Oh No! It's a Messy House Again! Here's Why You Shouldn't Stress Out

calculating extra money earned for extra chores

...literally kept me from success for years. It took me a long time to develop a system to keep track of it all that made all those pieces fit together in an easy way that I can remember to do.

When calculating allowance for kids it is important to be fair and accurate. My solution is simple.

Each person has an allowance envelope with their name on it. I calculate how much they get monthly/weekly and I write it on the front of the envelope.


At times like these, I try to remember the simple secret to a spotless house despite the children:

• live-in housekeeping staff, and...


• a governess

That doesn't sound so hard, does it? Well, ummmm..

Seriously, though, sometimes, I look around at our house and it's just not working. The laundry's not put away, somebody left their dishes on the table, and the kids aren't listening because they're having some petty argument inside the couch fort that I didn't realize they had even built. These moments happen in every house. Every. House.

When things fall apart in our home, I can usually attribute it to a lapse in consistency. Hopefully as my kids get older, the house will get nicer and nicer as my kids get more and more capable. But for now, I'm making a choice. Just now, for example, my youngest just came up to me with his underwear on his head, and I'm not going to worry about it.

So when you get discouraged (not if! When!) every now and then by a messy house, remind yourself that the reason we use all these checklists and chore charts is not to live in a perfect, spotless house. The purpose of our system of checklists and chore charts is to give your family a way to live together in balance, sharing the workload, but making time for fun together, too.

Sometimes, though, it's a one-time deal, and I make an offer to the nearest kid, asking if they'd be willing to do such and such job for such and such pay. Remember that offering an extra job for extra money is voluntary! They can say no and it is back to being your problem.

If they say yes (woo hoo!) I offer an amount up front. I use minimum wage as a rough estimate for cleaning jobs, especially if I'm not sure how long it will take.

In our family, we give the base allowance for chores done, but we do charge for any items that had been confiscated over the course of the week if they weren't put away.

So considering the repo deductions and keeping track of each person's allowance for chores plus extra work, this may seem like a lot to keep track of.

I calculate how much they get monthly/weekly and I write it on the front of the envelope.

I have another envelope for the wad of ones, which we have to withdraw monthly. Learn from my mistakes: if you have no money to give them when it's supposed to be Pay Day, the system starts to fall apart!

Simple, but it really works for our family.

Finally, money only works as an incentive if they have the chance to spend it.