“Make Life Easier” habits usually start with… the opposite of easy.
Take this new chore system I’ve been building. On paper, it sounded simple: four kids, four major responsibilities, teams of two, and a rotating schedule.
Easy, right?
Not even close.
Why These Chores Aren’t Small Chores
These aren’t quick-and-easy jobs like tossing trash or rinsing a plate. Each responsibility is a whole-room commitment:
Pets: feeding, watering, brushing, sweeping
Laundry: sorting, switching, folding, putting away
Kitchen: dishes, counters, floors, wiping down appliances
Bathrooms: sinks, mirrors, toilets, counters, trash
And each child is responsible for two of these every week, depending on their team. These jobs are substantial, and the rotation matters.
The surprise twist?
Four kids = six possible team combinations… meaning a six-week rotation.
The math alone deserved a snack break. And maybe a nap.
Where Cleaning With Kids Began to Take Shape
Somewhere in the middle of all the recalculating and scribbled arrows, it hit me…
I’ve been building the backbone of something I’ve been quietly creating for months:
Cleaning with Kids.
It’s a simple, kid-friendly, visual chore system designed for real families with real schedules and real neurodiversity. We’ve already begun using the early pieces at home:
✨ visual chore cards
✨ step-by-step instructions for each room
✨ team-based cleaning
✨ rotation schedules
✨ kid-friendly tips and reminders
This system has helped bring structure to chaos, consistency to expectations, and confidence to kids who need predictability.
Thinking Ahead: What About the Other Rooms?
Come to think about it… there are other spaces that need attention too—but only require one child at a time.
Living room. Dining room. Family room. Kitchen table area.
All totally doable solo.
Maybe a four-person rotation for those spaces should be next. One step at a time, but I can already see how helpful that would be.
Training Days: The Part No One Talks About
We are officially in the “training days” now.
This is where the real work happens:
teaching
modeling
practicing
redirecting
reminding
and yes… reminding again
But even in the messy middle, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The structure works.
The kids know what’s expected.
And the ease we’ve been craving is slowly taking shape.
can already see how helpful that would be.
A Little Thank You
A quick note for the record:
Thank you, ChatGPT, for being my extra brain and doing the math while I puzzle-piece all of this together. We will meet again soon.
And who knows… maybe all of this will end up in a book one day.
Effort Before Ease
If you’re setting up a new rhythm, routine, or system, please don’t quit in the middle.
This is the part where ease is being built, even if you can’t feel it yet.
Effort first.
Ease next.
It’s coming
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