CHORES I GIVE MY 5 AND 8 YEAR OLD

Chores are the mosquitoes of daily tasks and I have officially upgraded from a fly swatter to a bug zapper…

I can’t believe there was a time where I thought that all the household chores were MY responsibility. I have a husband who does things around the home but when I talk about it, even the language I use suggests that HE is helping ME. We all live here together. We’re all working or going to school yet when the house is in shambles, I used to feel like it was only my responsibility.

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE…

Now, your girl is hip to the game and getting all hands on deck to keep OUR home tidy(ish). The old maid and butler have retired which means the 5 and 8 year old get to participate in the fun. Tell them what they’ve won, Johnny!

They’ll be going on all expenses paid trip to “Act Like You Live Here”. I mean, seriously. If you can memorize the lyrics to That Girl Lay Lay and hack into my cell phone, then you can do basic chores around the house. I am always reminding myself that I’m raising adults that I might live with one day. I need to make sure that senior me isn’t tripping over clothes and pizza boxes cause my kids never learned how to clean.

You might take a look at this list and say, “No way my kids can do that”. My only response would be “Have you tried?” They might surprise you and actually free up some time for you to do some things that make you happy and fulfilled. Worst case scenario is your load stays exactly the same.

All I know is that life is better in this house when my kids are helping out. Here’s what we have delegated to them:

Putting away the laundry – I will have them roll (yes, we don’t fold) their own laundry sometimes but that’s not happening consistently as yet. Because we keep a lot of our items in drawers, they can not only put away their own clothes but ours as well. #winning (yes, I’m bringing that back)
Loading and unloading the dishwasher – you will have to show them the rules of the dishwasher the first few times but it’s really not rocket science and our 8 year old picked it up pretty quickly. We also use dishwasher pods so they can actually load the detergent and start the wash. We also moved our plates and cups from the upper cabinets to the drawers. Height is no longer an issue!
Unloading and unpacking groceries – I could do a whole post about how grocery shopping should be counted as working out but that’s for another day. Our kids HAVE to help unload the groceries from the car and then they are responsible for organizing the snack drawer and the mini fridge with their chips, juice boxes and yogurts.
Vacuuming inside the car – if you don’t own a handheld vacuum, please add it to your wish list. It is so light and portable that literally ANYONE (aka kids) can suction up dirt without an issue. Could our car be cleaner, yes, but just know that when we remember to clean it, we have options…
Pack lunch boxes at night – I can easily forget how much I value lunches being packed at night until I wake up 30 mins before we’re supposed to leave the house. I may not be able to pack every single thing but fruits, veggies and sandwiches are placed in our favorite bento boxes and refrigerated overnight. It almost feels like Christmas when I wake up to already packed lunches.
Taking out the trash – this one is pretty easy for our kids even though they need a separate course on how to TIE the trash. We also live in a place that’s warm every single day so our kids don’t have to consider sleet, snow or ice which I’m well aware can affect the trash situation.
Organize bookshelves – I don’t know actually know how the very simple concept of bookshelves collapses over time. What I do know is that we have now adopted The Home Edit way of organizing books which has kept our bookshelves in tact over the longest period of time. Organizing by color may seem a bit much but it is easy for kids to maintain.
Wipe down surfaces – my kids LOVE to spray anything. I give them a blue rag and a can of microban and they magically turn into cleaning army soldiers. If your kid is a little clumsy, maybe you can place the cleaning solution on the rag for your child.
Write grocery lists – this one may not seem like a chore but if you don’t have a grocery list template then this could be a time saver. Before I had a system, I would check the pantry and yell out to my 8 year old what needed to be added to the list. It saved me writing and it allowed him to practice spelling. Love a double duty task!

This isn’t an exhaustive list, by any means, but hopefully, it sparked some ideas if you wanted to start the magical process of delegation with your children. It’s been a game changer for us and even if the kids complain while doing the task, they always feel proud of themselves when it’s all said and done.

Please share in the comments what chores your kids help out with. Us, mamas, always need ideas…

Namas-tidy-up!