Keeping a clean house can be like pulling teeth…a lot of pressure now, and painful later.
Most of us fuss and “remind” until we’re blue in the face. Hi, my name is “most of us”, and I’m a recovering fusser. It has been quite a journey, I have gone through several chart variations, attempted several systems of reward and discipline, and lots and lots of sighing very deeply.
Here is one method I’ve come up with that has made a huge difference for me and my three kids!
THE “TASK” CENTER
This area consists of three important parts to help us stay on task; Customized Chore Charts, Work for Hire, and Chore of the Week. No worries, it is simpler than it sounds.
CUSTOMIZE CHORE CHARTS
There are plenty of awesome chore charts floating around Pinterest, but as I can never do anything the easy way, I went ahead and customized charts for my girls.
I felt the need to have a Daily Schedule for quick reference, a To-Do list and a Personal Goals list included in the chore chart. The To-Do’s are more like reminders for those daily tasks that I didn’t want my kids to associate as a chore, such as piano practice. I also allowed them to create their own personal goals to work toward, it gives them a sense of ownership.
I highly recommend you personalize it to your kids and their needs. Let them fill in the bubbles on the computer, type in their own names, and choose the colors and font. Maybe even change it drastically, add clip art, whatever appeals to you. I believe ownership of a project makes a big difference, both on your part as well as your kids! Make it fun, you really want your kids to have as much a positive view as possible when you’re establishing a chore system!
CHORE OF THE WEEK
Messes don’t follow a schedule, so every chore chart needs a section that can be flexible. One of the weekly chores listed on the girls chore chart is “Chore of the Week”. On that day, they can choose from one of the options I hang under a Chore of the Week label. It lets me get those extra little miscellaneous tasks accomplished that come along every month or so.
WORK FOR HIRE
The chores you use for Chore of the Week can be the same set used for Work for Hire. It gives you more opportunities to get those numerous tasks accomplished by your kids (sssshhhhh, don’t tell them), and it gives them an opportunity to clean your wallet out. I’d call it a win-win, or at least a draw. Work for Hire is optional, but since my kids don’t receive an allowance and they buy their own toys, they are always clamoring to make a little money… awesome right? I’m encouraging work ethic while keeping the home clean. That’s right, like a fox baby, sly like a fox. (Wooo, sorry about that moment, I get a little cheesy sometimes.)
MAKING IT WORK
No matter how many charts you employ, it isn’t the chart that is going to help your kids do their work and do it well, it is you and the system you put into place.
Practice Consistency | Help your kids get into the habit of checking their chart. My kids get small breaks in between chores and school, but until all their chores and tasks for the day are completed, no real fun shall commence. In addition, they cannot opt to “Work for Hire” until all chores and tasks are complete.
Motivate | The hubby very wisely plans “play dates” with the kiddos and “dates” with me, this way all his girls aren’t clamoring for his attention at the same time. This and other fun end of day practices motivate the girls to be finished with all tasks and chores by the time dad comes home. They know that if they aren’t done, they can’t join in the fun until all work is completed. Then the poor sad munchkin who dawdled all day has to work whilst her sisters gleefully play.
Reward | It’s the moment when your kid comes running up to you at the end of a work day and yells “mom, I’m done! Can I play Catan with you and dad when he gets home?”. Victory! She was motivated enough to follow her chart and get all her day’s tasks completed all by herself, and you didn’t even notice until it was done. When this happens, every so often I give the girls an extra reward to let them know I appreciate their initiative and determination. Whether it be a sweet treat, a special activity, or a simply a big hug and an “I’m so proud of you”, be sure to let your munchkin know that he or she did good.
Download These For Free Here:
LOOKING FOR A DIFFERENT STYLE?
How about this chic mint version? You can download the regular version right from this page, but to access the Mint Edition and other exclusive printables, you’ll need to sign up by email to become an Insider.
LOOKING FOR SOMETHING FOR TEENS?
Learn how to make this erasable schedule and chore board here. It is a great way to help your teens have a visual of their weekly tasks, as well as the month’s activities.
very useful tips for sure, thank you
Hi! Im so excited to have found this! I have a question though..and I’m not sure how old your children are, but I have an 8 y/o boy, a 6 y/o boy and 2 y/o girl…. the girl I’m not concerned about, the boys however, are so very competitive…. Is there a way that you were able to make it fair with the “work for hire” so that the older child wasn’t able to dominate by finishing chores first and always getting to the ‘paid’ tasks before the younger one has any chance?
great idea, This sounds pretty genius and I don’t even have kids much less any old enough for chores… I hope these resources are still around when I need em. Nifty!
This is great. Did you really post this 5 years ago? It’s still perfectly relevant! Way to go, mama.
Wow, it really has been that long? Yes, I guess it has been… 😀 Thank you so much cutie! It kept us sane for years and years and years. 😀
I tried it in Internet Explorer and it worked just fine……thank you! =)
This is great. Thanks for sharing. I am wondering if you have an editable “Chore of the Week” and “Work for Hire” Would love to be able to add/remove items.
Thanks again.
I would love to see an editable version. Or add chores such as vacuum, empty trash cans, and pick up dog waste. 🙂
I would love an editable version too, to be able to change the way we clean somethings, and be able to add more on…anyway to get one? Thanks for the awesome ideas!
Thank you so much for sharing this. I am really excited to see if it works for our family!
I agree with you. My kids will love this system.
This system looks amazing I have used several systems over time, one of which was highly successful Thank you so much !
What does “Bedroom” and “Living Room” mean to them?
I think this is brilliant! I love the idea of having the work for hire tasks at the ready. Nothing worse than being stressed out and exhausted and having your 10 year old hover over you asking what they can do to earn extra money. I wind up paying $10 for a single clean toilet #momfail or getting irritated that every chore I suggest is met with a groan. Letting them choose on an as needed/wanted basis is genius! I’m all for anything to take the arguments and drama out of our day! Thanks for this post!
Thank you so much! I too am all for taking as much drama out of things as possible. lol! This coming from a mom of three girls…can you imagine what teenage years will be like for me? 😀
All of my dreams just came true with this chore organization! Thank you so much for sharing your creativity and talent with everyone. I can’t tell you how much this is changing my life right now!
This is ridiculous. Farming your kids out to do the “chores” you don’t want to do is awful. Of course your kids are “always clamoring to make a little money” you admitted yourself your “kids don’t receive an allowance” and you “don’t buy them toys” you’re not “encouraging work ethic” you’re showing them that as long as you’re the boss you can get away with pawning your job off on someone else. It’s not “sly like a fox” it’s pathetic and abusive. I’m all for chores and learning responsibility, but not this way.
Not sure what’s so ridiculous about offering extra chores for kids to earn money for toys they don’t need in the first place?!?! The work has to be done and mom and/or dad shouldn’t be the ones stuck doing everything. A little incentive to get them to pitch in more than usual is teaching them to work harder towards a goal. My oldest receives a tiny allowance but still has the opportunity to do these extra chores for extra money. I also do not buy toys unless it’s a holiday or birthday and I’m quite sure that does not fall within the parameters of abuse by ANY standards…unless you’re an entitlement child, that is.
I have to say I disagree with you. I don’t find it sly and definitely not abusive! How absurd to make that statement. When one lives in a home, it should be expected that they help contribute to the well being of that home. This mother is killing two birds with one stone and PAYING her children in the process. I was to do chores, and believe me, they were not fun. I never received payment. My payment was food in my belly, clothes on my back and a roof over my head. You are clearly entitled to your opinion, I just have to say it’s missed the mark. As for relating this to the real world, well yes, it’s true. Why deceive your children? The REAL world is dog eat dog. Kids need to learn that and not have their lives sugar coated. Extrinsic motivators do the trick $$$
I need this for my husband, seriously. No video games until he does his chores!
Bahahahaha! If only… (wife of a gamer speaking here!)
Fantastic! I am finalizing their charts tonight, after we all went over them together. They don’t know yet about the work for hire though. Heehee. I’m a newly single mom though and really can’t afford much of anything. Do you recommend that I limit the work for hire to one per day or even week? And as for the chore of the week, do they get to choose the one they do just once a week? Forgive me if you’ve answered this. I tried looking through and didn’t see. Thanks so much!!
No problem at all! I’d say that is something you can vary as you watch how your kids respond to the charts. Since Work for Hire is only available AFTER all their chores for the day are complete, my kids typically find themselves hard-pressed to find the time to do too many work-for-hires. They have to be motivated to make that money, so I find they only do it once every couple days anyway. As for chore-of-the-week, I like to keep it to once a week because there are lots of jobs that need consistency to keep the house tidy.
Good luck! I’m sure you’ll rock it!
Perfect! Thanks so much. Love it!!
Thank you so much for the printables! I’ve been looking for something like this! Amazing! 🙂
My pleasure! Glad you like it. 😉
Do you have a blank printable templet card that you can edit & make your own chore?
I’m afraid I do not at the moment, however it is something I will look into creating! Thanks for the suggestion! 😉
I would love to have the option to create and add more chores too! Let me know if this will happen soon! ?
creative and awesome, simple to make
Thank you for sharing this and inspiring me to create a family command center. I am eager to implement and starting today! Thanks again! Great website BTW! 🙂
Thanks! That’s so nice of you to say, I’m glad it could help inspire!
Hi Ursula; great post!
I have a 4-year-old at home that is getting interested in earning some money. I think giving her “work for hire” for extra chores is the way to go, as I think the little everyday chores shouldn’t be paid.
I was wondering what age your girls started doing work for hire and if you have any suggestions on what chores might be age appropriate (I’d love to have her do the cleaning out the fridge, but have a feeling that’s going to be too much for a 4-year-old that gets easily distracted 🙂
Thanks for any suggestions!
Yours,
Mariana
Thanks Mariana! I definitely agree, chores should be accomplished first, then work for hire after! 🙂 I also started my kids out at age 4! Of course, they were age appropriate tasks like wiping the table, cleaning fingerprints off the windows and appliances, dusting, etc. It is great practice and gives me an opportunity to work with them and train them in their tasks. Maybe clean the fridge out with her and let her do the inside of the door by herself while you tackle the shelf space…etc.
Sounds like you’re a good mama and I know all your dedication to your little one will pay off!! My 6 year old has gotten quite independent of late in her chores and is always taking on extra work for hire after her chores…she loves it! I hope it works for you too!
So sorry to hear that Cici. Because it is a word document, sometimes it doesn’t download onto an older installation of Word, or if you don’t have Microsoft Word you can’t download the customizable version… however you should still be able to print the pdf version directly from Google docs.
I will be working to install an easier view for downloading! Thanks for your patience!
This sounds pretty genius and I don’t even have kids much less any old enough for chores… I hope these resources are still around when I need em. Nifty!
This great and I am trying to customize the word doc you made available. Do you have a word version that shows the circles blank?
Thanks Amy! Sorry I don’t… but if you click on the individual circle, and change the fill color to “no fill” or select a different color, that is how you will quickly be able to customize the days and colors. 😉
Here’s how I changed it:
1. While holding down the CTRL key, click on all circles you want to change.
2. Right click on any circle. (be careful not to click outside of the circle or all circles will “un-highlight.” A menu will appear.
3. Go all the way to the bottom of the menu and click on “format auto shape.A window named “Format Auto Shape” will appear.
5. Under “Fill,” click on the drop down menu next to fill colour and choose white.
6. Click OK.
Hope this helps!
And then I saw there was a customizable one… Duh!
I am definitely going to utilize this chore system with my kids, ages 14, 7, and 5. However, I think instead of placing the money in plain site behind the work for hire card, I am going to use an envelope. This way my kids won’t pick a chore in order to get the amount the visualize. It will be more of a surprise. This is such an awesome idea.
Effectively teaching elementary math to children aged 5 to 10 (Grade 1,Grade 2,Grade 3,Grade 4,Grade 5).Great for Homeschool kids! All math results are logged and graded and we show how they are improving through real-time feedback.click hereGrade 4,Grade 5
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
I really can’t thank you enough for sharing this. We have 7 kids & it has been a huge challenge trying to find something cute, simple, AND effective when it comes to organizing the chores in our home. I have printed this out, gone over it with the kids and this week we have begun implementing this into our home – it’s working!!!! Truly, from the bottom of my heart, this Mama of many thanks you!!
I am wondering & I feel greedy for asking, so no harm if the answer is no, but would you be up to sharing a blank sheet that we can edit of the grey squares that the “for hire” and “weekly chores” goes into, I would love to keep the same style/design but adding unique chores to our for hire & weekly chores list, would be great 🙂
Again, thank you!!!
I’m so glad it is working for you! I’m happy to share whatever works for me, I figure there has to be people out there who operate similarly. 😀
I’m sorry, I do have the “Work For Hire” & “Chore of the Week” available in this post, but I did NOT do a good job making it very visible! Lol! Here is the link to download & customize: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1iMch8pzpiOa09sVWJMZ050WTA/edit
Enjoy!
This comment has been removed by the author.
You know what – in hindsight, you totally made it obvious lol I was just not paying attention!! Thank you for your patience. You are great Ursula 🙂
This is Brilliant!! I’m repinning!!!
I just want to say thank you. I was able to download the doc files and customize them to my 2 girls and I made a small station for them as well. I wish I could show you they way mine looks. But I don’t see how to post a picture in the comments. I would love to send you a pic of mine!
Children shouldn’t be paid for daily chores. They should be taught that at a young age-its a part of being in the family. Both my son & daughter were taught to pick up there toys at 2 yrs old. By age 5 they could make their bed (granted its wasn’t great but the sheets & blanket were pulled up) My son is 12 he can changed his sheets & put clean one on.
Its the extra-above and beyond things they should get rewarded for accordingly…no wonder there are so many children that expect money. Granted its a Good Idea…but I would use if for the extra chores.
Lol! I agree!! These are extra work they can do for money because I also don’t give allowances. Everything on their chore chart is regular daily and weekly chores they are expected to do as an important and valuable part of the family unit. Work for Hire is extra work they can choose to do AFTER their regular chores are completed.
Thank you for sharing, and for reading! It sounds like you have done a wonderful job with your children!
Ursula you system ROCKS! This one and every other one I incorporated in my life… your advise and selfless sharing was a GOD SEND! I seriously prayed for about 3 weeks to find a “way” to help me get my house running smoother, tighter & efficient, and more spiritually. I then I stumbled across your blog via Pinterest when looking for organization ideas and tricks. I’ve used most systems for a month now. Just wanted to share what appealed to me on this system in particular was the “work for Hire” portion. I understood that the regular daily and weekly chores were not monetarily compensated only the “Work for Hire” thus teaching that there are duties that go along with being a family and that our choices can effect how smooth the house runs meaning time to spend together like your girls do with their daddy. I LOVE you thought of the part that the work for hire only comes after completing their daily/weekly tasks. I would have forgotten to do that until I noticed after a month of extra chores being done and broke and it end up ME still having to finish their daily chores… I have 3 kiddos 10,8,5 and I incorporated a way for them to “VISUALLY” see the daily/week chores being completed, we are all very “VISUAL” people in this house and we all LOVE to see what we have accomplished (I’ve been a list girl since elementary school, nothing like crossing off an accomplishment). I also have a hard time “controlling” electronic time, so I tied in electronic time to the work for hire, if they choose, they can be paid in “MINUTES” to go toward playing/watching electronics. At first they did not like it nor thought it was fair. I then explained to them that even though daddy works for money he also has to work for time off whether to go on vacations or spend time with us doing fun things. And it takes awhile to earn up those days off. This has really REALLY helped get our house going, running smoother, less fighting and helping raise children who HONOR the work they do now. THANK YOU ENDLESSLY! If nothing else you helped create a positive change in this family.
That is the loveliest thing to say Holly! Thank you so much for sharing that, it means a lot to me.
I love your idea of being paid in minutes! I may have to try that out!! 😉
I found you on Pinterest and I love all the ideas you share on your blog. I am due anytime now with our 3rd girl and will be joining the stay-at-home and homeschooling mom group. Your ideas give me so much hope and motivation that I can do it (my kids are 5, 2, and newborn soon, I was a little worried that my house will be chaos central). May God continue to bless you and your family so you can help unorganized mamas like me 🙂
PS: I love that you integrated daily prayer and bible lesson in the kids’ schedule. What an awesome idea!
Congrats! I pray you have a happy and safe delivery! I hope you love being at home as much as I do, I know your children will be blessed for it! 🙂
Thanks for reading along!
Thank you! A friend and I are getting together next week to start our Home Management binders using your great ideas before the baby arrives. I am sharing your blog with everyone. I can’t thank you enough, my life will change for the better. xoxo
I like the work for hire on the clips! Cute! We have a chore system but that is a nice little cherry on top.
jeannine: waddleeahchaa.com
Thank you! You have a wonderful site, great resources!
Going to give this a go.
Thanks for providing such useful information. I am very much impressed with your article and I am happy that I am associated with your site.Thanks.
Carpet Cleaning
This looks great.I had searched different site for days trying to find a chore chart. I printed out a customized version that my daughter seemed excited to start using. After a week she had added things and we found that wasn’t flexible enough to suit our needs and stopped using it. I think this will work. The different categories and how each one is tailored to each task is perfect. I plan on doing one for my daycare children!
Loved reading this!! Great idea. Its a must do in our home!
Hmm…very interesting! I’ve been trying to figure out how to keep my teens off the screen constantly. Maybe instead of money…I’ll use screen time? And I’ll have help around the house and maybe even some summer learning too…
Fantastic idea!! Thanks for reading! 😉
I found this through pinterest, and I love it! I am a teacher, but stay at home in the summer, and this is great to keep my kids motivated throughout some of those long days. My kids are 10 and 5, so this is perfect for them! I am going to continue this even when the school year starts back up. Thanks again! Love your blog, too. 🙂
Found you through Pinterest — LOVE this idea. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Found this through pinterest. We had a family meeting tonight and made our chore charts. I am going to print your chores for hire now 🙂 My kids ages 11, 9, 7 & 5 are so excited to wake up to get started! They can’t wait to finish their contributions to our family aka daily chores so they can see what jobs are for hire. It is simple and makes sense but I really like the way you set it up. Thank you so much for sharing your ideas and talents! So kind of you. mahalo, malia
Oh I love that you have family meetings!
I’m so glad you like it! 😀
It is truly a great and helpful piece of information.
I am satisfied that you simply shared this useful information with us.
Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing
San Diego Mls
This comment has been removed by the author.
Today I started the chore chart! Yay me! Instead of one big board, I purchased a set of 4 mini boards so my kids would each have their own (they can decorate them etc.) Another thing I did was instead of filling in the bubbles (which i changed into dif shapes) according to what needs to be done, I left them blank and said they could fill them in AFTER they’ve completed the chore for the day(gives them something to do). I posted the chores on their boards and then used hanging magnets to hang them on the fridge (the kids are CONSTANTLY in and out the fridge so there’s NO EXCUSE to not seeing the chart). I have a 9, 7 and 5yr old and Lord knows Im tired of repeating myself. I couldnt get your charts to do what I wanted so I just made my own, I was just excited by the idea! I explained to them the system and as soon as I said “now these chores you will get paid for”, screams rang out. So at least for today, they’re exited!(and so am I) Crystal
Well, you just put a big smile on my face this morning. 😀 I love that you made your own, and that your kids are excited too! That is so cute.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your ideas and templates! I’m looking forward to using it!
I would get used to it. Thanks for sharing the steps in development.
arizona dui lawyers
these are really great. I’ve downloaded, customized and hung them up. Hopefully this will help keep the house tidy, with everyone chipping in.
Thanks so much for sharing! Just found this on Pinterest and already downloaded and customized it for the upcoming summer. Gotta get these lazy kids moving and learning to pull their own weight around the house…not to mention keep myself sane this summer 🙂
So I feel like a complete tool, but I can’t for the life of me figure out how to edit the Chore of the Week or Kid Chore Sheet in Google Docs. It seems that the part that you’d print off is an “image”, but I can’t change anything in the image block. I can edit the text below it, but that doesn’t change what is in the image block. Any help? I was really looking forward to using these with my 3 kids (13,11,&9), momma’s getting sick of always “reminding” them what needs to be done 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this! My husband and I cannot wait to start it, we are moving into a new house in 2 weeks and my kids (11,8 & baby 15mos) need some incentive to get their duties done.. I am one person and just cannot keep up with 3 kids, 3 dogs, a husband and a house! lol Hope it works for us <3
I honor your talent of writing professionally. I like your valuable posts. Your blog is super nice. Keep posting more.
http://tinyurl.com/bna2y2e
thanks for these ideas. we are needing something new right now and this might work for my kiddos. Thank you!
I love your ideas here. Especially the “Work For Hire”. I think it’s great to have it stationed so that it is up for grabs. Going to have to share on my facebook page. I think my audience will love it! Posting tomorrow!
Susan Vallance
https://www.facebook.com/sv.helpingwahms
Thanks Susan,
I’m sure you know that being mom means having to be creative!Lol!
Aw, thank you for sharing!
Hi! I have been struggling with developing a system I can be consistent with and am excited to try yours. I have to ask, tho, how do they get “stuff” without an allowance or you buying them toys?
Thanks again for sharing your ideas!
Thanks for stopping by Monica!
I use a “Work for Hire” system as a means to motivate the kids to work for money. They all love it, my 5,7 & 8 year old…but then again I never told them some kids get an allowance! LOL! They do extra chores for money and value the toys they buy more than the toys Grandma gives them.
Hope that helps!
Thanks for the free downloads. I have shared your links with a friend and we are very grateful for the ideas/system.
Is the link to the pdf still active? I can’t seem to view anything. It just comes up blank. 🙁
Hi Jen,
Yes, it is still active and comes up fine for me….Strange. Someone once mentioned that it did not seem to load on Firefox, but IE or Chrome worked perfectly. It might be a bug with Google drive on certain browsers. Let me know if that doesn’t work for you. I hope it helps! 😉
Hi there,
Do you color in some of the circles before you print as a ‘day off’ of that chore?
Hi Karen, thanks for stopping by. Yes! You can change the fill color to white or clear for a “day off”, and fill in with color of choice to indicate what chores are completed what days. Use paint bucket tool. Once it is downloaded it is yours to change any and every element you choose! 😀
Hi, can you explain why some of the circles are colored in? Also how to change which ones are colored in, assuming that they are the ones they are to do that day… I have 3 kids and want to spread the duties around :0)
Thanks for all the awesome customizable printables that you offer for free!
Sure Amy,
I simply left the chore chart with all of my original categories, times, tasks, and colored circles as an example. 😀 Sometimes it helps to have the original as a jumping off point…any and everything can be changed fairly easily. For the circles you will want to change the “fill color” to white to clear, or fill with whatever colors you desire. Use the paint bucket to do that.
I hope that helps!
Because my purpose with blogging is to share my process, and hopefully help others in the process, I will try to share everything I create. 😉 So the pleasure is all mine, and I’m glad to share! <3
I am a mom to 4. I have been a mom for 20 years, my youngest is 8. When the eldest 2 were little, man oh man was I spot on with organization. My mind and body have grown so lazy over the last 2 decades our home is a complete disaster! For years I have tried implementing a system for our family of 6 only to come up short. The 20 year old is a college student at KU and now lives on her own; boy does she think its great to rub in that she cleans her tiny apartment front to back in a day…..I could never get her to clean squat while she lived at home. LOL Irony!
I am going to give yours a try and hope it rejuvenates my long lost organized self! Thanks for the new wind in my sails. 🙂
Louise I am in the same spot!! My youngest is almost 7 but I feel the same! So let’s be all in this together 🙂
Oh I love that! Yay mom’s unite! 😀
Louise and Rebecca, it is my pleasure to share! I am hopeful that my challenges and struggles will help someone else make it just a little easier.
I’m glad mom’s can encourage and inspire one another!
What I really like about your system is that you can customize it and as the parent you get a good overview of what you have for what days. For us Saturday is our “freest” day so we put a few more chores there so that on our busier night she has more routine maintenance (clean your room, straighten your bathroom etc)that stays easy as long as she keeps them up. Now this week she didn’t do ANY of her chores and so the consequence was having to do them ALL this morning before she could go to the Mall. Quite the incentive 😀 Thanks for offering such a great customizable list free!
I was also wondering about the “chore for hire” rates! I think this is an awesome system! Thank you SO much for creating the doc and letting us use it! Such an awesome thing for someone to do! I am hoping it will help my 3 girls do their chores and complete them!
Thanks!
Aw, thanks…it is my pleasure to share. I just answered the question about rates above, but it just occurred to me that in my “Cleaning Checklists” printable, is a work rates sheet… lol, I’d forgotten it was there, it was created so long ago! Then you can see just how cheap I really am! 😀
http://homemadebycarmona.blogspot.com/2012/10/cleaning-checklists.html
These are wonderful. I have a question, what would you suggest as the “fee” for these type of jobs for hire? I tend to think that I offer too much thinking “they’ll never go for that little bit of money”.
Thanks Dawn!
Concerning “fee” amounts, I think it really depends on the age of your child. I helped my 5, 7, & 8 year old’s create budgets and wishlists (one of these day’s I’ll blog about it). Based on the cost of items on their wishlist and the percentage they must put aside for tithe and savings, I chose amounts that I felt would help them accomplish their saving and spending goals in an amount of time that would not discourage them too much, but still allow them to have to work hard to earn it! 😀 Of course, they are young so they are super excited to have earned just about any amount! lol! Good luck!
I have been doing something similar to this for a while now with my kids. 3 of the 5 are teens and always wanting money. I am not as creative and organized as you. I just have a list of things that need to be done and the TOP dollar amount to be paid. For example; if I want them to take the decor off the top of the kitchen cabinets, dust off the cabinets wash the decor and put it back (the same way they found it) I would say this could be a $10 job, if done correctly. If done in a hurry and not so well they may only earn $5. If I think they have only done a $5 job and they want all 10 I will explain to them what needs to be done better. That way they are learning to do the job, and to do a good job. Otherwise I end up paying top dollar for a job that I have to touch up anyway. This has worked really well for me and my family, maybe it will help some of the others trying to figure out the “fee.”
Thank you! Until my girls are old enough to do chores, I’m going to use this to keep myself on track! 🙂
Just starting this system today. So excited!
Great idea! Thanks for sharing!
found you on pinterest and I love this idea but when I click on the link to take me to the work for hire document it is blank =(
Hi Jenn,
I wish I had the tech experience to help you, but I admit I have no idea why that is happening. I had a friend double check, and she said she was able to easily access it.
Sorry I couldn’t be more help. What I will do however, is add a pdf version, perhaps you’ll be able to access that. I will add it tomorrow, as the kids are clamoring for dinner! 😀 … Hope it will help!
Try this pdf link Jenn, maybe it will show up! 😉
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1iMch8pzpiOZ1UyaWI4UUxrdEk/edit
I did the same thing. I opened it in Mozilla Firefox. It didn’t show up when I did this. I used Internet Explorer and had no problem. Something about Mozilla, it won’t open certain documents. HOpe this will help and Ursula, hope this helps you when others have the same problems.
I tried it in Internet Explorer and it worked just fine……thank you! =)
THis system looks AMAZING! I have used several systems over time, one of which was highly successful but difficult to manage and maintain and the reward system was breaking our bank. But his system is sleek, streamlined and with the “chores for hire” very appealing to teen and pre-teen kids who do get an allowance, but still need money because their hobbies (video games/electronics and competitive ice hockey) are very expensive! I look forward to sharing, customizing and implementing this system in the coming weeks. Thanks for sharing. (Oh and I found it on Pinterest!! Thank goodness for Pinterest!)
Have a good day!
Jen
I love this idea! We also don’t give our ten year old allowance or buy toys often. I really believe kids need to do some work to get spending money. We work to get our money, right? So should our kids. Not to sound cliche, but today’s kids have it pretty darn easy. In days of old they had to do things like tend to the gardens and the livestock and serious chores. Everyone in the family participated or plain and simple: no one ate.
We provide all the basics he needs including clubs, activities and supplies needed and wanted by clubs and activities and every now and then we give out extras. So money for him is a real bonus. He is always hitting me up for money. Recently, started giving him extra chores to earn money. We both like this idea. But the idea of a bulletin board of jobs is an excellent visual motivator. I like!
I LOVE THIS!!!….I found your post on Pinterest And I gotta tell you I am so very glad i did 🙂 .I have been struggling on just trying to get an idea on how to go on about the chores and allowance and such and Your post was the best help and idea I have found all over the web… I am going to download and try it out with my kids (I have 5) And I will keep you post it on how it works out…THANK YOU!!
I found your post through Pinterest. I have been looking for just the right system to motivate my kids to do more household chores and earn some money, so that they can learn to start managing their money. This looks like the perfect system! Thanks so much for the free downloadable. I’m going to tweak it for my kids, and I’ll let you know how it works out for us 🙂
Thanks so much for this post–I, too, have struggled with figuring out a chore chart/system that works for our family. I love the “work for hire” idea to get some of the jobs that otherwise wouldn’t get done, done. Now I just need to find a good spot for it…
I’m new here so please bear with my lack of knowledge, but I am looking everywhere for a link to your printables and I cannot locate them. I’m dying to start setting up this system in my home with my kids, please help!
Huh, that came out strange… I hope you can copy the link!
Thank you. I’m sorry for the inconvenience, my poor eyesight couldn’t differentiate between the link color and the text color. Thank you for taking the time!
I am so excited to try this system I have older kids 19, 15, 10 and they are so motivated by money. Especially the older two. My 19 year old is going to college but living at home she works 24-30 hours a week at the local hospital but she still loves the extra money and I sure could use her help more around the house. Hoping your system does the trick! I will update you in a few weeks once we have had a go at it. Thank You!
Lol…yes, I too was motivated by money as a teen! I would love to see how you customize it to teenagers! Part of the reason I always make the pdf as well as the customizable word version available is so that people can make it to fit their needs, so I am very excited to hear this! Feel free to upload photos as well as an update to my facebook page for us to all admire your work! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂