My grandparents raised me for those that don't know. My grandpa was the hardest working man I have ever known in my life. If he was sitting down it was because he was in the bathroom, eating, or sleeping. And even then he was thinking about all the things he had to do when he got up, got done, or got out the door in the morning. I grew up seeing this hard working man put himself through hell because he was taught growing up that you didn't stop until the job was done. He was never bored because there was always something that had to be done.
My grandmother was a lot like this as well. As a housewife/stay at home mom there was always something to do around the house or in the yard or with the kids. Always.
I'm not going to lie, I'm lazy lol. And I'm OK with that. But in the last nine months I feel like I've hardly sat down. My job keeps me hopping. This house keeps me hopping. I'm basically a rabbit.
Apparently my sixteen year old daughter is not seeing any of this work though, because her favorite thing to say is I'm bored or I was bored. She says this mainly after she's caught doing things she knows she's not supposed to do.
So, I pulled a move my grandma would have pulled on me.
I found her something to do. A lot of somethings actually.
When I came home and caught Dawn doing things she knows she's grounded from, I was...well, I was pissed. For the last couple of days I had come home to her doing this same thing, knowing she was grounded from it, and she just did not care. When I asked why she kept doing this knowing she was going to get in trouble for it, she said I'm bored all day.
So I looked at her and said Don't worry, tomorrow you won't be and I sat down at my computer, and wrote this.
Dawn's Chore List
TO BE DONE ALONG WITH YOUR REGULAR CHORES
(You will not be done with this list before 3pm. You are to be up in the morning and begin working on this list from the time you get up until I arrive home. I will be checking to make sure you've done them all. Don't half ass them or you'll do them over the following day)
THESE SHOULD BE DONE IN ORDER, DO NOT JUMP AROUND AND DO WHAT YOU WANT.
- Dishes (when all dishes are DRY put them away. If more dishes appear in sink later, those should also be done and put away when DRY)
- Clean Kitchen floor (if you can't find a bucket, plug 1 side of the sink and use it. Pour one cap full of murphy's oil into sink while water is running. Clean between sink and freezer. Move dog crate and clean around it. Move mixer stand and clean under and around it. Move garbage can and clean behind stove.
- Clean cabinets (Get a fresh rag and new water. Wipe down the front and top of the stove and ALL cabinets except ones above fridge.)
- Clean sink (remove dirty water, get a new rag or a dish sponge, spray Mrs Meyers on sink and scrub until brown is gone- some may not come off but most will. Wipe off faucet and hot/cold knobs.
- Clean counters (move everything on counters and wipe them down. This includes the dish rack.)
- Wipe down top of the freezer (and sides if there is food on front or either side)
- Wipe down fridge (front and both sides, don't worry about the top you won't be able to reach it. Rinse rag well and wipe out bottom of fridge side only)
- Clean Bathroom (remove all items from shower, wipe down shelves, outside sides of the tub, inside the tub, and walls of shower, place items back in the shower)
- Clean Sink (remove all items sink, wipe down sink, faucet, and sides/front of sink)
- Clean toilet (wipe down entire toilet with rag after spraying with Mrs Meyers, use toilet brush on inside of toilet)
- Clean bathroom floor (with a new rag, wipe down entire floor. Behind the toilet, door, in the corner by the vent, and between the sink and tub.)
- Laundry (do all laundry except my bras. Wash towels, wash rags, hand towels, dish rags, and dish sponges together. Wash colored clothes together- remember to pick up any clothes that are in other rooms of the house including Owens and yours. Wash whites in white basket on the side of the dryer on WHITES. Dry, fold and put away any laundry that you can. Pile my clothes and your dads on a chair).
- Pick up any garbage from under the table, around the washer/dryer, and stairs.
- Straighten any shoes that are by the door.
- Clean cat litter and other dirt from stairs with brush and dust pan.
- Dust (with a new rag, grab the furniture polish under the kitchen sink, spray it on the rag and dust the wood furniture in the living room. Move pictures, lamp, and put away anything that needs to be put away. Things should be put where they go. Not where you want to put them. Pictures and knick knacks should be put where you found them.)
If you get done with the entire list before 3pm, you should do the following.
- Pick up trash from yard and both porches
- Sweep off both porches
- Pick up dog poop and put it in the outside trash cans.
I went room by room and basically thought of everything I would clean in a day and had her do it. I got pretty detailed with instructions because I didn't want her to just half ass everything like she does her normal chores. I wanted her to have to get in there and do what she needed to do and do it right.
When I got home I was prepared for a fight if I'm honest. I figured that she would have half assed all of them, or would have chosen not to do them at all. So I was completely shocked to walk in the door and find that everything had been done! And she did them all the way she was supposed to.
I informed her that from now on, when she misbehaved, this was going to be her punishment. Chores. Lots and lots of chores.
I asked her if she was bored all day that day, she said no lol.
On top of all of this, I spoke with my boss the other day and asked if she could volunteer in the laundry room on the weekends I work. He said yes. So as soon as I get her set up with that through the volunteer services, she'll be coming to work with me every other weekend.
Hopefully this will teach her what it's like to have a job. She will also have something to put on an application, which might help her get a job. At least that's what I'm hoping. At the very least it will keep her out of trouble when I'm working on the weekends.
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