The Well Managed Home: How to Delegate

This is a topic Hubs and I have been discussing a lot lately. It's a great idea and even a very welcomed idea, but why is it so hard to do? Just this morning, as we were heading out the door for school and work, Hubs and I noticed a few cheerios on the kitchen floor {clear evidence that the girls had poured their own cereal this morning}. He sighed and said, "Ugh, cheerios on the floor again!" {You can tell this is a common occurrence in our house.} So, I said, "Don't worry about it. I'll get it later." Then, he said to me, "Why you? Why not leave it and let them get it when they get home?" On any other day, there's no way I could leave that. It would be bothering me all day, but today I was leaving and wouldn't be here to look at it. So, that's what I did. And guess what is awaiting them when they get home from school? Cheerios on the kitchen floor.
I don't know what stage of life your kids are in, but mine are very capable of doing some big chores and taking care of their own messes. I just have a hard time letting them do it when I know I can do it faster and without whining {well, most of the time}.
So, in my quest to continue learning ways to delegate to my children and become more of a home manager {and not just the housekeeper, cook, seamstress, kisser of boo boos, homework enforcer, taxi driver}, here are a few things I am going to start around here in addition to Family Dinner responsibilites.
The Daily Work Planner Chart. I got this idea from one of my all-time favorite books ever, More Hours in My Day by Emilie Barnes. My copy is an old one, but she has made revisions recently.
The DWPC is perfect for letting each member of the family know what his/her responsibility of the day is. I love this concept and have tried it with other charts and print outs, etc. But I lack consistency. So, here I am clinging to the end of my rope and tired of doing it all myself and I'm starting this today! Well, I'll make my chart today and start it fresh in the morning. My sweet little minions girls are now going to be team players! {They are usually willing to help, it's just their mom who can't get her act together.}
An example chart {from the book} would be like this:

You could just assign the chores from the week to each person and rotate them OR you can make it fun by writing all the chores for the week on a slip of paper and letting each child pick from the jar. Whatever they pick is the job they get. They can't complain, either, because they picked it - it's their own fault. And they get to live with it for a week. {evil laugh} But doing this is teaching them teamwork. They are part of a family unit and we all work together to accomplish the goals of the family. At the end of the week, if everyone has done their job well, reward the family with a trip for ice cream or a picnic or movie night or something. This builds unity and lets them see there is something worth working for.
Some examples of chores to delegate depending on age of children:

• setting the table
• separating laundry
• folding laundry
• vacuuming
• mopping {mine all fight over this one}
• cleaning bathrooms {or even splitting it up and having one do the sink all week, one do the toilet, one do the bathtub.
• dusting
• water plants
• empty trash cans
• wash windows

I know sometimes the weekdays can be crazy {or Cra-Cray, as my 10 yr old says}, but one chore per day seems very doable. If not, make Saturday your big cleaning day. I personally don't prefer that. The house gets messy during the week. I mean, we LIVE here. So, my house needs rescued just about every day. And boy, am I glad you can't see it right now!

Here are some other helpful chore charts/cleaning schedules I found that you might like. Click the link below each one to print.
Daily Cleaning Checklist - I love this one from Real Simple. It's not a deep cleaning list, but one to help you keep your house surface clean. It gives you a plan instead of being overwhelmed by it all.
Fall Cleaning Checklist - Deep clean this Fall with this great checklist! You'll have it done in no time!
Print these free printables to help you keep that cleaning on track.

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Do you clean once a week? Do you delegate or do it all yourself? Have any great tips for me? I could use them!!

This is part of my 31 Days of Home Economics series.  You can find links to the rest of the series here or at the top of this page titled {Home Economics}.

Thanks for stopping by! I'm sharing this with a few of these friends.