After years ‘n’ years of various chore lists, cleaning schedules, and even going without for a while, we’ve finally found something that works for us! So I thought I’d share 
The 3 oldest have worked alongside me long enough that they know how to do basic cleaning, so we’ve started a rotating schedule. Nobody cleans the same room twice in a week. This also means that at least once a week a room is going to look like it was cleaned by distracted 6 and 4 year olds, once by a 7 year old who pays more attention to detail than the big picture, and once by a 9 year old who can do a pretty good job overall, and once by me. 
And yes, sometimes the room isn’t cleaned, it’s just picked up. (The kitchen doesn’t fall into this category though, I just toss it in on top of my chores on those days)
In the kitchen hangs a list with the days of the week and chores after each name:
Monday
Mama: Kitchen
Prince Charming: Family Room, Shower (leave the bathroom the way you found it!)
Dexter: School Room
Little Miss Feisty and Pixie Girl: Bedrooms and Hallway
Tuesday
Mama: Bathrooms
Prince Charming: Laundry. Wash and dry sheets. Put them back on the beds.
Dexter: Kitchen, Shower (leave the bathroom the way you found it!)
Little Miss Feisty and Pixie Girl: Family Room
Wednesday:
Mama: School Room
Prince Charming: Bedrooms and Hallway
Dexter: Bathrooms
Little Miss Feisty and Pixie Girl: Your bedroom, Shower (leave the bathroom the way you found it!)
Thursday:
Mama: Family Room
Prince Charming: Kitchen, Shower (leave the bathroom the way you found it!)
Dexter: Bedrooms and Hallway
Little Miss Feisty and Pixie Girl: School Room
Friday:
Mama: Laundry Wash, dry, and fold clothes. Clean laundry room.
Prince Charming: Bathrooms
Dexter: Family Room, Shower (leave the bathroom the way you found it!)
Little Miss Feisty and Pixie Girl: Kitchen
Saturday:
Mama: Bedrooms and Hallway
Prince Charming: School Room
Dexter: Laundry. Wash and dry the towels and washcloths. Fold them and put them away.
Little Miss Feisty and Pixie Girl: Bathrooms, Shower (leave the bathroom how you found it!)
You might notice that the girls actually DO clean their room more than once in a week, but you haven’t seen it! Putting 6, 3, and 2 year old girls into a 10×11 room can be disastrous! One of those room cleaning days used to have them washing the cloth diapers instead (since those don’t need to be folded, just stacked), but we’ve been using disposables lately.
All of the laundry that the kids do are things that the machines can be set on “Kill” for, and I check the amount of soap before they put it in, so there’s really nothing they can do to mess it up. They don’t need to know how to do various types of laundry or what all of the machine settings are for, they just know how to set the machines for their assigned load. The sheets go straight from the bed to the machines then back on the beds 90 minutes later, so there’s no folding needed. The towels are easy to fold and put away.
Yes, the kids showers are on there too, otherwise they tend to “forget” And no, our kids don’t shower every day. They’re rarely filthy (and when they are they get an extra shower), and they all have eczema, so they’re much less itchy with 2 showers a week and a quick wipe down with a damp washcloth in between.
In each room is a list of instructions (to be done in order) for how the room is to be cleaned. That way it’s broken down into manageable steps for the kids, and it’s easy for anybody to check (like when Aunt Dani stays with the kids during chore time). It’s usually taped to the inside of a cabinet door or another inconspicuous place. The rule is that after breakfast they work on their chores as hard as they can, as fast as they can. They don’t HAVE to finish the entire list to be done for the day. Lunch is the end of chore time. BUT, if they do finish, then any time left before lunch is free for them to do whatever they’d like. An example of our lists is this one for the kitchen:
#1. Empty the dishwasher if the dishes are clean.
#2. Put dishes from the sink, counter, and stove, into the dishwasher.
Do NOT put mama’s black pans (cast iron) in the dishwasher. Mama will clean those later.
#3. Put soap in the dishwasher and run it ONLY if it is full. (the dishwasher being full has to be verified by a parent)
Push Normal Wash unless the dishes are very very very dirty.
If they are very very very dirty, then you can press Heavy Wash.
#3. Put any food left over into the refrigerator or the cabinet.
#4. Spray and wipe all of the counters.
#5. Spray and wipe the sink.
#6. Sweep the floor.
#7. Get a cleaning rag and spray and wipe any dirty spots on the floor and any water that got dripped.
#8. Put away the spray.
#9. Take the cleaning cloth to the laundry room and wash your hands.
#10. Hang up a clean kitchen towel.
So far this has kept the house up pretty well. When we’re sick things can take a dive, but it gets caught up pretty quickly.
Spitfire just turned 2, and she toddles around with the person of her choosing and helps them out by putting things away in bedrooms, throwing things away, putting away silverware, or doing other little odd jobs. Sometimes she’s given a damp cleaning cloth to wipe whatever surfaces her little heart desires (except for toilets of course ).
The kids don’t mop, but they do clean up any visible dirty marks on the floor. Mopping happens on the day I clean, along with cleaning windows, cleaning out the fridge, and other things that kids aren’t old enough for yet. Days that I don’t feel well it’s easy for Rob to tell who should have done what, and help them follow through on it.
Anyway, that’s what works for us! I’d love to hear what works for you!
