Keep it Clean Kids!

I think this post has the potential to not only help authors, but anyone who wants to do other activities in addition to keeping a pretty clean house. Keeping my house clean and working takes a ton of time, so anything to help make the process more efficient is fantastic. The faster the house is clean, the more time I have to write. I'm learning that maintenance is key!

My two kiddos are old enough now, that they can help. Yep, they actually help. A month or so ago, I created, and taped on a wall, a routine they can follow every day. They get to put a sticker on for each completed task. I'm a gold star kind of person, I think most people especially kids love a sticker reward! I posted my routine chart on Facebook today, and a couple friends wanted a copy. I figured if there are two people it could help, there are probably more people who need something like it!

Many parts of my routine come from the website flylady.net. You can check out swish and swipe there (bathroom maintenance, quick wipe of the counters and a swish in the toilet with a toilet brush.) She's got lots of great ideas, I do some of them. The form I use is in Excel on my Mac. Make it personal for you, or for your kids. I'll share what I have for myself another time. It started as a paper, now it's in my phone calendar. Anyway, here's my kiddos chart. I write their name on the top of their chart:

Daily Routine and Chores for Kids

Now, don't expect perfection from yourself or your kids! Keep a good attitude and make a game of it. "Let's see how many stickers we can get today!" After a month, my kids took action today to see how many they could get. They even worked ahead to the afternoon piano practice. Be patient and know that a little at a time creates good habits, which in the end produce a clean, or at least more clean home, and more time to write.