My dear friend Lainie is back with another household tip. This time, she discusses how she gets her kids involved with preparations for a special occasion. Her tip about Teaching Kids to Clean with Lines (HERE) has made a huge difference in our house. I can see her suggestion about a Post It Note Wall being equally effective (especially once both of my boys can read!).
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Once again I’m back with a tip to help motivate kids to get work done! You might remember my tip about lines (HERE) and the many benefits including clarity over what needs to be done (which means less nagging by mom and less feelings of being overwhelmed by the kids) and a clear end to the job.
This tip has the same benefits, but is for bigger jobs such as getting the house ready for company, getting ready to leave on a trip, weekly house cleaning… anything really! You can use it to build a daily chore habit or if you homeschool it works great to make it clear what schoolwork needs to be completed each day. On to the tip.
The Post-It Note Wall! All jobs get their own Post It. Everyone gets to choose jobs in any order and crumple up the Post It when it’s complete. When the Post It wall is clear, everyone is done!
That’s it in a nutshell. I think of everything that needs to be completed, break it down into small jobs (the smaller the better), and put each small job on a Post It. So if I need the bathroom cleaned instead of writing “clean the bathroom” I will write “wipe down counter” on one Post It, “hang up a clean towel” on another, “check for toilet paper” on another and so on. These small jobs are so much less overwhelming than the big job of cleaning the bathroom. Kids of all ages can participate (and parents too!).
I end up with a wall of Post It notes as seen in the picture. The kids can choose a Post It of their choice and get to work. They don’t take it off the wall until it’s complete. It’s fun to watch the area of Post Its shrink and to know there’s a clear end in sight. After doing this for many years I am absolutely amazed at how the kids jump right in and get things done. This works! I don’t overuse it though. While lines were a daily thing in my house when the kids were little, the Post It note wall only comes out occasionally. It’s been a life saver for me!