I got this idea from Pinterest (of course!). I don't know about you, but my children are horrible about putting their things away. And, since there is not enough Valium in the world to keep my head from spinning when I see a mess, I HAD to implement the 'ranson bucket'. We started this one week ago and it is a good thing! Here is how it works.
We have a decorative (duh) bucket that I bought from Southern Living years ago and it was collecting dust in the closet. When I find a toy/shoes/etc. out of place, I put said items into the bucket. I have printed,cut and placed a list of chores in an envelope that is magnetically attached to the bucket. The ranson item cannot be removed until a chore is completed. Make sense?
On the first day, my 10 year old left her book bag out. After she discovered that it was in the bucket, she pulled out a chore. She had to write, 50 times, "I will not leave my things out". Hahaha, all I could do was laugh. Then, it was the 8 year old's turn. Her chore was 'WARNING'. "Not fair!!!" were the words I heard for a while as the older girl was writing her chore. The next few days were great! Only a couple of items were left out and had to be put in the bucket.
The problem was this, my four year old thought that it was really cool to leave things out to be put into the bucket. So, we took him off of the plan. He thought it was more of a fun game than a punishment. That is just the way he is; he has fun doing almost anything! Another problem we have encountered is - the weekend. The bucket is not large enough! The more time the kids are home, the more things get left out. That bucket is overflowing! Never fear, it will be dealt with - TODAY!
My overall assessment is this - the idea is a great one and I highly recommend it to all parents or anyone who may be married to a slob :) To make it less of an eye sore, my dear friend created lettering for it with her Silhouette machine.
If you try this idea, let me know how it works for you!!!
Here are a few ideas for chores:
Rub Mom's head for 10 minutes while thanking her for doing your laundry, being your driver, etc...
Run around the house for 5 minutes and pick up as many things as you can and put them away
Clean your sibling's room
Play with the dog for 10 minutes
Create, on a piece of paper, a picture with all of the cleaning tools you can think of
Vacuum a set of stairs
Run up and down the stairs 10 times while saying "I will put my things away"
Sweep the back deck
Clean out the van
Trash to trash (clear out all of the trash cans in the house)
Wash the front door windows
Make my parent's bed for a week
