I wish I could get my kids to more regularly do chores, but I find they have so much damned homework that it's really hard. Our usual routine is "Sunday morning chore time" and they rotate around a variety of tasks, but even that has fallen off lately because of homework (and soccer games.) Maybe this summer I'll regroup.

At my house, I do laundry (I love doing laundry), mr. flea takes out the trash and takes lead on everything pet related, I pay bills, mr. flea does car stuff. The place I do more than my share is the planning. I almost always make the weekly meal plan and grocery list, and, for example, I have done every single bit of the planning for 11 weeks of stuff to keep the kids cared for/active this summer.

Gud I would suggest you put up a pice of paper and for one week have everyone on the household track the household chores they do. Anything for the household and not just ones self counts (I do count ones own laundry as household because smelly kids are gross).If it is highly inequitable, you need to set up a chart and create better division of labor.

If I did not have Mac's chores written down and set as a barrier to both money and wireless access, he would never do anything. As it is what I am asking him to do takes less than 30 minutes of a to city per day and he has neither homework nor activities.

I am actually working on the summer chart now. Older = more. This year, I will be including what I do as a counterpoint.

Have I mentioned that I would love to have summer guests? Yes it is hot in Texas, but the a/c is good and I can take random days off. Bonus points if you want to help me clear out stuff, paint a garage, do yard work, or sew/knit all day.

Kid wrangling and planning is a serious time suck. Do Not Miss! I end up doing garbage stuff more often just because I am the house early bird. Sometimes I just leave it by the door for whoever goes outside first.

Doling chores out to the kids had to be balanced with their notion that a job done poorly means a job not done in the future. I did give up on dishes early on because I really don't want to have to rewash all my dishes, but their clothes, their problem.

Now that it is just Cory and I sharing my house, we are refiguring chores. Though I prefer to call them "things that need to be done to maintain a household". I know that is longer and technically what is what a chore is. I differentiate basically to help CJ realize that he is an adult and if this what his house, he would have to do all these things by himself. Not sure if that makes sense now that I write it out.

We have also had a rule of, if you are going to complain about something not being done in the house, you better make sure all of YOUR responsibilities are handled.

Hive mind question for teachers:

One of the "fun" things Mac will get to occupy his time with electronics this summer will be some workbooks. PSAT study guide will be one, but I would like to find something that teaches general study habits. Suggestions?

I am looking at How to Study by Ron Fry.

We are both pretty lax about chores, but that also means there's no simmering resentment, along the lines of "I *always* clean the Waterford chandelier, but you *never* polish the ancestral silver!" (Or, you know, mop the floor and clean the baseboards JESUS CHRIST HOW DO BASEBOARDS GET SO DIRTY???)

My labor is all on me, since I live alone. On one hand, that means that I can set the level of effort based on what I'm willing to live with. (Laundry always gets done. Dusting, not so much.) On the other hand, when I'm too sick to clean the tub, the tub just doesn't get cleaned. It does mean that the only one making a mess that needs cleaning is me (well, me and the cat, but he's surprisingly tidy). Living in an apartment is useful, since the lawn mowing and external building upkeep is included in the rent.

Living in an apartment is useful, since the lawn mowing and external building upkeep is included in the rent.

Dear god, such a relief to know the lawn and the roof and the water heater and the stopped-up toilet will be taken care of by someone else. That said, I should vacuum this weekend. After I buy a car.

JESUS CHRIST HOW DO BASEBOARDS GET SO DIRTY???

Ancient curse. Or possibly gremlins.

We desperately need to make some room in our budget for a cleaning person, because the house is just filling up with dust at this point. We're both pretty good about doing the really gross things like cleaning the bathroom, but I hate dusting and vacuuming with a vengeance, and it's not doing my allergies any favors.