3 EASY STEPS...and your kids will love chores

EVERYTHING ABOUT CHORES: CUSTOMIZABLE CHORE CHARTS, CHORE CHART IDEAS, CHORE CARDS, CHORES BY AGE, HELPING KIDS BE ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT CHORES, AND FREE PRINTABLES!

​When my house is a mess I get stressed. 

Don't you hate when the house has clutter and dirt everywhere and you seem to be the only one that notices? I somehow feel solely responsible for keeping it presentable and clean. ​

Just the mere suggestion of cleaning used to make my kids panic. Getting them to do chores was frustrating and stressful so much so that it seemed easier to do everything myself. I was doing even the simplest of chores for them like putting their laundry in the hamper, picking up their dishes, and putting their coats and shoes away. ​

​​Like all parents, I want the best for them. I want to raise them to be happy successful adults. This meant that I needed to teach them to better care for themselves and their surroundings.I knew things needed to change.

​​I have 3 kids with different ages and different things that motivate them. I needed a chore chart that was going to work for all my kids.

I didn't want another thing to maintain so it needed to be a system that they could be excited about and simple enough for them to manage.

​I searched far and wide for a chore system that would fit our needs but I couldn't find anything that was going to work. So one day out of frustration, I decided to create my own and NEATLINGS was born!!! I created a customizable chore chart system that met all our needs and my kids were excited - they couldn't get enough chores! They would run off the school bus and start doing chores as soon as they got home - I didn't have to do anything! Eek! It was so exciting!!!

Watch video to get a short overview of how it works or click here for more NEATLINGS videos

Chore chart for 3 kids

​I searched far and wide for a chore system that would fit our needs but I couldn't find anything that was going to work. So one day out of frustration, I decided to create my own and NEATLINGS was born!!! I created a customizble chore chart system that met all our needs and my kids were excited - they couldn't get enough chores! They would run off the school bus and start doing chores as soon as they got home - I didn't have to do anything! Eek! It was so exciting!!!

​My kids' friends would even say that they wanted one too. This is when I knew I had something worth sharing. I made a few prototypes and asked one mom if she wanted to try it. She happened to write a quick thank you on Facebook and within minutes, I had a waiting list!Watch video to get a short overview of how it works or click here for more NEATLINGS videos

Chore chart for 3 kids

I created a system that clearly defines a child's responsibilities, which chores are expected, how they can earn rewards, it can be set up differently for each child with age appropriate chores, it's easy to set up and kids are actually excited to do their chores!

​This product is truly a labor of love for me.
My chore system has even won prestigious awards Gold Mom's Choice Awards and Parent's Choice Approved.

Here's how to create a chore chart that WORKS!

Step 1. SELECT AGE APPROPRIATE CHORES

​Chores fall into one of two categories; there are self-care chores and household chores. 

Self-care chores are chores that each child needs to complete on their own to be considered done. These includes tasks such as brush teeth, homework, exercise, shower/bath, and practice instrument.

Household chores are chores that typically only need to be done once to be considered done. These include tasks such as take out the trash, feed the pets, water the plants, and wash vehicle.
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​Start by reviewing our Chores By Age free printable. Look over the chores and determine which self-care chores your child is still working on and which household tasks they are ready to take on. There are chores in both categories that are appropriate for every age 2 years and up. 

You can use this free printable as a guide to help parents and give ideas on what and when you children may be ready for different tasks. It is not expected that a child do all the chores Adjust the chore as needed.

Take some notes (mental notes work just fine), determine which ones your child is already good at and cross those off. You will not need them as these are already a normal expected part of their life. Take special note of what they are working on now and what you need them to be doing more of or even ones that they need reminders for. If you see any that are not on the list then jot these down too. These will be your first chores.

Toddlers and younger children will have more self-care chores than household chores as they are still learning these jobs.

As grade school children get older this balance will slowly shift. They will become proficient at basic self-care which will then become a regular task and they will begin to take on more household tasks.Click "Chores by Age" image for larger online display.
Click here to download as PDF. Download will open in new window.

You can use this free printable as a guide to help parents and give ideas on what and when you children may be ready for different tasks. It is not expected that a child do all the chores Adjust the chore as needed.

Older kids and teens will have more household chores assigned as they should be pretty good at the self-care tasks by now.
​
*Remember, chores are a teaching opportunity. Don't expect that your child will know how do any task until you have taught them, maybe several times. All children are different and learn in different ways and at different paces. Be patient and encouraging.

Chore List for Kids

Vertical Divider

ages 2-3

self-care chores
​​•Brush Teeth
•Get Dressed
•Pajamas
•Pick Up 21 Things
•Pick Up Toys
•Put Dirty Clothes in Laundry Basket
•Put Stuff Away When Coming In
•Take Nap
household chores
•Clean Bathroom Sink(s) & Counter(s)
•Dust Room(s)
•Feed Pet(s)
•Pick Up Outside Toys
•Pick Up Sticks
•Wipe Down Cabinet Fronts & Appliances
•Wipe Down Knobs, Switches & Railings

Vertical Divider

ages 4-5

(previous chores plus)
self-care chores
​•Bath Shower
•Clear Your Dishes
•Exercise
•Extra Reading
•Learn Home Address
•Learn Phone Number
•Make Bed
•Practice Instrument
​household chores
•Clean Shoe & Coat Area
•Fill Hand Soap & Replace Towels
•Get Mail
•Match Socks
•Plant Care
•Unload Dishwasher
•Unload Groceries/Shopping
•Vacuum Couch and Chair Cushions
•Wash Windows

Vertical Divider

ages 6-7

(previous chores plus)
self-care chores
•Brush Hair
•Clean Bedroom
•Extra Math
•Homework
•Put Away Clean Clothes
​household chores
​•Clean Bathroom Mirror(s)
•Clean Dining Room
•Clean Family Room
•Clean Glass Surfaces
•Clean Living Room
•Clean Play Room
•Clean Shower/Bathtub
•Clean Up After Pet(s)
•Clear And Wipe Down Table
•Load Dishwasher
•Set Table
•Sweep Floor(s)

Vertical Divider

ages 8-10

(previous chores plus)
self-care chores
​•Organize Drawers
•Organize Your Closet
•Pack School Bag
•Take Vitamins​
​household chores
​•Clean Bathroom(s)
•Clean Microwave
•Clean Toilet(s)
•Exercise Pet(s)
•Fold Laundry
•Make Meal(s)
•Take Out Recycling
•Take Out Trash
•Vacuum Room(s)
•Wash And Dry Load(s) Of Clothes
•Wash Dishes
•Wash Floor(s)
•Wash Vehicle
•Weed Garden​

Vertical Divider

ages 11 - TEEN

(previous chores plus)
 ​self-care chores 
​•Purge Clothes That No Longer Fit
household chores
•Clean Garage
•Clean Kitchen
•Outside Work
•Shovel Snow or Rake Leaves

​Once you have a good idea of what tasks are a good fit for each child then it's time to move onto step 2!

Step 2. DECIDE HOW YOU WILL TRACK CHORES

​Next you need a chore system. You will want one that will work for your family size and for the types of tasks that you identified for your children in step 1.

​Did you know... that only 20% of kids do chores today but the #1 indicator of whether children will grow up to be professionally successful adults is whether they did chores as a child. This makes it so important to have a good chore chart.

A good chore system will:

• be easy to manage
• be easy to understand
• work for everyone
• communicate clear and specific expectations
• have images for younger ones
• have enough room to list the desired chores
• track what chores have been completed
• track what chores still need to be done
• motivate kids to do chores

​I recommend NEATLINGS chore system. It is the most flexible and thorough system available. The system comes in different size sets to accommodate different size families. It is available in 3 standard kits: one child system, three child system, and six child system. All the systems can connect together so you can make it as large or as small needed and create a chore chart that will be perfect for your family. Read what others have to say about our job chart.
​

Small job chart set up

This image is from a customer that needed a private listing with a couple extra pocket chart panels and chore decks

We now offer chore chart kits that will work for families with up to six kids. Works great for small daycares too!

Sure, there are other chore chart ideas out there but these tend to all be list style charts, such as star charts. These typically don't work well. If you want you can read more about it here: Why Star Charts Don't Work.

​You will want to place your chore chart in a high traffic visible location. This way every time anyone walks by the chore chart they will see what has been done, what is left to do and easily see the progress throughout the day.

Great locations that work include the kitchen, mud-room, and hallways. If you can’t find a suitable wall space then you can easily hang it on a door.
​
Setting up your chore chart. This will take a little thought as every family is different and NEATLINGS chore system can be set up in numerous ways. You can find several useful tips and inspiration at Chart Configuration Ideas.

​In our family we have set up the chart several different ways. This is helpful as routines can get stale and schedules can change. When you need a change just freshen up your system and start anew - it will work great every time!

*TIP: To help encourage my kids to complete all their chores without complaint. I pay them double tickets if they complete all of their assigned tasks and do it without complaint. This helps ensure that they will find that last bit of energy to get the jobs done without too many reminders from me.

​​Conveniently, every chore listed on the Chores By Age guide above are also on NEATLINGS Chore Cards. Each deck of chore cards include additional blank chore cards so you can also create our own!
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The charts are available for purchase at our shop page or at our Amazon store.

My current favorite way to set up our chore chart. Click for larger image. Click image to enlarge!

I was amazed when I first implemented this system. The kids were able to practically manage it all without my intervention. Aside from teaching them new chores the only thing I needed to do was the initial set up of our daily chore chart and settle up with them each night and with 3 kids it only takes about 5 minutes total and because of all the enthusiastic help I had, I gained an hour back in my day every day.

If you are here then you are probably a parent, so you are already crazy busy. I get it, you don't need another thing to manage. You need a system that your kids will be excited about and manage without you needing to oversee them every step. Step 3 is all about incentivesthat will get everyone excited to do chores without the need for you to micro manage.

Step 3. DECIDE ON CHORE INCENTIVES

​This is the fun part! 

But first lets chat...There is a big divide on whether kids should be paid for chores. There are experts on both side of the fence on this one but there is a third option. I recommend giving kids jobs that are simply their responsibilities AND allowing them to do more to earn rewards. 

​Incentives will fall into 3 categories: screen time, money, items from a family store.

Money and screen time are pretty straight forward incentives but what is a family store? ​

​​A family store can contain anything that your kids will be excited about. It can be as simple as a list of items that your kids would look forward to such as choosing the family dinner or game, a special outing or play time with a friend. Or it can be a box full of items that are fun for your kids. Try to have rewards available at different price points so even if a child is low on reward tickets they will still be excited to see what they earned and feel good about what they accomplished. At our family store I have them pay real world value for items. So if an item in the family store cost $10 to purchase at the brick and mortar store then it will cost the equivalent in reward tickets.

Choose incentives that will be exciting for your kids

Chore cards are designed to help parents be specific and consistent every time.

​​*TIP: Only pay for the Work For Tickets chore cards when the Responsibility chores cards are completed. A child must do all their responsibility chores to earn the privilege of earning reward tickets.

​Consider what motivates your kids? Typically younger ones are more motivated by toys and tangible items that may be from a family store with a bit of screen time. Grade schoolers tend to be motivated by all three with a lean towards more screen time while older kids and teens are generally more motivated by money.

​Our chore cards have writable spaces which allows parents to be specific and consistent. There are also check boxes to select if a chore is a responsibility or a chore that a child can earn reward tickets for and how many can be earned. This is a key feature as not all chores should be rewarded, some are just a child's responsibility.

Need ideas for your family store?

99 Ideas for your Family Reward Store

​Determine a value for each reward ticket. At our house we pay $0.25 a ticket, or 15 minutes of screen time, or tickets can be used to purchase items from a family store. 

Here is a quick summery of how it works:

Step 1

Parents select chores & check if chore is a responsibility or one that can earn reward ticket(s) and how many.

Step 2

Kids do chores and earn reward tickets.

Step 3

Kids redeem their earned reward tickets for rewards!

​​Now you have everything you need to know to create a chore chart that WORKS!