In our house the boys have chores that are just part of how our house runs. Since they alternate days we heard a lot of, "It's not my day!" or "I did it last!", "No you didn't!", "Yes I did!", "It's your turn!" etc. Since this drives me nuts, we came up with a system stop it.
One of our boys was born on an even day and the other on an odd day. This ABSOLUTELY stops all fighting for daily chores like feeding the dogs. This however is not ideal for loading and uploading the dishwasher, unloading groceries, or taking out the trash. Those things don't always happen every day. Since they couldn't remember who did it last, we do it by month. Again, based on their birthday. Odd months my son born on an odd day does it for the entire month and opposite for my other son. Now, we don't even have to ask. If the trash is full, they look at the date. If the sink is full, they look at the date. (one unloads for the month and the other loads for the month) IT'S WONDERFUL!!!
If your kids are both born on the same odd or even day/month or if you have more kids you could pull straws or flip a coin to see who starts the each month rotation. This is also great for who rides shotgun, picking dinner, or anything that can't be decided. Lol! It's a life and sanity saver.
Now, for the extra things that are either deep cleaning or "bonus" chores, they have the option to get paid.
We started a WORK FOR HIRE program. It's not available until ALL other regular chores are done.
I used clothespins and sticky flat magnets. Don't use the strips of magnets in a roll. They never stay flat. :/
CASH!!
I cut the magnets in half and pressed onto one side of the clothespin.
Cut all the tags (free download at the end of the post)
Folded the money in half and staggered just a little.
I made our Work For Hire area in the garage. We have a drink fridge that is out of the way and a perfect place to send the boys when they want to buy something or NEED money. :)
See below for free downloadable tags. I didn't use all of them but tried to think of popular chores. If you have an idea, I can add it.
To download: Click on the link below each one. Right click and save file. All files are sized 4x6 to send to your local print lab or print yourself. Note that one has a misspelling but the download is correct. :) Noticed it after working out my spacing issues.
DOWNLOAD
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