Work Zones

I shared my schedule a few posts back, and I thought I would show you what a work zone entails. For example if Madeleine is in charge of zone 2, then she has the kitchen, nook, and laundry room. These are connected and have a natural flow so I pick areas that go together for a zone. In these zones I post a laminated list of what to do in that area, and then a day of the week chore. Here is a picture of the kitchen chart. The laundry room has it's own chart. I post this in the room where the child can access it easily.
Because I have laid out exactly what I would do in the kitchen, and what I expect, it is much easier for the child to do the tasks without having to figure out what mom wants, or what to do next.

Here are a few more examples for other rooms throughout the house..


I was blessed when a friend Steph shared this system with me several years ago. It is not exactly the same as hers but she gave me the pep talk, the theory behind it, and the "how to" to initiate it. I think as mothers we believe that we should be able to do it ALL. We are home all day, right ? Well ladies we were given these blessings to be a blessing to the family not a burden to take care of. If we require that each child bless their home with service they are not only learning valuable life skills, but become the blessing the Bible references. No child is too young to work. If they can play they can help. Work doesn't need to be thought of as drudgery. You can make it into a game for young children, children love to please, so talk up how excited daddy will be to come home to a clean, tidy and orderly home. Believe me when things are tidy order falls in line. I can't tell you how much less stressful it is when everything is in it's place and laundry is done when I need it. Now as a disclaimer I must say that I often fall away from the schedule or become lax and then the house spirals out of control. Look at it as you are the CEO of your home. If the head of the company is unfocused then what happens to the employees? Chaos, right? So as mother the best thing you can do is NOT work yourself into oblivion while your sweet little blessings play wii, or watch TV... No, keep the troops mobilized, on task, and the home running smoothly.

Remember we have many, many , many jobs. If you are scrubbing the floors and making lunches, can you be lesson planning, meal planning, scheduling appointments, and all the other tasks that are as important to the running of the family. A CEO does not do it all but can effectively delegate and encourage those around him.

The first week, start each zone as clean as you expect it and then turn it over to them. It is too overwhelming to ask them to take it on in chaos. Then you train for a week, correcting as needed. After you know they know what is expected, and have performed satisfactorily, then I treat it as a discipline problem if they do not perform the tasks as required.

I needed this little pep talk as much as anyone else, so I hope it helps someone who may be feeling burnout on the home front.

So how do you organize chores in your home?