Mommy Store revisited ...

So I have had a few friends ask how I do this and decided I would do another post that talks about my "chore" system. Which works great if I keep up with it, but if I slack, then so do the kids. So now... I'm tired of slacking on it so I'm getting back to business with it.

This first one is for the daily chores, and made it so that if I print of one paper, it'll be good for a month for one child. And I just check off for each chore that was done. Because the numbers on this match up with the chores listed below. And they get money according to the list below (but if you want to try this, you just customize it to your preferences and chores that fit your family and household)

So I would just write each child's name on the paper, and keep it in a binder so I can check off at the end of the day, whether these things were done or not. Now here is the one I made for the Weekly Chores... And I have Week #1, Week #2 etc... across the tops of the columns up through #5 and have numbers down the side that correspond with the weekly chores listed below. And in the blank spaces, I write the child that is responsible for that week to do that chore. And left a place to mark off whether it was done. (And really it's up to you how long you want them to stick with that chore.) These are the ones that I felt didn't need to be done daily, but needed done at least weekly and some of these could even just be done monthly, just depends on your family and your preferences. But this is how we like to have it done. There isn't a set day to do it, just that by Saturday everything needs to be finished for sure. That way it gives them flexibility with school going on and homework, and not feel too pressured during the week. I've also made it so that I wrote each of the weekly chores on one note card and let the children "choose" which ones they get to do for the week, or for the next two weeks, or the entire month. (You get to decide). There are a couple that are geared for the younger kids, and I usually like to keep them with that, or another sibling is assigned to help them, if I'm unable to assist. And I made a way to check off the chores that get done to keep track of who gets paid what. The kids are in charge of doing certain weekly chores for a few weeks, and then we switch it up. Although the younger kids will probably keep theirs because it's manageable for them to do.

So I made a list of Daily and Weekly chores.

Daily Chores :
1 Make your bed $3
2 Get Dressed put dirty clothes in hamper $3
3 Brush your hair and teeth am & pm $1/ea
4 Clean up your toys, and other things $1
5 Yard cleaned up at the end of the day $1
6 At least 20 minutes of reading time $2
7 Make sure your room is clean at the end of the day $5
8 Help with dinner and dishes. (wash & dry) $3/ea
9 No dirty clothes in the bathroom area $1
10 Tidy up the living room, before bedtime. $5
11 Anything else Mom or Dad asks you to help with. $???

Weekly Chores
1 Vacuum the living room floor and the hall $5
2 Mop the kitchen floor $12
3 Clean the floor in the bathroom $5
4 Scrub the toilet $3
5 Clean the sink area $5
6 Dust the furniture in the living room $3
7 Vacuum the bedroom floors once a week. $3
8 Straighten up the videos and entertainment center $3
9 Clean up the laundry room - vacuum the floor $7
10 Wash your bedding and replace on your bed $10
11 Help weed the garden and other flower beds $5
12 Scrub the tub. $5
13 Anything else we ask you to do $???
I've also printed some up with the amount set to $5.00 instead of just $1.00.

And I just have a set time to do the mommy store. So ideally once a week, to keep them motivated, and just add new little things to the store. I get a lot of my stuff from the dollar stores that we have around, or the cheap candy items from Walmart. I can even make up computer time vouchers, for so much time on the computer. It can even be something like a coupon to go with me to DI to pick out a new outfit (because that's where I love to get them new clothes), the ideas are limitless. You could even up the ante a little and get a gift card for a dollar theater and let them buy it for like $100 mommy money of something like that. Find what motivates your kids, and go with it.

The nice thing I can also take away this money, if they break the rules (well not really rules but just the things that they know should be done... or that just aren't tolerated. )

Ways to Earn Mommy Money
1 Be nice to each other, and no fighting. $1
2 Do your daily chores without whining $1
3 Be in bed by 8pm at night and up and ready to go the next morning by 7:00am $1
4 Do your daily homework and reading time $1

Like no fighting, if I hear whining... if I find something not put away after asking them once to put it away, I can take money away. If they whine at all they don't get money for doing that chore. They can ask for help from a sibling but the money gets split between them.

Just be sure not to misplace your stash of money that can be earned, and don't lose where you put your bag of Mommy Store items that can be bought. So yes it is kind of like a treasure box, but I just keep mine in a bag, and just try to add a new item here and there, and try to keep things in there that would appeal to the gender(s) of your child(ren). I realized that if I put a higher price on something, more work was done, in order to earn enough to buy it the next time we opened the mommy store.

So you can come up with your own name... and design your own money... and just go somewhere to print if off if you don't want to do it all at home. Some days you'll pay out a lot, and others nothing. The more kids you have the more you'll use up (ideally). I know this works for my kids now, but as they get older the types of things in the store might have to change.

If you would like to get my file that I started and go from there, just email me with your email and I can send you the attachment.

Questions??? Just ask or email me.