[pdq]

I have 5 children. The oldest is 5.5 yrs and the youngest is 3 m. I am BIG on keeping the house organized and the kids in order. I'm wondering what little tricks of the trade other families can share that have helped them stay organized with a large family.

I'd love to hear everyone's ideas!
Pat

[lambeausam]

Keep this as simple as possible.

1. I use index cards with pictures of tasks to be completed. For the beginning readers, I include the words. On the back of the index card is the word "daily" or "weekly." Even my three year old recognizes the words. Some examples of the daily tasks are: make bed, pick up toys/books, brush teeth, wipe down bathroom sink/toilet, etc. Weekly tasks include: gather trash, take recylcing items outsides, vacuum stairs (my 7 year old loves using our Shark. Obviously I don't set the same bed making expectations for the little ones as I do the older ones. However, a child as young as 18 months can learn to put his/her blanket in the crib. I purchased some of the bathroom wipes and the boys use them daily after they get ready for the day. It makes the deep cleaning much easier. The other thing to consider is I am not the one that misses the toilet!

2. If you use some type of bin system for toys, tape a picture to the front of the bin that shows what toys belong to that bin.

3. Any child 3 and up can help sort laundry - in fact that's how my two boys learned their colors. Of course, their favorite part of the laundry is tossing it down the stairs, then sliding down. What do I care, the laundry gets sorted and taken downstairs! When my youngest son was 2, he learned to put away his folded socks. He could only carry two at a time, but he was included in the rest of the family's activity.

4. Consider color-coding the kids personal hygiene items - towels, washcloths, toothbrushes, hairbrushes. It makes it easier to tell who owns what. This can also carry-over to socks. If you have trouble telling who's socks are who's, sew a few loops of thread in the "child's color" on the toe of each sock.

5. Lay clothes out for the entire family the night before - don't forget your own.

6. When your kids reach school age, designate an area for the plethora of school papers that arrive each day. Sort through them each night. If the kids have a large art project that doesn't fit into a scrapbook, take a picture of them with it. That way the memory is still there, but the 5-foot killer whale replica is not!

7. Also, pack any non-refridgerated items in the lunchbox at night. Have any items requiring refridgeration prepared and waiting in the fridge until morning. The next morning throw the items in the lunchbox with a small gelpack. I use a category system for the kids lunches. They select one item from each category. The child places the non-refridgerated items in his/her lunchbox and I help them prepare the "sandwich category" item. Not only does the child accept some of the lunch-packing responsibility, but it also teaches nutrition.

8. Finally, if you have to get out of the house early in the morning (we leave at 6:20), eat breakfast on paper plates/cups. The expense is worth not having to face a sink full of breakfast dishes after a long day at work. Set the breakfast table the night before. If your family usually has cereal for breakfast, set out the bowls and boxes on the table.

I am a single parent to two boys that I have been blessed to adopt. I also foster up to four more kids up to a time. Oh yeah, none are older than 7. Anyway, this keeps our house running fairly smooth.

[pdq]

Wow!! I am so impressed! I thought for sure you were going to say you had 10 kids at home! You truly have the skills/organization for handle a large family.

Here are some of the things we are currently doing with the kids.

I have a hanging shoe organizer in each child's closet. We call them "cubbies". On laundry day I assemble outfits for them to put in their cubbies. I include shirt, pants/shorts, socks, etc. They usually put each outfit in their cubbies themselves. The shoe organizer holds 10 outfits, so we have entire outfits assembled for more than one week at a time. In the mornings after breakfast, each child goes up and pulls one outfit out for the day to wear. We just started doing this with my 2 yr old, too.

At each meal the kids help to set the table. When we are finished each child puts their own dishes on the counter to be washed and throw away their scraps/napkins.

Before bedtime, we have a solid bedtime routine: pick up toys, baths, get pj's on, snack, brush teeth, bed time story, and off to sleep.

My children are expected to put on their own shoes, coat, clothes, etc. I only help my 2 yr old (almost 3 yrs) as little as possible.

In general, my children are very helpful around the house. The help sort laundry when I ask them. They bring the clothes basket up and down the stairs. My oldest just started empyting the clothes dryer, etc.

What I am lacking is a solid chore system for each child to help do more of the daily things around the house. They don't make their beds - sometimes I don't either! They don't help with the trash, feeding the dog, dusting, cleaning up the house in general, etc.

Where do you keep the index cards? How do you know the chore has actually been done?

I love the category idea for school lunches!! Next year I might have 3 lunches to prepare each day. Right now we have 2 lunches to prepare 3 times per week. That would be a big help if they could pick out their food choices from categores. What food categories do you currently have?

Thank you so much for your help! I am always amazed how other families keep their household in order!
Pat

[Kelleylee]

Wow!! I wish you could have seen my eyes light up!! These are great suggestions!! I'm printing them ASAP!! My husband and I have adopted 5 kids... the oldest is 4!! I just want to say thank you!!

[Kelleylee]

Wow!! I wish you could have seen my eyes light up!! These are great suggestions!! I'm printing them ASAP!! My husband and I have adopted 5 kids... the oldest is 4!! I just want to say thank you!!

[pdq]

WOW!! Kelley - you are busy like me!

I forgot to add one more thing that we do. On the way up the stairs to go to the second floor, we have a small hook and hang a basket on it for each child. Right now, we just have 4 baskets for the older kids. When I do laundry, the kids bring down their baskets and I fill them up with their folded laundry. Then they bring it up to their rooms and I help them put it away later when we are upstairs. This really helps because all the clothes stays in one place and is still nicely folded. I also use their baskets for toys that they need to put away upstairs or art projects that they need to put away. This really helps!

By our back door, each child has their own hook for hanging up their coat and backpacks. There is also bench where they put their shoes, gloves, etc.

It is a HUGE help for each of our kids to have their own place to put their belongings. I think this is the key to organization. Also, I think it helps each child to feel apart of the family.

Pat

[Kelleylee]

Wow Pat! Now that's a great suggestion too! I hate running up and down the stairs!! I'm going to do that! I'll be adding that to my list!
The only thing I can really contribute.... and it's really not orginal.. is the crock pot. I love my crock pot! In fact, I'm buying another one as soon as I get some extra money! I get the food ready early in the morning and buy evening our dinner is ready. I also can get 2 days worth of cooking out of it.
Having alot of kids is great.. I love it.... but I sure look forward to the day I'm a little more organized.

[suzi99w]

Wow, you guys are great and I know you will be able to help me!
We have a 4 yr old boy but want to adopt a sibling group of 3 or more. Hubby is out of town mostly so I'll more or les be single parent with the luxury of being able to stay at home!
In adopting a group of kids at once, many with behavior problem of some sort or another how do I make sure my son is not lost in the shuffle? He is very excited at this but I want him to stay that way and not resent the kids.
also can a one child family suddenly adapt to having a large family ? Im pretty sure I can handle the emotional needs and things but the logistics of car seats, daily regimes and things seems a little scary!
Also hubby wanted "enough kids for his own ball team" but as our homestudy is almost finished he seems to be geting cold feet! He is concerned with buying them all cars later or paying for college! Should we back up and only go for one or two or is the normal reasoning for our position? I would be thrilled with a large family still. Looking forward to your responses!

[mina2u]

I have that exact concern! We are wanting to adopt a sib group of 4. We currently have 2 children. We have been wondering if we will be able to handle our family size doubling in one pop.

[KATIEAO]

hello...i dont know how this works and if everyone that ever messgaged gets an email or not but there was some great info here...i too was curious on the index card process.

mina2u and suzi99.,.,.,.,.what happened? where are you at now? my husband and i are waiting to adopt a sibling group of 6 and we only have our 1 year old (i have 2 stepdaughters we only get weekends). i am anxious and feel like the experience will be what we make it, i want to have a schedule so each week a kid can take a turn having a date with mom/dad/both- because having that bond and relationship is so crucial for the later decision making process- especially since they have been neglected some and have social issues. well i would love to hear if you have gotten your family!! the other thing is did you get all the kids at once, they want to give the 6 to us in 3 diff groups, i keep telling them i would get them all if i could tomorrow but i guess it isnt going to be up to us. i have seen people adopt sibling groups of 4 and 5 from russia with obviously emotional issues and they dont even speak english- so i think the county is just being difficult. well hope all is well and would love to hear back. thanks to everyone on the forums, i love it!!!
katie
mom to libby 1, stepmom to aubrey 8 lexi 4, soon to be amom to g11, b8, b6, b4, g2, and g1!!

[shashb1011]

Wow Lambausam! Terrific ideas. I HATE sorting socks. Everyone's are white. I can tell who the girls' are but the boys, forget it! Also, we have bins but no order there. I like the idea of putting pictures on the bins. The boys are in their teens, but the girls are 6 & 7 and that would really help! Thanks.

[2manyks]

we built our house and moved in 6 years ago. we built it with kids in mind and did lots of great things to make my life easier. we have 11 kids and are awaiting the birth of #12. i have 3 stacking washer/dryers in my laundry room. i know you are all jealous! i have a cubby for each child. i wash/dry/fold and put in cubbie and kids come get the clean clothes. some kids are known for dressing right in front of their cubbie. who cares! each child has a color towel w/ name embroydered on it. if its on the floor i know whos it is and who to tell to pick it up. each child has a different brand of socks/tshirts/underware, etc. that way sorting socks is easy. ie: ds socks come from target, dd socks from costco, etc. when you turn 12 in my house you do your own laundry!

as far as chores, we 3 have teams. an older child/teenager is the supervisor. they direct and help 2 younger sibs. i just have to yell for team3 - set the table. everyone knows what that means.

we also have a 'contest" running. i give points for things i want the kids to accomplish. we have a list and the kids do an honor system for tracking points. each monday night we sit down as a family and have Family Night. we do calendar and track our points. they get points for anything you say. some examples are: reading a book on level, brushing teeth, practicing piano, getting up on time, doing family jobs, etc... anything you want them to improve on. as a family we have to get to 10,000 points and each individual has to have at least 2,000 pts. the prize is a really fun family trip.

i have so much more i could share. i'll have to come back later. good luck with those adorable kiddies and take a nap everyone!