How to Create a Chore System that Actually Works!

If the goal of parenting is to raise self-sufficient, independent humans who will one day grow up and live on their own, then when that day comes I want my kids to know how to cook something other than Ramen noodles, keep their home relatively clean, and have an idea of how to take care of another living being. To accomplish this, I developed a chore system that actually works to teach them these skills.

Our chore system has two parts – Weekly Jobs and Weekend Chore Roulette. Here’s how it works:

Weekly Jobs

Every week my kids have one job that they are responsible for over the entire week. I use a Weekly Job Wheel (Get your free customizable printable here!) to keep track of who does what, and we rotate every Monday. This way the kids get a whole week to practice a life skill, and I don’t lose my mind trying to keep up with who does what every day. Since we have four kids in our family, we rotate through four jobs. You could make this system work with any number of jobs that fit your family’s needs. You could also give a kid more than one job!

Our Jobs include: Sous Chef, Dishwasher, Animal Caretaker, and Clutter Cleaner

Sous Chef

In my opinion, this is the most valuable job because it teaches my kids to cook and also how to meal-plan. Every Sunday evening, the new sous chef gets to choose two dinners they want to cook during the next week. Then we make a shopping list of needed ingredients together.

Throughout the week the sous chef is my assistant when I cook dinner. My kids help peel, stir, add spices, brown meat, make biscuits, and the older ones chop. We started this when my youngest was six, and I adapt the responsibilities of the sous chef based on age. Even if you think your kids are too young to be helpful, I still encourage you to include them in some way. Little kids love to cook and bake, and if nothing else they can learn by watching!

Dishwasher

No one in my family enjoys when their job is dishwasher, but the saving grace of this chore system is that they only have to do it one week a month! In our family, we all clear our own plates from the dinner table. The job of the Dishwasher loads the dishwasher with any dishes that are in the sink from the day, and hand washes the pots and pans used to cook. They are also responsible for emptying the dishwasher when it’s clean.

Clutter Cleaner

I don’t know if your house is like mine, but it seems like all kinds of random objects accumulate around the house throughout the day. The job of the Clutter Cleaner is to take all random objects back to their homes.

If I want this job done right, I usually have to provide some guidance by naming items and stating to which room I want them returned. We usually have the Clutter Cleaner work right before dinner because the dinner table is one of the biggest clutter magnets in our house.

Animal Caretaker

We have quite a few animals in our family, and the Animal Caretaker is responsible for daily and weekly care. Every day they have to feed and water the animals. Then, at the end of the week they have to help an adult change the rabbit cage. We live on a big chunk of land so we don’t walk our dogs on a leash, but that would be a great addition to the job if it applies to your family.

Two of our kids bought animals with their own money (two guinea pigs and two frogs) and those kids are solely responsible for the care of their animals. They can request that the animal caretaker help them, but ultimately the job falls on the pet owner.

boy feeding bunny as part of chore system

Weekend Chore Roulette

While I do occasionally hire someone to come clean my house, I also think it’s very important for my kids to know how to clean properly! Chances are they won’t be hiring a cleaning service when they are broke college students or starting their careers, and I do not want them living in filth! That’s where weekend Chore Roulette enters our chore system.

If you want these cleaning tasks done right, you need to spend the first few times working alongside each kid to show them how you want everything cleaned. The first two weekends we cleaned everything together so I could teach them all at once. I had them help me and provided lots of instruction. Once I felt they were trained, I started our weekend Chore Roulette.

girl cleaning bathroom as part of chore system

At the beginning of the weekend I have my kids choose two chores out of our chore cup. I love this method of choosing chores, because it’s all chance! Then the kids have the entire weekend to complete their chores. (Before competitive soccer entered our lives we used to all clean together on Saturday, but we had to adapt!) If the chores are not done by Sunday dinner time, they forfeit part of their weekly allowance.