the fridge.
2.  Start at the top and pitch anything past it's prime.
3.  Throw your food on the floor instead because you never move your trash can and apparently are so used to throwing it 18 inches across to the trash that you can't remember the can is right beside you.
4.  Pick up the food from the floor while fighting with the dogs to leave it alone.
5.  Put the dogs outside.
6.  Pick up the food (again).
7.  Finally put away your groceries.
8.  Mop the floor (because of steps 3-6).
9.  Take the not so fresh produce out to the rabbit.
10.  Realize that no one has watered the rabbit today.
11.  Go back in the house to water the rabbit.
12.  See yogurt on the freshly mopped floor.
13.  Track down the culprit.
14.  Time out for culprit.
15.  Mop the floor in front of the fridge.
16.  Realize you forgot to take the water back out to the rabbit.
17.  Pass dogs who are acting like it's 200 degrees outside and this brief time away from you may very well kill them.
18.  Let dogs back in.
19.  Finish putting away the other 27 bags of groceries.
20   Hear phone ringing and search everywhere for it.
21.  Offer gum to whoever can help you find the phone.
22.  Give up finding phone. If it's really that important, they'll call your cell.
23.  Decide to get a cup of coffee after finishing all this mess.
24.  Open fridge to get creamer and

  .....find phone!

And that's how I clean my fridge. 

Easy Bathroom Cleaning Project

A few years back we remodeled our bathroom and added a whirlpool tub.  We live in a very old house and have only one small bathroom that we share.

I love my tub.  It's like my little sanctuary from the world.  It's deep and wide and bubbly.  Lovely.
Cleaning it....not so lovely.  Or is it?

Truth be told, it's really not that big a deal to clean, it's just time consuming. 
Here's how I clean my tub & jets.

Two Cascade tablets

One tub of water

Turn your jets on for 15 minutes.



Drain and scrub around the jet openings and rest of tub surface.

Rinse. 

Refill tub with clean water and turn on jets for 10 minutes -

 to flush chemicals from line.

Drain and rinse again.

Enjoy your clean tub!

One last thing.  Ronnie & I were constantly out of shampoo or body wash thanks to little boys reaching our bottles.  We found this on Amazon for less than $20 and love it!  It looks like the current price is $25, but Amazon changes their prices all the time. 

It holds four different liquid items and I had no trouble installing it.  It's been on the wall for 6 months now.  No more wasted shampoo!