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Housework is such a chore! Seriously, there is a never-ending list of things to do at home and some jobs are better with two. In reality, there are no volunteers and sign-up sheets for extra points with mom never did cut it. We just don’t have enough help or time to manage our homes and work lives, what has happened?

The standards for providing for our children have been raised quite a bit from when I was a kid. For example, every kid no matter the age has a phone, why? We all are engaged in our own devices too much in our “downtime”. We access the unimportant in excess. That’s what has happened, there’s even more time, in reality, we just aren’t making the best use of our time. Dishwashers, washing machines, vacuums, magic erasers, steam mops, and more make cleaning much easier and speedy. These items listed are all things our grandparents didn’t have but got chores done well. Things have changed but not all change is bad.

What do we do? In times of concern, I refer to “The 48 Laws of Power” by Robert Greene. I decide which tactic is best to use and in this circumstance, Law #15 Crush Your Enemy is the right fit. Our families are not our enemies, but the distractions are. Crush them! Remove the ability to be disregarded, encourage interaction and watch how caring and thoughtful your family really can be.

Once you have found your position, stick to it. Be firm but not mean, consistent and reliable, your family will gather more quickly when you need a hand. Housework is a chore, chores have a purpose, to train us how to be in our own homes. Keep them on the defensive with a strong offense. My kids know the two consequences I use initially, they do not want to discover the mysterious other options as the first two are deadly blows, #1 Remove their devices from the internet (if they have data on their phones, suspend their line) and #2 Take their devices until issues have been remedied. Simple. I have not needed to get use #2, the first as mentioned before is very effective.

We desire success for our children but rarely do we give them the keys to success. It’s not just money, education, and networking but also hard work (not academic), failure, kindness, accountability, the ability to anticipate others’ needs/wants, but also to be able to accept the word “no”. I know too many adults with child dictators… “Oh I can’t, Allison doesn’t like for mommy’s hair to be down so I wear it up”… This is not cute, the child is not given chance at being likable because the parent loved them so much no one else will. That’s just unacceptable and a spoiled person is just useless. I’ll move on.

Chore charts are good for the extreme planner, but assigned chores work too. Like my son has the trash and the dog, daily. My daughter has the dishes and bathrooms which I share with her, we alternate. The kids trade chores when they need to and it works for them. I have the ease of knowing who’s responsible and addressing them with compliments or complaints.

However, you get your home in order is YOUR recipe, no wrong or right. You know your family best, you know yourself better, follow your instincts you can always adjust as things improve or worsen. Your goal as a parent is to have an environment that is stable, consistent, and clean. You will gain peace of mind, your children build confidence in you and themselves and the result is a pretty darn cool family and clean home. Who could ask for anything more?