Set Them Up For Success 5

Teaching your kids to do a job well done the first time is just as important as having them help at all. After all, it’s no help to have somebody wash the dishes if you have to wash them all over again because they aren’t really clean! Take the time to do chores with them the first few times and teach them how to do their chores correctly, so they can understand the satisfaction of a job well done.

They have to understand that the expectations are for things to be done to the best of their ability, not just for the chore to be checked off the list. This is just as much for their own sense of self-satisfaction in giving their best effort and being proud of it.

If a five year old can operate a smartphone, they can do a load of laundry. It takes a little training, but as they say,

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember.”

If your expectations are perfectly washed and folded laundry or you have special instructions for certain items - this might not work.

The most common question I get asked about life on the ranch is how I manage laundry! With so much dirt and a ‘free range’ lifestyle, it does seem like it might be a daunting task, but like everything else, it just gets done. Laundry used to be more of a chore before the girls started pitching in - it took creating a system to make it work smoothly.

Ours is a simplified system that works for us but could be adapted based on your standards. We don’t use hangers at all, only cubbies and bins and shelves. It makes it easier for us to put things away quickly, but obviously ranch life clothes are not going on an ironing board first! The girls have the choice to put their basket of laundry away in their shelves or in a big wooden basket in their room where clean clothes sit until they are put away. I don’t expect the girls to put away each others clothes every time… So, they just help move a basket along quickly and then put theirs away at some point that day. Before they go to bed the clean laundry HAS to be empty and put away.

Make Spaces More Manageable 7

I love the benefits we get from living in close quarters and I know the girls will have such great memories all bunked together in our little home. With that said, part of setting up your kids for success while doing chores is creating spaces that you all will be able to manage without becoming totally overwhelmed with stuff! We can’t ask our kids to do chores that we wouldn’t do ourselves. Here are some tips we’ve found to make our small-space living more manageable…

Outside Storage

Either a garage, shed, storage container, or storage facility nearby.

Vacation Pack

Pack your house like it’s vacation for that season and store everything else. It’s there when you need it, but less is more in your everyday space.

Closets By Season

Pull your clothes out that you aren’t wearing that season and store them somewhere else. Get rid of shoes and clothes that you never wear.

Only What You Need

Don’t keep what you don’t need! Less stuff in your home means more space to enjoy it.