Chores Have A Purpose

As I grow and learn, I see that childhood lessons that once seemed like punishment did have a purpose.

When I was a child, I had trouble cleaning my room, let alone doing chores in the rest of the house! I had a hard time understanding why I had to do chores at all. Now as an adult, it’s so obvious as to why we do chores! Cleaning of any kind was very hard for me then, but I have learned that breaking any task into smaller bits is a very efficient time saver.

For example, when I whined about cleaning my room, my father would ask me what the problem was. I'd tell him that there was just too much to do. He would take everything that was out of place and toss it in the middle of the floor. Then he would walk to the door and say, "Now don’t come out until everything is put away. Just put everything away one thing at a time." I thought I was being punished. He was teaching me a valuable lesson.

As I turned back to look at my room, I remember it appearing cleaner except for the pile in the middle of the floor. This made the job seem more manageable and I picked up one item at a time to put it away. However, I always hated folding clothes so I folded a few items, hung up one or two more, and then tossed the rest behind the bed, hoping Dad wouldn't find it. Of course when I ran out of clothes, Mom would figure me out.

My point here is that I was able to manage to get the room cleaned. Have you ever heard the saying, "How do you eat an elephant?" One bite at a time! But there's one more important piece in this equation and that is — learning style. What is YOUR learning style?? How do you process information?

If you find that you have a hard time with large tasks, break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks. This is a common saying, but how many times do people actually do this?

When you are working with children on chores, show them some examples of "before and after." If you have a messy room, get everyone to clean it together so that you'll quickly see the end result; then talk about how nice a clean room makes everyone feel. When you walk into someone's home and they have a large open room with furniture neatly laid out and clean walking space, does it make an impression on you? I know it does with my family.

Another idea could be to have someone other than yourself show your child how to do a particular cleaning job or proper etiquette, so consider setting up an informal class with one of your friends or neighbors.

Just remember that any job is easier done in smaller pieces and with clear instructions!

Copyright © 2002 - 2009 Susie Glennan

Bio: Susie Glennan is the President of The Busy Woman, Inc. - DBA: The Busy Woman's Daily Planner®. She has been featured in Smart Money Magazine, The Washington Post, and others. Her products have been featured in Real Simple and Parenting Magazines, CBS Early Show, San Antonio Living Show and many more!

Susie has been happily married since 1982. She is mom to 3, Homeschool Teacher, Toastmaster, Speaker and is Author of numerous articles that have been published in magazines, across the web and at www.thebusywoman.com