When Mom is Out of Commission: Family Contribution List

It may seem like everything is flowing well, everything is in its place, dishes are done, laundry is done, house is clean until the day that MOM IS OUT OF COMMISSION. It is times like these when Mom or the main caretaker of the home is sick, that even the most organized of them all realize there there's abreak in my system when suddenly the hampers are over flowing and you have to dig through a sink full of dirty dishes to find a pan… ugggh! So what do you do when you find holes in your cheese and it isn’t Swiss?

It’s time to enlist the troops and create a back-up plan! For the families who operate with some sort of a chore list for all in the home, congratulations well done! For those who don’t, I will give you an idea of how to implement one with a backup plan for when Mom is sick.

1. Get a 3 ring binder and a hole-puncher and sheet protectors.
2. Get a large pad of paper and a pencil. Label one page with each person in the households name: Dad, Mom, children, teens, grandparents, roommates… so that everyone has a separate sheet of paper.

3. Call a family meeting and give them an analogy that they can relate to. For example, tell them that this household is like a plane and this plane can’t fly without a pilot, co-pilot and a crew. Stress that each member of this family is a vital part of the team and the household can’t run without each team member and when one team member is down the others must pick up the slack. Let them talk about what they think it takes to run the house and then ask them which apart of this they would like to contribute. Take notes on each ones page or ask them to write down on their own page.

4. Offer incentives to getting their contributions done without being asked or without complaining, for example allowance or pizza night. Be sure the incentive plan is more rewarding than not, this will encourage follow-through. Vote on the reward system and after everyone has agreed on it, type it up with specifics: Jacob will get $20.00 per week for all his completed contributions, minus $3.00 per day that the contributions are not done, or done with complaining.
5. If you choose an allowance, discuss what their allowance should be used for: tithing, savings, entertainment with friends, clothes…

6. Type up a title page, “Contributions to the “Your last name” House.”

7. After you have each compiled a “List of Contributions” for each member of the household, type it up and print two copies, one for the binder and one to post on a bulletin board or a central location or for all to see. Here is an example of a list for a teenager:

Jacob's Contributions:

Daily Morning/Before School:
• Take out trash
• Make your bed

Daily Afternoon/After school:
• Do homework
• Empty dishwasher
• Pick up after yourself
Weekends:
• Help with yard work
• Clean your room: dust, vacuum

Summers:
• Sweep pool daily

When Mom is out of Commission or Working:
• Do all your own laundry
• Clean the kitchen after dinner

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