"Buy it back" box

I posted in the past about organizing, and using our "buy-it-back-box... you can find the original post here.
"Make it clear that leaving personal belongings unattended may result in their being held for ransom. If a family member wants his or her stuff back, he or she will have to do an extra chore. If anyone chooses not to do the extra chore, you know that the item isn't important enough. Give the item away to charity without guilt.

We do this last one with our kids, and we call it the "buy-it-back-box". When the kids go to bed and leave their toys/ belongings out, we put it in the buy-it-back-box. Then they have to do a job/ chore the next day to get it back. I love that- and it's amazing how it motivates them to grab their toys and clean up before they go to bed. There are some things that have stayed in the box for a while, (a month maybe) and... off they go to Goodwill!"

THE JOB JAR...

PICK FROM THE JAR BUT DON'T LOOK AT WHAT IT SAYS...

When they go to grab a job, they get to take out the "job jar' which is filled with jobs that the kids can do. Here is my list:

“Job jar” list of jobs for kids to do

Clean all door knobs

Clean all light switches

Wash closet doors (one or two rooms)

Wash/ dust front door

Vacuum edges of carpet with small vac

Clean fridge top, door front & inside door

Clean one fridge shelf

Spot clean kitchen floor

Wash laundry room doors

Clean computer & TV screens

Dust one bedroom

Vacuum one bedroom (Mom’s choice)

Wash/ wipe walls

Wipe bathroom scale, toilet bottom

Wipe floor in bathrooms, entry way

Clean out trash, toys in van, vacuum

Sweep front walk/ porch/ step

Clean/ wash trash cans

Clean stove top and microwave

Wipe down dishwasher door & stove door fronts

Wash baseboards

Vacuum couches 

Sweep garage floor

Shake out rugs 

Wash windows (Mom’s choice)

GRACE

GRACE

GRACE

Do sibling’s job

Sweep kitchen floor

Wash all windowsills

Wipe kitchen counters

Help Mom with laundry

Dust family room or front room

Sweep back sidewalk

Vacuum stairs

This is our simple list of things to do in our home. When we moved, I had to change a few that we didn't need anymore- like clean sliding glass door, became clean laundry room doors, since we now have doors on our laundry room! So you can adjust it to your needs.


 We do use clorox wipes (or generic) for the younger kids, and even my two-year-old can clean some things to get a toy from the box! I have a handful of jobs that I know she can do, so she doesn't get to actually choose a job. For her, she can wipe doorknobs, sweep (a little), spot-mop the kitchen floor with a wet rag, wash baseboards, wipe lower windowsills, and dust low shelves without cleaners. I like this practice because it gets the kids to take care of their own things, clean up after themselves, and teaches them to clean under my supervision, which is a skill they need to know for the future! And I love having a clean home! Also in the jar are incentives, which is another post! :-D


My sister-in-law posted about this on her blog about a year ago, you can find that link here.