Archive for February, 2009
Posted by Candice on February 27, 2009 at 00:21 am
Part 1: Getting Kids to Help Around the House – Introduction
Part 2: Getting Kids to Help Around the House – Age Appropriate Strategies
Part 3: Getting Kids to Help Around the House – The To-Do List
Here are some ideas for age appropriate tasks you can assign to your children when working on getting them to help out around the house.
18 Months to 2 Years
- Put their snack or meal dishes at the sink when they are done eating
- Put trash into the trash can
- Put their dirty laundry into the laundry hamper
- Help you transfer laundry from the washer to the drier
- Help with sorting the laundry for folding and packing away
- Help with unpacking the dishwasher
(only plastic or unbreakable items)
2 Years and Older
- Pack their toys away once they are done playing
- Straighten up their room
- Put their own socks, underpants etc away once the laundry is done
- Wipe up spills or pick up food dropped during meals & snack times
- Dry unbreakable cups/plates etc
- Water plants in the garden and around the house
- Feed pets and fill their water bowls
- Turn lights on and off
6 Years and older
- Set and clear the dinner table
- Help prepare dinner
- Help unpacking the dishwasher
- Help taking out the trash and recycling
- Wash and dry unbreakable dishes
12 Years and Older
- Clean their own bathroom
- Sort and put away the laundry
- Clean their own room
- Fill and empty the dishwasher
- Be fully responsible for the care of pets
- Vacuum or sweep
- Fill and empty dishwasher
- Unpacking the grocery bags
Once a child becomes a teenager they are capable of doing any of the household chores and house cleaning that you would typically do
Posted by Candice on February 25, 2009 at 22:22 pm
Part 1: Getting Kids to Help Around the House – Introduction
Part 2: Getting Kids to Help Around the House – Age Appropriate Strategies
When children are young, even as young as two years old, getting them to help is easier, cleaning can be turned into a game – and they want to be like just like you and will mimic your behavior, even if it’s sweeping the floor.
It’s important to teach them that cleaning is part of daily life by encouraging them to put their meal or snack dishes at the sink when they’re done or having them help you clean up any spills or food debris that ends up on the floor.
With younger children it’s more important to focus on praising your child for his or her efforts on a chore, rather than focusing on whether the chore is completed or completed perfectly. Thank and praise him or her for being a good helper.
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Posted by Candice on February 25, 2009 at 01:00 am
If you’re finding it tough to stay on top of all the housework can you and should you enlist your children to help? The answer is unquestionably yes. Even if they balk rest assured that you are teaching them valuable life skills and stand firm.
At the University of Maryland, Sandra Hofferth, director of the Population Research Center has been studying detailed diaries to understand how children spend their time. She is finding that children today spend less time on housework than they did 20 years ago. In 1981, children ages 9 through 12 reported spending 5 hours 18 minutes a week on such activities as repairs, meal preparation and cleanup, pet care and outdoor work. By 2002, that figure shrank to 3 hours 5 minutes.
Hofferth believes this is partly due to the fact that not only children but the whole family is doing less housework.
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Posted by Candice on February 24, 2009 at 00:11 am
For many people being laid off, the hopes of finding new employment in their current fields is not an option while the recession keeps unemployment rates climbing. More and more talented people will grow frustrated with the job search and take the dive into entrepreneurship. Is starting a house cleaning business a viable option?
Unlike many other professions, you don’t need a degree or special education to become a professional cleaner. Cleaning is often thought of as a mediocre, low paying job. The professional cleaning business can be very lucrative, highly profitable and some say recession-proof. This may be a good way to achieve financial independence.
The startup costs are relatively low and you may already have some of the necessary skills. Most people have no idea how to handle dirt and they will be willing to pay you to do it for them.
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Posted by Candice on February 18, 2009 at 18:57 pm
The recent “Mr. Clean Keeping It Fresh” survey revealed that 55 percent of married women say they would prefer to receive a whole-house cleaning in lieu of an expensive gift on Valentine’s Day. This supports the results of a study by Harris Interactive that showed the importance of synchronized cleaning styles in the success of a relationship. Over half of both married men and married women say they have argued with their partner over a dirty, smelly bathroom, a disorganized kitchen, finding towels on the floor or having a messy counter top and other things.
There is the joke about how porn for a woman is a man in an apron vacuuming the house or doing the dishes but perhaps men should realize that helping out around the house can be considered the start of foreplay. The other benefit is that a woman who has a few of her house cleaning tasks taken care of for her will have some energy left over at the end of the day for other activities. Something small like unpacking the dishwasher or cleaning up the kitchen after cooking dinner can make a big difference.
Women also need to learn to let go and not be critical of men who do pitch in and help around the house. They may not do it as efficiently or as perfectly as you would but should definitely be given credit for willingness. An shared rotation schedule that is agreed upon in advance can be useful in allocating the workload so that each person is responsible for the tasks they are most effective at. For example, if he is good at cleaning the bathrooms perhaps she can take care of dusting and vacuuming.
If both partners work outside the home it can be particularly challenging to stay on top of the house cleaning which usually has to be done in the evenings or on weekends. It may be worth sitting down together to determine whether outsourcing the house cleaning is within the budget and something both partners agree would be a worthwhile expenditure.
Posted by Candice on February 4, 2009 at 03:02 am
This is the spot! This is where you enter the ‘Maid for Me’ Blogger Contest to win a year of free maid service – just include a link to your blog post in the comments!
If you created a video for a bonus entry don’t forget to add a second comment with a link to your video too so that you have a greater chance of winning.
Need the 411 on how to enter & the contest rules Click Here! Then come back to log your entries here.
AND NOW FOR A BONUS PRIZE FOR A TWITTER SUPERSTAR!
The twitterer who sends the most tweets promoting the contest information page at http://www.bidmycleaning.com/maid-for-me will win a $100 bidmycleaning.com gift certificate.
Tweets must include #MAID4ME hashtag to qualify and follow @bidmycleaning.
Tweet This Now – Click Here!
The contest closes on Wednesday February 11th 2009 at 11:59PM PST. The winner will be announced on Friday 13th February 2009 – just in time for a happy Valentine’s Day!
Update: So many of our favorite bloggers were away at BlissDom ’09 this weekend that we wanted to give them a chance to settle in at home and still have time to play along! The contest period has been extended and will now close at 11:59PM PST on Friday 13th February and the winner will be announced on Saturday 14th February 2009!
Update: THE CONTEST HAS CLOSED. THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED 14TH FEBRUARY 2009.
Please only add each link once – duplicate entries will be removed.
Posted by Candice on February 3, 2009 at 00:50 am
A relationship with a service provider is like any other relationship and healthy relationships take great care and maintenance. Some of the important blocks to building a solid relationship include trust, regular communication, honesty and open attitudes about problems. There are the early days when you begin dating and are each learning what your expectations are but once those are over you can settle into a comfortable place and everyone is happy!
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