Each.  My kids each did 54 chores in one day.  With almost no complaining!  How did I do it? I set a strategy, helped them throughout the day and stuck to my priorities.  I’m here to tell you it can be done and I’ll show you exactly what I did to help you #OrganizeYourLife.

Why this all started. I had mountains of work to do on the computer and I knew it would take most of the day to accomplish everything.  I also knew that meant I’d let my kids watch TV and play video games for much longer than was probably good for them.  I had to think of something.  So we had a family meeting before everything got started. We decided that the kids could have 3o minutes of screen time and when the time went off we’d each do 3 chores each together.  So I started the timer and we all went to our screens.

The strategy: Talking through the plan with the kids turned it from my plan into our plan. Which moved them from hating the plan to accepting the plan.

Round One. We all heard it when the timer went off, but as I suspected, the kids weren’t jumping at the chance to do any work.  So I just called out to them, “Job Time! Let’s go!” and we set off to do our chores.  I’d made a quick list of mini-jobs and we worked through our chores together.  While b was putting away the silverware, B was unloading the dishwasher and I was sweeping the kitchen floor. Since were all together, it made keeping track of their chores much easier and we could talk about things while we were working.  The chores were done quickly and I reset the timer for 30 more minutes.

The strategy: I knew if I assigned work, the kids would whine about what they had to do. But, if I got involved and stayed with them, they’d be much more likely to keep going.

Keeping the kids going. After about 2 hours of this routine, the kids would run out when the timer went off.  We’d all start working on our mini-jobs.  The kids seemed to get it that the faster they finished their chores correctly, the faster they’d get back to their games.  After they finished each job, they’d ask, “What’s next?” and I’d always have the job ready.  When they got to three chores, I’d have them tell me what they’d accomplished and they could go back to their games.

The strategy: The mini-jobs saved me time and time again.  Instead of a big job like clean the bathroom, I’d have mini-jobs ready like wash the mirrors, wipe down the sinks, sweep the floor and clean the toilet.  Instead of finish the laundry, I’d have mini-jobs of slide the laundry baskets to the washer, load the washer, move the clothes from the washer to the dryer and unload the dry clothes from the dryer. Sure the jobs are smaller, but so are the kids.

Double strategy: Make it fun too, we perfected our chest bump as we folded blankets.  We laughed the whole time.

How we handled the rough part of the day. We completed this strategy today for 9 hours.  Yes, 9 hours.  I had a lot of work to do.  Later in the afternoon, the kids energy was starting to drop so we took one chore time to write thank you notes and get well cards.  The kids were excited to practice their writing and worked together really well to get things done.

The strategy: There is a chance that the kids won’t be excited about this plan during some of the chores and it’s good to have a back-up plan already in mind to keep things moving.

When the day was done.  Our last chores session was the biggest of the jobs.  The kids were excited to be done and couldn’t believe they’d each completed 54 jobs that day. Our house was clean, the kids were excited and I’d been able to get tons of work done.  I realized that it was nice for me to take breaks from the computer screen every 30 minutes, too.  I felt more productive and I finished a big chunk of my to do list.

The strategy: Keep kids going with small rewards throughout the day.  We stopped for Popsicles, snacks and to eat lunch – but kept pretty focused on the goal for the whole day.  The kids played well together during their screen time and took turns with their activities.  By breaking tasks down into smaller pieces, it kept the day moving smooth the whole day.

So there were a few tears shed.  I’m not sure he appreciated me taking pictures of his two issue moments, but it I couldn’t resist.

This day can be yours. Figure out what needs to be done and set your strategy to make it happen.  When you involve everyone, it seems much better throughout the whole day.