Chore Joy

Isn't that an oxymoron?

I wonder why we started calling our household duties a "chore."  With synonyms like "drudgery," "burden," "gruntwork," and "rat race" attached to it, it's no wonder we look forward to doing them as much as having a tooth pulled without anesthetic by a dentist smoking a cigar.  Yet, we expect our children, who prefer the whimsical and delightful (or, at least, the "what's in it for me?") approach to life, to dive in with both hands singing as cheerfully as Snow White without any help from her Seven Dwarfs.

As a mom, I've attempted the Snow White approach.  It is actually the one that works the best in my home.  If I say "all hands on deck," the dwarfs -- I mean, children -- come running.  I sing at the top of my lungs and turn up the music and we all dance the dust, laundry, and dirty dishes away.

But, it turns out that "all hands" are not always near "the deck" and sometimes Snow White's singing voice is just not available to inspire the masses.  What then?

We've tried the Chore Charts, the Privilege Points, the Raffle tickets, and the Treasure Box.  We've tried the FlyLady and her Zones, the Morning Checklist, and even the Free-to-Choose method.  Nothing seems to work.

The Ten-Minute Tidy is the ONE thing that my children are completely attached to.  There was a time when I used this method at the end of the day just to prevent myself from tripping on a toy during a middle of the night bathroom trip. It was combined with a Saturday Morning "all hands on deck" tackling of the Deep Clean along with hit and miss attempts at the above mentioned methods of keeping the house in some semblance of Order.  It was granted as a way to acknowledge teen participation in extra-curricular activities and stellar school performance (i.e., hours of homework).  It was even used on Snow White's Sick Days...just to make it through.  But, now, if they are asked to put their hands in for more than ten minutes, it's like signing the Declaration on World War III.

When I transitioned from Stay-at-Home Mom and full-time Undergraduate Student to Working-for-Money-and-for-Free-as-a-Mom full-time, my time with the people that matter most was so limited, I decided not to fight about chores.  I decided to just dig in, get it done, and hope to heaven I would be able to see straight on the other side of the sunrise.

This morning, I started something new.  It's a "Chore Choice List".  I write down -- very specifically -- the things I'd like done today (there is even a "little kids" list).  They initial what they want to do and cross it off the list when it is done.  If they complete it, they get the password to the computer. If not, they don't.

I like to keep things simple.  Wish me luck!