Poll Results and a Horror Film
A couple of weeks ago I posted a poll posing questions regarding where you do and don't feel accomplished in the domestic arts.
The first part allowed multiple answers. It appears that half of you are amazing in the kitchen. Overall household management is up there, too. Marion listed party planner as one of her best skills. Interestingly, cleaning came in a sad, sad last. That would apply to my house, too!
That was interesting. Cooking is the best and the least at the same time!
Now about that cleaning. I keep things up fairly well. If we've been really busy or it's Monday after a typically packed weekend, the house is usually in a shambles. I just go to You Tube and watch an episode of "How Clean is Your House?"
Watching Part 1 of an episode is usually enough to rocket me out of my desk chair with a wild look on my face as I grab the cleaners and the broom! It's harsh, but it works for me!
Watch Part 2 HERE.
Watch Part 3 HERE.
10 comments:
Okay, I couldn't finish watching part 1. I thought my house was bad, but this place is beyond words. Daughter is ten? Is she unable to hang up her own clothes, sweep, wash dishes, or make her bed? It shouldn't be up to her to do it all, but she sure could help.
At rant: At ten, I was daily doing the dishes, picking up the house, and helping prepare meals. Weekly chores were practicing, doing homework, vacuuming and dusting the whole house, changing the beds, and cleaning the bathrooms plus doing yard work, babysitting, and any other chores as assigned. I was in 4-H, church choir, took piano lessons, and got fairly good grades in school. I still had time to play, sew, and watch some TV.
Finished watching. I really wonder how long she will keep the house clean.
Packrat--Have you developed a nervous tic after watching that? Horrifying, isn't it?
I always wonder that about how well they'll maintain after such a drastic overhaul. One would hope that the feelings of peace and pride would be enough motivation to maintain at a decent level.
You did all those things at 10?? I did about 75% of the stuff you listed!
Did you enjoy 4-H? I've wondered about getting J involved in that. It seems like it would teach some really great things.
Here's something I never thought to ask you before: What were YOUR kids doing at 10yo? I know you homeschooled, so how did that change the way you did things chore-wise?
Looking forward to your answers!
Oops, just re-read my rant. I must have been upset because it doesn't make much sense. Daily chores were dishes, picking up the house, helping prepare meals, practicing, and doing homework. Weekly chores were always done on Saturday morning, plus we (usually I) did the weekly baking.
I watched a couple more episodes. The one you posted was the worst.
I loved 4-H. (So did my nieces.) My 4-H leader was my next door neighbor and my best friend's mom. We lived in town so we didn't do livestock. Every year we automatically did cooking and sewing. Other projects that I remember doing were knitting, photography, and babysitting. (Unfortunately, my children didn't take to 4-H very well.)
There are so many more options now! There are probably so many things that J would be interested in that you'd have to curb his enthusiasm.
My children at 10. Well...
Our son was being home schooled (5th grade) with a wild baby in the house. By the time our wild baby turned 10 we had my son's step-daughter and infant son living with us most of the time.
Soooo, at age 10 they both could change diapers, heat bottles, help feed little ones, sort dirty clothes, fold and put away clean laundry, sweep and vacuum, clean bathrooms, dust, keep their own rooms clean, change and make beds, help with yard work, help prepare and actually fix (simple) meals, bake cookies and cakes, load and unload the dishwasher, do dishes by hand, bring in wood, keep the fire going, keep little ones occupied, help around the business and church, play the piano, and do about a million other things besides. (Yes, they still had lots of time to play and watch TV/movies and work on fun projects.)
We always tried to work in some learning while doing chores (fractions, weights and measures, health, biology, safety, simple chemistry, history, etc.), so one could say that most chores were actually part of schooling.
With our son, we tried to do a set schedule every day with some chores (bringing in wood, stoking the fire, letting the dogs in and out) being done during breaks. Vacuuming was done when the baby was awake. We tried to do the majority of the chores on Saturday afternoon, but we were flexible. The house wasn't spotless, but it was seldom so terrible that I was embarrassed to have people in. (We'll not talk about the divider between the kitchen and the dining area or the flower bed by the front door, okay?)
There was no schedule with our daughter. She would do her work when she felt like it, but she always did it. She was (and is) Miss Independent.
The year Daughter turned 10 she was technically in the 4th grade. She was sick all the time. I was sick. We had little ones in a house that was torn up because we were trying to remodel. So, until the babies moved back home and until after I recovered from surgery, not much of anything happened. (Thank goodness Daughter was way ahead of the 4th graders in the Catholic and public school. That year was a disaster.)
I don't believe I've answered your question.
Home schooling per se didn't change my chore schedule. I had always worked outside the home so chores weren't done during the day anyway. The overall change in our lifestyle changed how and when I did chores. Since there was only one child being schooled at a time, it actually gave me time to get things done. (But, that doesn't mean I did. LOL)
Please note that both of my children went to (public and parochial) school for at least three years, so they already knew how to read, write, and do simple math by the time we started home schooling. This made a huge difference in how much time I had to spend helping them. I could give the assignments, explain a few things, and they would do their work.
That didn't really help, did it? A long time ago, I quit scheduling anthing. I decided life was too short to beat myself up (mentally, of course) if the kitchen floor didn't get mopped or the furniture didn't get dusted.
I like to watch those lovely ladies . The good that comes out of that show is i jump up to clean too.(You would hope to never be invited to dinner, it's a great shock value show)
I'm always late on your polls so I miss out. I clean and cook probably equally since I started both of these young. I could do better in thrift.
On "How Clean is Your House." Oooh thank you for reminding me to go watch that. I love that show. Yes it is gross but I love the way those women whip it together and reuse what the homeowner already had.
Just finished wiping down the kitchen so I'm going to watch this directly on your blog.
Packrat--Your description helped a lot, actually. I never know what is realistic and how much is useful and character-building and what is not.
My mom sort of treated us as her maids and we did all the things she didn't like to do. For example, we did the prep work and washed dishes but she never taught us how to cook. Training us to take care of all the household chores was not on her agenda. That's why I had to teach myself about all the other areas!
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Mrs. Tailleur--Motivation is motivation! The fact that I practically fall over myself in my haste to clean is proof that it works!
KQuinn--Another thing I like about these ladies it that they encourage using natural cleaners. I don't guess they have cleaning product companies as their sponsors!
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