Alicia is loving wife, a mom of six, and a wheelchair user, who created a system for chores in her home. She admits that while she’s physically able to do most household chores, she dreads completing them because it’s a prolonged process that leaves her too exhausted to tackle anything else for the day.
Alicia tried several different chore systems to keep her home tidy, but her kids usually tired of completing the same chores, or they’d forget the particulars of certain jobs. She implemented the zone system for her husband and children to keep the mess to a minimum, and has used it effectively for over two years.
Alicia divided her house into the following six zones: living room; dining room; kitchen; two bathrooms; laundry room/hallway; and yard/porches. She listed all the tasks associated with each zone on index cards, and specified daily and weekly tasks such as daily sweeping and weekly mopping. For the weekly tasks, Alicia says, “They can pick any day they would like to do their weekly jobs, but it has to be done.” Aside from their zones, the kids must also keep their rooms clean.
Alicia designated initialed magnets for each child, which she placed on a magnetic board. Every Monday, she rotates her kids’ assigned zones, so they don’t work on the same zone week after week. Since some zones are harder than others, her kids are also less likely to feel overwhelmed or discouraged, and even get excited about their weekly zone changes. Having the detailed chores for every zone on a flashcard has proved worthwhile when Alicia notices an unfinished zone. “I love having every chore written down,” she vents. Since every task is written on the card, she refers her kids to their cards and they know what they’ve missed.
Alicia accepts that she can no longer undertake her chores as she previously did, but she’s learned to accept her family’s help, and lowered her expectations for those around her.
“I learned early on that I was going to drive all my family away from me because I was OCD about what I could no longer do!”
Regarding others’ expectations of her, she reasons: “They do not live in my paralyzed body … I just try to do the best that we can do and uphold my children to their best ability.”
Alicia’s new chore system provides her time to spend on other things, and she loves her new job as the foreman who runs the well-oiled machine.