Happy Saturday everyone from a VERY windy section of Ohio! It is super windy here today and warm for this time of year. It is currently 73 degrees outside. It is cloudy right now but was sunny earlier. I think we are supposed to get some rain tonight but not sure. Just strange weather for this time of year. I am not complaining though as I have all the windows open and am loving the breeze.
Today, Bill is at work and the kids and I are just spending the day at home. I am just puttering around the house. I have a crockpot full of apples cooking to turn into applesauce. I also made my first apple pie of the season using the apples we picked when we went apple picking.
I have also been working on some laundry. After getting frustrated because laundry was piling up and Bill and I would spend all weekend doing laundry and still not catching up, I took to the internet for some research on best laundry systems for families with 5 people. I found a ton of ideas and then kind of came up with a system that I have been trying this week. A couple weeks ago, Bill and I saw our marriage counselor and one of the things she mentioned was why weren't the kids helping out more around the house? That resonated with me, and I thought, they are 10, 13 and almost 16. They can learn how to do laundry. So, I decided to try this new system. Basically, it is assigning each person a day of the week to do THEIR laundry, and then a day to do towels and sheets. This means that they take their laundry to the basement, wash, dry, fold and put away their laundry. I bought new hampers for the boys so they could keep their laundry seperated.
Right now, our schedule looks something like this:
SUNDAY: Rest Day from laundry
MONDAY: Jacob
TUESDAY: Mom/Dad
WEDNESDAY: Rebecca
THURSDAY: Benjamin
FRIDAY: Mom/Dad
SATURDAY: Sheets and towels
The kids have seemed receptive (mostly) to doing this system. I will continue to help Ben and Jacob but making them do everything and I am just there to make sure they are doing it right.
As for the rest of today, I have college football on (watching Ohio State) at the moment. I will have to take Rebecca to a birthday party/sleepover at her friend's house. And I am sure there is other things I will putter around and do. In fact, my timer is about to go off so I can go switch out towels in the laundry.
What are you up today? Any fun fall plans today? Is it windy at your house?
I like the approach of having the kids more involved. We need to do the same. Today, we're teaching them how to get gas. As new drivers, it's another thing they need to learn!
ReplyDeleteAs for me, we were up early, as Sam had the SATs this morning. I'm roasting pumpkins & pureeing them, took Nick to get a couple of pair of pants (our weather has changed, and he's grown a lot since last winter), I'll ride along while he drives to tennis volunteering, and Sam has a soccer game.
This advice is probably some of the best you will ever get. Plus, it won't come as such a shock when they ARE responsible for their own clothing. Good for you. Do this with everything in the house. My youngest had the responsibility of taking all flatware from the dishwasher and putting them in the proper place. Sorting is a reading readiness skill, so she was learning skills needed a few years later. The older two, seven and nine had to removed the rest of the dishes except for glasses which I removed. Anything they did not know the place to put it, they left on the counter and called me to the kitchen where I showed them. I did not just put them away or change from the wrong place. Teaching is time consuming, but it pays off in the long run.
ReplyDeletePull up a chair to watch/help them...lol.
I failed to say the youngest who put away flatware from the dishwasher was only two. It was 73F here today with only a slight breeze and sprinkles.
DeleteGood for you for starting the laundry process. Kids need chores. It gives them some ownership in the running of the house.
ReplyDeleteThey have some chores (like cleaning the litter box, feeding the cats, etc). It was time to add in laundry.
DeleteI'm an only child and my mom was a single parent. Early on, she made a daily chart with age appropriate chores I had to do every day. It was posted on my closet door until I got an actual job, but I was still required to help out until I moved out. I did all our laundry from about age 11. Mom would drop me at the laudromat with the clothes, I would sort, wash, dry and fold and the attendant would lock them up, I would walk home and mom would pick up the clean laundry on the way home from work (this was in the summer.) Anyway, I learned lots of valuable information about how to run a household that many of my friends lacked. Moms should never be the only worker bees in the house, everyone should pitch in.
ReplyDeleteI love the last sentence you wrote and have just recently come to learn that. Growing up my mom did everything and didn't want us to help as we didn't do things her way.
DeletePS I love your pie. I can see the Grinch's face (eyes, mouth, puffy nose!) Gave me a tickle, hope you don't mind. Looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteNow I see the Grinch too! LOL
DeleteI need some of that pie. Yum. Regine
ReplyDeletewww.rsrue.blogspot.com
It was yummy!
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