This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #AwardWithSavings #CollectiveBias : Chore Charts and Award Certificate with Printables
It’s awards season and it has me thinking about some of my most rewarding and non-rewarding moments in 2015. I love watching awards ceremonies. I just feel so happy to watch people have a dream-come-true, exceed a goal, and experience something wonderful. The problem is, I cannot enjoy a TV show when my house is in chaos. I can’t. I’m too distracted by thoughts of everything I have to do and all the things that will happen if I don’t do those things. Another reason I want to watch the awards ceremonies is because awards is one of my 2016 themes for parenting. I plan to give “awards” out to the kids, every day. I want to enjoy my children as much as I can this year and really focus on acknowledging their good behavior. It’s so easy to notice their poor behavior, but that’s really more because I have five kids that sometimes misbehave. Individually, the poor behavior might not be too frequent, but the sum of it all, adds up. It takes a toll on my patience. So, acknowledging the good each day will keep us all a little more focused on the positive! I created this simple award that you can print out, too. On the front, I’ll fill in the certificate, and on the back, I’ll write a little note about the specifics.
I’ve been talking to all of the kids about what they want in the new year. My oldest, Antonio, is now sixteen-years-old. Pedro will be twelve-years-old next week. They both want more freedom and are constantly asking to do more fun things as a family. I don’t have time for that because I’m too busy doing everything for everyone. Things they can do for themselves. And – I’m not going to lie… I get irritated watching them, watching me, do everything. Antonio also wants to date. He’s asked me at least 20 times to whiten his teeth. He’s at that age when “looking good” and smelling good is extra important to him. He’d probably already have a girlfriend, but he worries that I won’t have the time to keep up with transporting him to dates or to spend time with a girlfriend.
He’s right. I had very little extra time in 2015. In 2016, I plan to carve a lot of time-consuming activities from my schedule by requiring everyone to do more of their own share at home. I’ve let Antonio become dependent on me going behind him to pick up messes that shouldn’t even exist. You know what I’m talking about; water on the floor when he gets out the shower, dinner plates on the table, dirty socks in the bathroom, soccer cleats rotating in every room of the house, plus crumbs and sticky-ickiness all over the kitchen, every time he makes a snack. Don’t even get me started on all the times I have to change the empty toilet paper roll!
I’ve gotten into the bad habit of just doing everything myself. I’m behind all of the kids, all day, trying to keep up with their little messes. Between that, and keeping up with the laundry, I’ve spent at 15 – 20 hours per week wasting time. On average, I spend at least 1 hour per day picking up things that should have been picked up by whoever made the mess and another 8 to 12 hours per week on laundry. I’m determined to reclaim a majority of the time I waste each day, that we’d all rather spend on fun and family. I spent a considerable amount of time coming up with a plan-of-attack for keeping up with the laundry. I cleared out the laundry room of all things unrelated, and lined a wall with separate baskets, and tagged each basket with each child’s name.
Then, I went to Safeway, and stocked up on everything I needed to give Antonio the perfect “Responsibility Kit” to start the new year just right! Between now and 1/12/2016, you can get $10.00 instant savings when you purchase a variety of your favorite award-winning Procter & Gamble products.
Dates and promotions may vary by location. Purchase must be made in a single transaction. Limit 1 offer per transaction. Minimum purchase requirement must be met after coupon reductions. Instant savings discount applied to non-P&G items:
- Tide® Laundry Detergent (92–100 oz. liquid/95–98-oz. powder, select varieties)
- Bounty® Paper Towels (12 Big Roll, select varieties)
- Charmin® Bath Tissue (24 Double Roll or 12 Mega Roll, select varieties)
- Crest 3D White Brilliance (4.1 oz.)
- Pampers® Baby Dry Diapers (21-44 ct.)
- Secret Deodorant (2.7 oz., select varieties)
- Old Spice Deodorant (3 oz., select varieties).
I got laundry soap, paper towels, toilet paper, deodorant, and toothpaste for Antonio’s responsibility kit!
If I can get all the kids to wipe up their own crumbs and spills, change the toilet paper rolls, and either help or do their own laundry, I’m going to have a lot more time for family fun and taking Antonio to hang out with friends and that future girlfriend. I made sure to include a man’s deodorant and Crest 3D White Brilliance toothpaste to support him.
Here’s how to set up your laundry chore charts and plan-of-attack:
1. Create a Responsibility Kit like the one shown above, to get your child started off with the right supplies and support when your introduce the plan!
2. Print the name tags printable sheet. Laminate (optional) then cut out the circles. You can write your own child’s name in the center of the circles before laminating. There are a variety of colors for multiple children. (The two-color circle is for a shared basket and chores) I color code many things in our home. It’s a trick I learned when my family grew from 4 people to 7 people, literally over-night!
3. Print out the flow chart and write your child’s name in their corresponding color area. Laminate. (Optional) Hang.
4. Print out the chore scrolls. Laminate and cut. Print Yellow. Print Red. Print Blue. Print 2 Color.
5. Remind your child when their laundry day is coming up and display their laundry tasks. Have your child remove each task as they complete it. When your child reaches the reward scroll, s/he should approach you for final approval and agreed-upon reward. Follow along with encouragement and praise during the process.
6. Remind your child and especially your teen, that teamwork keeps a home running smoothly so everyone can share in the rewards! Chore charts help everyone stay organized.
In addition, if you utilize the “Award Certificates,” weekly or daily, it will help to make them feel appreciated. They might even start doing laundry without being reminded!
It will be so great to watch the awards ceremonies without the thought of hours of laundry waiting for me after the show(s). I hate laundry so much, I’m even willing to pay hard-cold-cash as the reward! Shhhh…. don’t tell Antonio, though. It might not come to that! Hurry on over to Safeway and stock up to take advantage of the great savings awards.
What are your least favorite chores? Share in the comments!
By: Alicia Gonzalez
