Magnetic Family Chore Chart (for a multi-child house hold)

Having a large family means more things to do, less time to do them and MORE mess. One simple solution is to enlist the help of your children. By doing this you will teach them important life skills, build a family bond by working together & just spend more time with them. This easy to throw together Magnetic Family Chore Chart can help get you organized!

Step 1: Make a "Zone" list and "Task" sub-lists

Gather your family. Put pencil to paper and make a list of all the common areas aka 'Zones'  that need to be cleaned & tidied. (Bedrooms are not included in our chart because private areas are left to the individual/s . . . to a certain degree. If I can't walk through the door and easily reach each bed and window I'm coming in there with a trash bag!)

Keep in mind that this chart is rotational and it's easier to rotate chores if there are the same number of 'zones' as there are people that will be doing chores. This can mean having to combine zones like we did with the floors & outside zones.

Our zone list:
   Kitchen
   Living room
   Dining room
   Bathrooms
   Floors & Outside

Five zones for five people of chore doing age. (Our youngest likes to "help" everyone else.)

Now make a sub-list for each zone. All the tasks that need to be done to consider that zone clean. Think of things that need doing daily and weekly and keep them separate. (You don't want to be cleaning out the fridge every day for instance.)

Our task lists:

  Kitchen
    Daily: wash dishes, draining board, sink, counter top, stove top
    Weekly: microwave, oven door, refrigerator, cabinets

  Living room
    Daily: couch, toys, shoes, coats, stairs, trash, recycling
    Weekly: sanitize trash can, recycle bin, door nobs, light switches, phones, stair rail

  Dining room
    Daily: dry/put away dishes, table, chairs, floor under table
    Weekly: craft/game shelf, walls & radiator around table

  Bathrooms
    Daily: keep floor clear, towels, wipe sink, stock toilet paper
    Weekly: scrub toilets, sinks, floor, mirrors, walls, radiator, tub/shower

  Floors & Outside
    Daily: sweep, water garden or shovel walk (whatever is season appropriate)
    Weekly: floor mats, mop floors, weed garden

Make sure everyone knows how to do every task in every zone. If you have a wide range of ages of children you may want to keep some of your tasks off the chore chart and just do them yourself. Like cleaning the oven or grill or dusting when you have lots of valuables that could be easily broken by clumsy little hands. Use your own judgment. Only you can know what your kids are able to do.