(up beat music)
(kissing)
- Hey, friends.
Jordan Page from Millennial Moms here.
It's Wednesday, so, yeah,
it looks like you get
to stare at my face for
the next five minutes.
I've got a lot of rascals
running around my house
as you are all well aware and
boy we make a lot of messes.
Ugh, yeah, so good at the messes.
It's hard to keep up with the mess, right?
I've tried pretty much every
chore chart on the planet.
And some of them work for a minute
and then I get distracted
and kind of get tired of it
and forget to keep going.
So I came up with my own plan,
and guess what, it's so simple, it works.
So I'm gonna share with you,
the world's simplest chore chart method
that isn't actually a chart at all.
It's even easier than that.
But before I tell you the secrets,
don't forget to subcribe.
Give this video a big thumbs up.
Now I can share with you my secrets.
I call this chore method
my Chore Stick Method.
You get yourself a bunch
of pop-sickle sticks.
They can be colored.
They can be plain.
I don't know, it doesn't
really matter, whatevs.
Gather all your little chickies around
and come up with as many chores
as you could possibly think
of to do around your house.
I recommend being specific.
So instead of just mop the floor
say mop the kitchen,
mop the mudroom,
mop the bathroom floors.
Bit size pieces, guys, bite size.
Don't be afraid if you think the chore
might be too hard for your kids.
Put it on the sticks anyway.
And it's amazing what
my kids are able to do.
And what they're excited
to do, for heaven sakes.
Sure, my daughter is not going to
mop the floor as well as me.
She's four and a half.
But it's teaching her the skill.
And, most importantly it's
at least doing something
that wouldn't have gotten done otherwise,
'cause this momma ain't got
time to mop my entry floors.
Here's some of the things
that are on my kids' sticks.
Fold laundry.
Clean bathroom mirrors.
Dishes is pretty generic
'cause it could mean
emptying the dishwasher
and loading the dishwasher or helping
to dry dishes as I wash them.
Disinfect door knobs.
Vacuum the playroom.
Pick up coats and shoes in the mudroom.
Pick up toys in the playroom.
Toilets and with toilets
I separated by floor,
so I'd say basement
toilets, upstairs toilets,
or main floor toilets.
I've got a lot of toilets in my house.
Wipe down kitchen chairs.
Wipe down the sinks.
Dust.
Wipe off counters.
Sweep.
Steam.
Mop.
Wipe out the bathtub.
Refill toilet paper.
Wipe the kitchen cabinets.
Vacuum.
Clean windows.
My kids fight over this one.
They love doing the windows.
There ya go.
Those are just some of the
chores that we have in here.
Now that you've got
all your little sticks,
put them in a cup or a jar.
I don't do things cute.
I do things functionally.
Functional.
They close their eyes and
they pick a stick at random
and they have to do
whatever chore they draw.
If the chore's been done already,
exchange it for another one.
For my little ones that
are three or younger,
some times I have to help
kind of pick out a few sticks
that they can do by themselves
and have them pick from
the sticks in my hand.
And then each kid has their own cup.
When they're done with the stick,
they put it in their cup
so they can see how many
chores they've done that week
and get super excited about it.
That's it, guys.
That is it.
Now, here are a few tips and tricks
for making this uber, uber, successful.
Make it fun.
My kids know it's chore time
when they see our disco ball,
blue tooth speaker come out.
We turn out 80s pop radio on Pandora,
crank up the volume,
turn on the disco light,
and everyone knows it's chore time,
slash dance party time.
Don't be afraid to push your kids.
I know some moms that had their kids
doing all their own
laundry by eight years old.
I don't know, that's kinda awesome.
If they're horrible at doing laundry,
train them to do it better.
Hello, easy fix.
Let them do it their way.
My son has come up with his
own very specific method
for cleaning the toilets.
Obviously I showed him my way.
Trained him on it.
Watched him to make sure
he understood the concept,
but now he has his own routine,
his own way of doing it.
And hey, as long as the job gets done,
he can do it his way, that's okay.
Don't underestimate age.
Sure, my three year old doesn't
know how to fold laundry.
Well, so, you teach him
how to fold laundry.
And honestly, even my 16
month old loves cleaning up.
Be sure not to criticize.
Hey, they're doing their best.
They're little guys.
If the job wasn't done very well,
feel free to go back
and clean it up your way
once they're not looking.
Be consistent.
I've set a goal to have my kids
pull out two sticks every day.
One in the morning.
One at night.
Just set a reasonable number
and try to be consistent.
That's really what will
make it successful.
Feel free to use these as
an impromptu consequence.
If my kids are talking
back or being sassy,
if they're fighting, if they're bored,
I'll say, "Grab a stick, kiddo."
So there you go, guys.
I'm telling you it's so simple
but I think that's why
it really is effective.
Let me know in the comments below.
Is this something you
wanna try with your kids?
Or if you have tried it, did it work?
We've got new videos on Millennial Moms
Monday through Saturday, so
you'd be crazy not to subscribe.
And give this video a thumbs up.
Be sure to check out my own
blog, funcheaporfree.com.
My own YouTube channel as well.
Info in the description below.
Bye.
I'm gonna go get it.
I forgot, forgot the sticks.
Uhh, what's the word?