Are You Raising Slobs?

I love when my house is clean and tidy. It keeps me from feeling stressed and allows me to sit down without thinking about what I should be doing instead.

But, my family is not so concerned about how the house looks.

It’s a constant warfare trying to get my kids to clean up their messes or pick up trash instead of step over it.

So, for 2019, I’ve made it their personal goals to learn not to be a slob.

Yep, this year will be the year they will learn to be more responsible and helpful.

But guess what, they will not learn it overnight. And, it’s going to take a lot of effort on my part. Gasp…

However, it’s very important to me that when they are adults, their spouses do not question their slobbish tendencies. Because guess what? That directly reflects on their parents. Yep! Guess whose responsibility it is to teach your kids how to keep things tidy and clean? Yours!

The earlier you start the better!

But you also have to stay on top of it. You cannot be lazy about this or they will be lazy. Most kids are not naturally organized and tidy, unless you’ve been working with them since they were able to clean up their first mess.

So in the art of training, I have some tips for you.

There is no right way to do this. Pick what works for you and your family.

There is a wrong way...not doing anything and just doing it all yourself.

Here are a few things I’m going to start doing right now:

#1 They are responsible for clearing the table after supper.

#2 The kids will alternate washing dishes after supper while I supervise (for a little while) to ensure they are learning the correct way to do dishes.

#3 I’m putting up signs throughout the house to remind them to :

Empty the trash before it’s overflowing!
Wash their dishes when they bring them to the sink!
Wipe the toilet seat if they sprinkle it!

#4 I used to do this one and somehow stopped: instill a 10 minute tidy up daily before bedtime.

#5 I also used to do this and quit (insert eyeroll): what gets left out, goes in a trash bag. They can a) earn it back in 24 hours or b) it gets donated.

Here are some other tips from Focus on the Family. I especially liked #1 and #6. I may import those into my plan too!

And here are some ideas for keeping up with chores that I’ve pinned over the years!

Happy Training!!!

Dayna

P.S.

Do you also struggle with a family of slobs? Let me know in the comments the 1 thing you want to teach your kids about tidyness.

My Kids Don’t Clean Up!