While on bedrest the house had to continue working. We had to find ways to keep things going, clean, people cared for and fed. At times I felt so guilty for having the kids do more, but that's not a good attitude for a few reasons. We are all commanded to work, we are all commanded to do all things joyful as unto the LORD, and we're all commanded to serve one another. This is just an opportunity for practice doing those things.
Our oldest was 16 and had been in training for years, so she was well prepared to take on this task. And I’m so proud and happy to say that she did so joyfully. What a blessing this was!
I thought I’d share what each of the kids did for daily chores, what our Saturday’s looked liked, how we handled Sunday’s preparations, and what my role was.
First I sat down and created a list of chores that MUST get done, then I went over it with my oldest and got her opinion. With her insight, we changed a few things. After doing it this way for 1-2 weeks, we had another meeting together to go over what was working and what wasn’t. She found there were some things that we had missed or a job that wasn’t working…..so we revamped it and finally nailed it down. We’ve been using this list for at least 6 weeks now.
Here are the kids ages and what their morning chores were.
Abigail, age 16
Washing ishes for all meals
Filling our Berkey (super amazing water filter)
Laundry
Lunch prep
Thawing meat if needed for dinner
Sweeping as needed
Felicity, age 12
Get Mama’s cup refilled
Kitchen counters and stove (putting food away and cleaning them)
Sweep kitchen
Mama’s bathroom*
Vacuum half of the house
Get Mama food
Micah, age 10
Dining room table (clearing and wiping off at each meal)
Boys bathroom*
Straighten half of the den
Shaking out the back door rug
Vacuum half of the house
Boys bedroom
Josie, age 8
Highchair
Help put dishes away at each meal
Girls bathroom*
Straighten computer area
Straighten half of the den
Shake out front door rug
Girls bedroom
Sophie, age 7
Chairs and bench (only at breakfast)
Help put dishes away at each meal
Straighten both hallways
Basket of stuff*
Girls bedroom
Isaiah, age 5
Collect all bathroom trash
Straighten living room
Boys bedroom
Basket of stuff*
Chairs and bench (lunch and dinner only)
Obadiah, age 4
Collect all dirty clothes and take to laundry room
Boys bedroom
Take all cups to kitchen at each meal
*For bathrooms, there are basic chores (counter, floor, toilet lid down, shower curtain closed, check that trash was taken out, wipe down one wall, the door, or the outside of the cabinets) and one main chore that is a deep cleaning job (toilet, counters & mirror, sweep one day and sweep & mop another, straighten tub toys). These are done daily and Saturday’s the entire bathroom is deep cleaned.
*Basket of stuff. This is a laundry basket we keep in the living room and when we do our quick cleanups throughout the day, we simply pick up items and toss them in the basket. The general rule is large items and trash aren’t allowed in this basket, but some days I allow it because that is what is best in the moment.
Saturday’s Chores and Sunday Preparations
On Saturday’s we do some extra cleaning so that we’re as set as possible for Sunday. At first I just assigned everyone their daily chores, then gave them each an extra job, plus had some jobs that I typically would do that I divided out to mostly the older ones. That worked well for a few weeks, but then I noticed they were having a hard time completing their chores and getting overwhelmed very easily. So we switched things up a bit for a couple of weeks. But once again, they started getting overwhelmed. For the last two weeks I divided the kids up into two teams and spread chores out between them. This became a competition and was super fun! Next week I’ll be getting some rewards and switching it up again. The Grandma’s asked if they could get the rewards, so that will make it extra fun!
For chores we focused on getting the normal daily chores done, but I tried to switch them up so the kids got to do something different. We also….
Deep cleaned entire bathrooms
Swept and mopped the main areas of the house
Front and back porch straightened and swept
Garage straightened and swept
Cleaning all light switches and door handles
Washing everyone’s cups (we each have our own cup we use all the time and they get washed as needed, but for sure on Saturday’s)
Bedding (we rotate between doing boys and girls bedding each week. But if someone wants theirs done, they simply have to get it to the laundry room)
Every bit of laundry (in theory anyways haha)
For specific Sunday preparations we…..
Lay out church clothes and shoes
Kids do their Sunday School homework
All Sunday’s food is prepared as much as possible
Pack the diaper bag
It usually takes 1.5-2 hours to complete Saturday’s work. Having the house in good order and food prepared, those things make Sunday so much easier. Plus it allows us to keep the Sabbath. We don’t do that perfectly, but we work to do it as best as we can.
So what do I do during chore time while on bedrest?
I try to stay calm to begin with. haha! It is often very hard on me to just sit there while the kids are working. Especially if someone isn’t feeling well, they are extra tired, or are getting overwhelmed.
At first I oversaw everything from my bed, but over time I was able to move to the living room and sit on the couch. Being in the middle of everything made it much easier. On everyone.
I have the chore list with me, marked off stuff as it was done, counseled and discipled kids as needed, disciplined as needed, encouraged, and generally kept tabs on everyone. Since I can’t get up, not all the jobs are getting inspected. I’ll often send a kid to inspect, but they don’t look at it through Mama’s eyes. Not even the oldest. haha! But hey. Jobs are more or less getting done and that’s the big thing right now. Once I’m back on my feet, we’ll get stuff done better.
I feel like a conductor at times, trying to get everyone to play their notes just right and at just the right time. Being on bed rest has really zapped my brain cells, so trying to constantly keep up with who is doing what chore and when……it can be very taxing on me mentally. I just tell the kids how I’m feeling and ask them to not get frustrated when I ask them the same question 3 times because I honestly can’t remember what I sent them to do. It is what it is. Usually they handle it with grace…..but I can tell they often think I’ve gone completely crazy.
Typing out our “bare minimum” chores looks like a lot, but it really doesn’t take long at all to accomplish these chores. There are so many tasks that aren’t getting done right now, but this is just for a season. If I or my oldest notice something that *really* needs to be done, I will add it to a to-do list that I have going in my notebook and then assign it one or more kids.
My encouragement to you is that it’s okay to let things slide during a hard season. You’ll be able to catch up easily if you have systems in place already. And if you don’t, now is a good chance to implement them. Don’t grow weary mama!
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