It seems to me that for the Scheduled Family the basics are often a no-brainer.  You need only to add a block of time that says something like Morning Chores, and the entire family knows that means Brush Teeth, Get Dressed, Make Bed, etc.  This is the beauty of the Scheduled Family.  However, the Routine Family tends to have a bit more trouble in this area.  I am not sure why that is, it has just been my experience as such.  So, this post is more for the Routine Family.

To establich the basics, see some of the tips in the previous post.  You really do need to practice the basics for quite some time before they will become the basics.  I can remember when I first implemented Table Chores.  I had high hopes that within a week, they would do them automatically.  Boy, was I wrong!  It took a year and a half!  And still, I must occasionally remind them of something they missed!  So, do not become disheartened!  Persevere!!!

Once you have the basics in place--things like a simple morning routine, afternoon routine, and bedtime routine--you can consider adding in routines that repeat weekly.  This is how I get my house cleaning done.  When I had a smaller family, my weekly routine was much less involved.  I cleaned my home thoroughly on Monday, did up all my laundry, and coasted the rest of the week.  I found this stopped working after Baby #3.  But, I do want to include a little more about this method of routine since small families deserve just as much attention as large ones...

For a smaller family, a one-day-a-week cleaning spree is often enough to keep the house in working order the rest of the week.  You simply get it all done and then maintain.  Since the weekend tends to destroy a house no matter what size your family is, Monday is the perfect day to regroup.  In fact, I would highly encourage you to never schedule appointments or out-of-the-house activities on Mondays (yes, I know Routine Families are not known for their ability to committ to something like this, but please consider the "why" behind my reasoning.)  If you use your Monday to reassemble your home, your week will go much smoother.  Trust me!

So, on Mondays I would clean the house.  I did this in the morning because I was schooling my oldest child in the afternoon during his sister's nap.  I will elaborate more on exactly HOW I cleaned house.  For now, simply tidy up.  Just a simple tidy will do wonders for a home!  No dusting required!  I also did all the laundry on Mondays.  (wow, if only I could manage that now!)  So, we started the week w/ full drawers and closets of clean clothes--great feeling!

Tuesday and Wednesday, I pretty much coasted.  The house really didn't require much from me those days.  These are the days that work best for making appointments if you can manage that.  The house is in good working order and can stand for you to be away from it.

Now, by Thursday, I usually needed to readdress the mess.  There were some things that needed attention since I had been away the previous days.  But, quite often, the mess only took an hour or less to completely fix.  It was sort of like a mini-clean, and it was enough to get me through the weekend.  And that was how I did it with 2 children.

For the larger family, you will more than likely need to break up your cleaning spree into bite-size days.  My week is loosely based on the Large Family Logistics way of doing things.  Recently, I heard Kim has re-opened her site, but from what I can tell, she is still not posting regularly.  You can check it out HERE. 

So, here is what we do for our weekly cleaning routine:

Monday = Laundry (try to do all of it and then maintain throughout the week) & Dusting

Tuesday = All Floors

Wednesday = Bathrooms

Thursday = Projects

Friday = Clean out Van & Finish any outstanding items

Saturday = Prepare for Sunday

Sunday = Set aside for Rest and Worship!

This has proven to be a very doable weekly routine for us and one that is not too time-intensive.  I still prefer to do all my cleaning in the morning with the children's help, and then school in the afternoon.  I divy up all the chores that are required to get the job done onto a dry erase board that hangs in my kitchen.  At this point in time, only my oldest 2 (ages 10 and 7) are listed on the board w/ chores beside their names.  The "littles" (ages 2 & 3) are given tasks at random according to what I think they can handle.  By the way, this board is not the place for the every day chores.  This is the place for the Day-of-the-Week cleaning and anything extra I see that needs to be done.  All of this happens AFTER our morning routine.   We all work through our lists, erasing as we go and usually have it knocked it out by about 11:00 a.m.  A quick example of what the board might look like would be:

Mom -

Tidy bedroom

Tidy Family Room

Vacumn entire house

10 yo Son -

Tidy bedroom

Tidy living room

Sweep/mop dining room and kitchen

Sweep storage areas

7 yo Daughter -

Tidy bedroom

Brush down stairs

Sweep/mop entryway

Sweep/mop downstairs bathroom

So, that gives you an idea as to what is on our list.  Your list will obviously be different b/c your home is different.  And remember, moving beyond the baics takes time and patience.  Finding a workable plan is not an easy task.  You often have to just try it one way and see how it goes, make adjustments, and try it again.  If you see something in your day that is a problem area, figure out a way to solve it.  For instance, is your house always a mess by the time dad comes home even though it is neat and tidy in the morning?  Implement a 4:30 pm mad-dash cleaning session to get the house ready for Daddy.  In fact, before you start doing a full-blown weekly routine, start out by implementing bits and pieces.  Do your 4:30 Mad Dash every day for a week.  Is it working?  Do you like the results?  If so, keep it and move forward.  Don't try to add every single thing I listed all in one week...you will burn out...especially if some piece of it doesn't quite fit your family.

So, a quick recap...

*Figure out what kind of family you are...Schedule or Routine.

*Find a daily basic plan that works for your family.

*Once you have practiced your plan for a sufficient amount of time, add in a weekly repeating routine one component at a time.

*If you find something that just is not working for your family, revamp it and try again.  Give it time.  Don't become discouraged!  Persevere!!!