Summer Chore Chart

This summer, my life was rather hectic.  I'd get up at 7:00, shower and get dressed, read my Bible, and then head over for breakfast in the dining hall.  While there I might weed my garden a little and water it.  Then back home where I might have about 15 minutes before work.  I'd work 9-5 and then go down to the dining hall again for dinner, then I'd have a few hours at home to accomplish any tasks I wanted done before falling, exhausted, into bed.

The reason I got up at 7:00 is because mornings are sacred to me.  I love being up before everyone else and having time to myself.  And I know 7:00 isn't actually that early, but it's what worked, because I couldn't eat breakfast until 8:00 anyway.  If I had my choice, I'd eat first thing, and then I have energy to do other things (clean, etc.).  But until I eat, there's not much I can do.  I wake up so hungry every morning.

Regardless of my breakfasting hour, this summer schedule really reduced any time I wanted to do things at home to a few hours in the evening, which could easily be taken up by something that seems like a small commitment to  someone else, like dinner or an hour long band practice.  In the spring, I'd do all my cleaning on one day and just get it out of the way, but I knew that with summer, that wasn't going to happen; I would never have a whole day to do it!  And I had seen all these adorable homemade chore/weekly charts on Pinterest, so I wanted to try one.  Mine would be simple, just different pieces of colored paper with the day written on, secured behind glass in a long, skinny frame, and then I'd use a dry erase marker so that if it didn't work out to do it one way, I could easily try another.

Do you know how hard it is to find a long, skinny frame (that's actually glass and not just cheap plastic) at a thrift store in my area?  Impossible!  I looked for months (I started early).  Finally one day, as I was looking for a frame, I found this:

You know what's easier than making your own chore chart?  Buying one that's the perfect size (and comes with dry erase markers and cleaning spray) for $5.  

Because it came with three colors of markers, I decided to color code.  Red is chores and blue is "social engagements".  (And I didn't use the black one.)

Did it magically happen like this every week because I had a chart?  Heck no.  I don't think Caleb vacuumed once all summer, which is fine because he worked around the clock.  And I didn't always do the laundry on the days I have specified.  (If you're wondering, the reason sheets and towels are on there and clothes aren't is because I will make time to wash my clothes out of necessity.  But when I get super busy, I need a reminder that my sheets and towels are dirty.)  

A chore chart isn't a magical lamp that gives you self-control and a desire to clean your house every day.  It's a guideline and it helped me to remember some things.  And it helps that it's not the ugliest thing I've ever seen, either.

Love and Flowers,

Leah Joy