The Seven at 7 PM

*** spoiler alert - this post is not about school ***


   In our household, we hate "housework".  We move piles of paper but don't really go through them.  Clothes are washed on a regular basis, but getting them from a basket to their closet/drawer/shelf rarely happens.  Floors only get swept when the dog hair piles get high.  We invite friends over to motivate us to clean. Like I said, we HATE housework.

   But we live in a new-to-us house (9 months and counting) and we want to keep it cleaner. So my husband instituted "Seven at 7".  At 7 PM every night, when our grandfather clock dings, we have to stop whatever we are doing and do some sort of housework for 7 minutes (my hubby even sets a timer).





  Our options are:

  • loading/unloading the dishwasher
  • putting away laundry
  • unclutter the kitchen counter where we dump EVERYTHING
  • pick up toys
  • make school lunches for the next day
  • anything that makes the house more picked up (I reorganized the shoe rack yesterday)
The girls even have the option to read.  

   So far, this has been working out really well for us.  The house has been staying picked up and no job seems insurmountable anymore.  We get stickers on our weekly calendar, and if we get 5, then our family gets some sort of treat.  We went out to dinner the first week.  The second week's prize was a puzzle for the family to work on together.  As a family with 2 parents working outside the home, housework has been our struggle (okay, it was my struggle even when I was a SAHM), but I feel like this little system is really helping my family and my sanity.  

   Now how can I implement this into my classroom?  

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