Keeping an 8-year-old girls Bedroom Clean...My Incentive Plan and Chore Chart

Since school started I have been more than a little overwhelmed.  And while I technically have more time all alone in the house, we have so much more going on that I never seem to be able to get it all done. The worst part is that every day/week, I am cleaning up more and more after the kids.

Well a few weeks ago I had it. I was sick of spending half a day each week in the boy's room and Rebecca's room cleaning. I don’t mean dusting or washing the windows/mirrors type of cleaning. I am talking about the clearing out under the beds and dresser type of cleaning.

In Rebecca's room, the BIG clean also takes place in the closet where half of her clothes are strewn about. Her closet is also home to lots of her toys which typically are not nice and neat in their containers but instead all over the floor. Every week I threaten to get out a big trash bag to throw away all the junk.  And I finally did it. Right after Christmas, Rebecca and I spent about 4 hours of my life cleaning her room. All of the little Barbie shoes went into the trash. The My Little Pony’s that haven’t been played with in a year – OUT. The Littlest Pet shop and all its stuff -- DONATED. The random puzzle pieces for all the 100 piece puzzles – GONE. All of her beads were organized into tackle boxes...three of them because she has so many. All of her American Girl doll stuff was organized and put into baskets. We went through it ALL. I had her straighten it into something that made sense to her.

When we were finished, I laid down my new law. She was to keep the room clean EVERY day. I told her I would inspect her room and judge her on a couple of categories daily. If she passed, I will give her a check mark. If it was not the way it should be, she will receive a “X”. Each day she has the opportunity to earn a penny for each completed task. At the end of the week, if she had a perfect week instead of earning $.07, I would give her $.10. The categories we made up (which are the ones she has the most trouble with) are:

1. Putting her dirty underwear in the hamper.

2. Making/straightening her bed and leaving no toys/clothes underneath it.

3. Putting ALL toys away before bed.

4. Putting away all craft supplies immediately after doing the craft.

5. Putting away her clean clothes after laundry is done. I do all the folding and hanging. She just has to put it all in the right spots.

I compiled all this into a chore chart that we keep on our computer.

She has a couple of other things to do each day around the house which ends up allowing her to earn up to $1.00 week.  For example, she helps clear the table after dinner, unloads the dishwasher when it is clean, she packs/unpacks her school bag daily, and she puts away her shoes in the bucket. So far, it has worked. She has not earned the full amount yet but she is trying.  And on Sunday when cleaning her room, I only had to dust, change her sheets, and vacuum. It was such a relief.

What do you do to make your kids clean up after themselves? Or what types of chores do they do around the house?