Change things up for back-to-school

Shift chore responsibilities as you shift your schedule

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to change it up. We're back to school.
September is a great time to revisit your household chore distribution.

(00:26):
No allocation of responsibilities works forever. You are probably changing
lots of routines right now as the seasons change, so
this can be a great time to shift anything that
has to get done. Most households wind up dividing and
conquering with a lot of chores. I cook, you wash up.

(00:48):
One person is in charge of laundry, and the other
is in charge of trash. One person walks the dog,
one buys the groceries. If there are little kids in
your household, you may have established teens for splitting childcare tasks.
If the children are older, they may have their own chores.
If all is going well, then carry on. But if

(01:11):
things feel unequal or people are getting really tired of
their current chores, then the back to school season is
a natural time to redistribute these tasks. Even if you
don't have school aged kids, this time of year tends
to bring new rhythms for everyone, so it's a great
time to experiment with new chore rhythms as well. There

(01:34):
are lots of ways to do this. First, look to
see if any chores aren't being done consistently or adequately.
These are chores that may be ripe for a new owner. Also,
ask the people in your household whether there are any
chores that they are tired of, or any tasks that
they'd like to take on. If you have little kids

(01:56):
in your family, pay attention to what they can do
now that they couldn't do a year ago. A ten
year old might take pride in being able to roll
the trash and recycling binds to the curb on trash day.
If you notice that his height and strength make that
possible for him now and it wasn't six months ago,
you may be able to let go of a chore

(02:17):
that you're grouchy about. He'll be excited about taking out
the trash, and you will be excited that you are
not taking out the trash. As you redistribute chores. Also,
consider whether there are any chores that you could eliminate
now that your kids are older. Could they walk to
school or bike so that no one needs to drive them?

(02:40):
Can they simply be told to showers, so you don't
have to actively supervise this. Can they do their own laundry,
or at least put all of their laundry away from
the dryer. Maybe they can make their own lunches or
figure out how to read the lunchmen you and buy
on certain days. How important is it to you that
your car darkling clean? Maybe you could wash your car

(03:02):
when the mood strikes, instead of thinking of it as
something that has to happen often. You might also automate
things as a way of lessening the mental load. Rather
than meal planning. Each week, you decide that Monday is pasta,
Tuesday is tacos, and Friday is pizza. Now you only

(03:23):
have to think about Wednesday and Thursday each week. Or
maybe you can come up with a template for those
days too. Or conversely, maybe you are working a different
schedule or several of your kids have left the nest
and you have more time for planning elaborate meals. You
could decide that Wednesday is new recipe night and then

(03:43):
have the leftovers every Thursday. The point is that just
because you have been doing something a certain way doesn't
mean you have to keep doing something a certain way.
The back to school season offers a fresh start for
routines and schedus jules, so use this time to figure
out if your current chore distribution is working for you.

(04:07):
With a little refresh, you may find that chores get
done effectively and almost painlessly, which would be a nice
way to start a new school year if you change
things up with chores. I'd love to hear how it goes.
You can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

(04:29):
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

(04:50):
me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod
that's b E the number four then breakfast p. You
can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts
at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out
with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look
forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

(05:19):
of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
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