This week’s task for Monday in the Weekly Household Planner:
Change Kids’ sheets
If you are reading this too late for today’s tasks, no worries. You will be all prepared for next week!
There are differing opinions on how often bed sheets should be changed. Personally I love having fresh clean sheets, so doing it once a week is a somewhat guilty pleasure for me.
Developing routines will make your life as a mom much easier, especially if you can get your kids involved, which is where changing sheets each week on a particular day comes into play. If it becomes a standard operating procedure that sheets are changed on Mondays, then it will develop into a habit – for everyone. Get your kids involved!
Do you think your two year old can’t help with changing sheets? Think again! What kid wouldn’t love to tear apart their bed? Even young children can have the task of stripping sheets and pillowcases off their bed and getting them to the laundry room. If this tasks is built into the morning routine – even better.
On their way down for breakfast have them strip their sheets and bring them down, or right after they have gotten dressed. You can get them washed during the day and then part of the after school/evening routine can be to make the bed. If you have small children have work alongside you so that they can learn the right way to make a bed, (or at least how you would expect it to be made in your home). As your children get older they can start making the bed on their own – this can start as early as 6 or 7 – yes….really! Remember, it is not about perfection, it is about training and teaching.
Keeping kids motivated to be responsible and self-directed can be challenging, so allow them to make some choices about how they will spend their time. Our older kids know that Monday is sheet/laundry day – if they don’t get their laundry down before school it’s no sweat off my back, I don’t pester them or nag them to get it done in the morning, instead they just get to do their own laundry when they get home from school before enjoying extra things like TV or video games. If they do remember, then they return home from school with fresh clean sheets waiting in the laundry room for them to put back on their bed. Then they have the rest of the afternoon to do what they would like to do, rather than doing laundry!
Its a perfect consequence – and keeps me from being a nag!
