A Family Affair

It’s important that housekeeping is a whole family effort. Get children involved at an early age. Show them that housekeeping matters to you. Let them roll out the cookie dough or make a blender drink. Let them help wash dishes from the time they can stand on a stool in front of the sink. They learn more from doing and it becomes a part of their lives.

Housekeeping chores should not fall to one spouse, either. Work out an arrangement respecting each other’s schedules and likes or dislikes. Many two-income households have worked out equitable chores: I cook, he cleans; I vacuum, he dusts. But things often break down when it comes to the simplest of chores - putting your clothes in a hamper, putting the newspaper in the recycle bin when finished reading it, and so on. Talk about what bugs you and offer a solution before clutter claims your home.

Establish a routine. Kids and adults love routine. Model the action you want others to take. Do the chore alongside your child (and some spouses) until you know they’re in the habit of doing it correctly.

Assign age-appropriate responsibilities, too. A five-minute chore stands a better chance of completion than one that takes an hour; a child’s attention span rarely holds that long.

It’s not one person’s responsibility to initiate the chores; it belongs to everyone in the family. But the family member with the highest standards for cleaning is also the one who usually coordinates the others. This person tends to be more direct and knows how to do the job well. And it’s not always the woman, as many people expect.

Excerpts reprinted from an interview with Cheryl Mendelson, author of Home Comforts: The Art & Science of Keeping House (Allergy & Asthma Health magazine, Fall 2000).