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Today I went to visit my grandfather, and he was talking about when he was young, in the 1920s and 1930s.
With two older brothers, he was known as the “baby” of the family. He recalled how his brothers did more chores than him for a few years, while he was very young. He then said that once they grew up… it all fell onto him. He said it made up for the years he was able to get out of them. hahaha!!
From the time that he was young, his mother had him helping out around the house. HIs jobs were to sweep & dust the house while his mother took care of the rest. Once he became older, he also had the task of getting on his bike and going to the butcher shop to pick up the meat for the day. He would have the butcher cut it, and he would bring it home to his mom.
Meanwhile, she spent her days cleaning the house, taking care of the garden, and cooking every meal (she even made homemade pies a few times a week and would set it on the windowsill to cool… just like we see in the movies.)
Oh- and at 4:00 each day, he remembers her stopping what she was doing, and she’d go to her room to “fix herself up” with a dress and makeup before his dad came home and they all had dinner together.
I love hearing stories about the past. I love knowing that even though our lives have changed, they remain the same in some ways. We have dinners together with our family, our kids have chores, we all clean a little bit every day to keep the house tidy, but we have a big “Spring Cleaning” once a year. (Spring cleaning is my favorite because it’s like giving your house a “fresh start” every year.
Speaking of… I haven’t done my spring cleaning for this year yet. We’re planning on cleaning this week. I’ve already told the kids what sections of the house they will be in charge of this year and how we will be donating a lot of things. (I love to declutter, then clean, then organize what is left). Everyone feels better once we’re finished.
If you want to join us, here are some of my favorite tools to help clean/declutter quickly, but very well.
- 5 Day Kitchen Cleaning & Decluttering Challenge – This is the perfect way to help you to take your kitchen from cluttered to clean, organized & streamlined. Added bonus- I’ve included our 30-day calendar to declutter your entire home!
- Declutter and Donate – A simple way to declutter one small area of your home each day. This bundle has 40 task cards, tackle one per day and your home will look like new, without working you to the bone!
- Freed from Clutter – If you are all about a quick-win, this is for you. It’s a short book filled with my best posts, tips, suggestions, and ideas. This is really a “What has worked for me” book to help you see exactly what, why and how I declutter my house and keep it clean. It is a no-fluff book and it’s right to the point of how to get your house the way you want it.
- Declutter Course for the entire home– If you are ready to declutter, clean & organize the entire house… this is for you! (PS- be sure to join the online inspiration & support group, too! You’ll find it in the course.)
Another interesting tip: My grandpap said that when he became a teenager, and he got a job, he gave his paycheck to his parents. They would then give him a portion of it to use for himself, but the rest went to the family.
He said that this is what everyone did, as their parents paid for their home & food, so he earned money to contribute (he remembers being 14 and doing this). The money that they gave back to him was spending money. When I asked him how much he made & how much he was given to spend, he said that he made $60 every two weeks and they gave him $10 to spend.
I can remember my great-grandfather saying the same thing (he earned money for his family once he became a teenager). He lived in the late 1800s. I just thought that it was interesting- I love learning about life back then & seeing how much things have changed & stayed the same.
Here are a few things to help your kids get started with helping out around the house:
Swap Chores for Screentime
Chore Cards for Kids
Age-Appropriate Chores for Kids
