My Super-Amazing Chore Chart

Through the years I have struggled both with making my kids do chores consistently, and coming up with some sort of useful chore chart system. I have downloaded countless free charts and even purchased a few of those "guaranteed to work" inch-thick books that promise to organized even the most chaotic households. It's not that these systems were innately unworkable. It's just that they didn't work for me and mine.

But last year I finally did it. I came up with a super simple chart system that really works for our household. And it cost me about $10 to make.

Here's what it looks like (it's a little worn, but that's because it gets so much use!):

Pretty simple, but uber-effective. If you want to make it, here's what you'll need:

• Poster Board, sized appropriately for the number of kids you have. I have 4, so I bought the biggest sized there is.
• Yardstick, measuring tape or ruler, to mark off boxes
• Self-adhesive velcro, tabs, circles or tape....doesn't matter
• Pencil, to make your lines
• Permanent marker to go over your pencil lines
• Envelope, for chore tag storage
• Index cards, to make chore tags
• Glue (just in case)
• Stickers or whatever embellishments your kids want to add

Step One:

• Divide your posterboard into columns for your kids' names and the days of the week and mark using pencil and ruler. Ours goes Monday thru Friday, but you can decide what days works best for you.

Step Two:

• Divide your posterboard into rows to include your kids' names and mark with pencil and ruler.

Step Three:

• Once you are satisfied that your lines/boxes are where you want them, go over your lines with a dark marker. Add your kids' names and the days of the week, and let your kids embellish with stickers or drawings.

Step Four:

• Cut velcro into small squares and add the number of squares that correspond with the chores you expect them to do. Our boxes each have 6 squares of velcro for chores. Use the hard side of the velcro for this step.

Step Five:

• Cut the index cards into strips and write a chore on each strip. Turn the strips over and stick a square of the soft side of the velcro on the back of each chore tag. 

Step Six:

• Turn the posterboard over and, peeling one side of the velcro, attach a sandwich of velcro in each corner, decide where to hang it (choose a height that your kids can easily reach), and peel the other side of the velcro sandwich and carefully stick your chart to the wall. Do the exact same thing with an envelope and attach it in a spot under the chart.

You're ready to get choring! Every morning you stick the chore tags in the appropriate box. Yes, look closely and you'll see that my son spelled "awesome" wrong.

When your child finishes a chore, he/she pulls the tag off and drops it into the envelope. This way your child can easily see what is expected and what has been accomplished. My kids love this and it is the only system that has worked well for us. And of course, there are all sorts of ways to customize it for your family, like color coding the chore tags or even making individual charts for each child.

If you decide to make and use this chore chart, leave a comment and let me know how it worked for you.

Happy Choring!