Bag Chore Game – End the Whining & Complaining!

By Guest Blogger Cassie of The Thrifty Couple

Would you like to know a secret to getting your kids to help around the house without complaining? Would you like to see the nooks and crannies of your home cleaned every month or so with ease?  Enter the Bag Chore Game!

I know, this sounds totally too good to be true. I mean, it really seems impossible. Well…. I am going to share the secret with you that has made this almost a reality – I saw almost because it doesn’t eliminate 100% of the whining about chores, but has greatly reduced the pain and suffering that comes with getting kids to do their chores. And that is what I love! Not to mention, that those nooks and crannies are actually getting cleaned, organized and spotless every month or so! WOW!

Ok, so I will stop rambling now and spill the beans on this secret! It’s called….. (drumroll please)….. BAG CHORES!

I know what your thinking… the name is sorta a kill joy. Although the name is a bust (really can’t think of a better name) the system is AMAZING!!

You know the old adage – necessity is the mother of invention! Well, I invented this because I wanted the nooks and crannies of my house cleaned and felt it was everyone’s effort, not just mine. I also wanted the kids to do their part, but without complaining and whining. So I decided to make it a game.

I tried many, many different methods and systems and nothing seemed to be very motivating and effective – I still found that I would nag more than I wanted to. I seriously tried 4-5 systems before I finally just kicked them to the curb and develop my own system based on the whining and complaints kids had.

Here were their top complaints:

• Not fair because so and so has an easier chore
• Boring, mundane and same ol’ same ol’
• Not mixing it up enough
• Too much to do (when they see a list that is)

So how do I make a chore system that they seem to love and also try to get everything done? Well, how about a totally random system – each day you wake up and you won’t know what you will get, I have no control over how easy or fair they are compared to another child (each chore is 5-15 minutes and some are super easy and some take the full 15 minutes), and it is a surprise each day!

So…..I came up with Bag Chores! It is actually quite fun and the kids actually love them, even after 3-years of doing this!

First, I want to talk about our regular chore system. There are things that need to be done everyday in order to ensure peace and order in our home. But I tell the kids to do this quickly so that they can move on to bag chores.

They each have the daily chores of:

• Getting dressed, teeth brushed, face washed
• Bed made
• Bedroom picked up
• Then 1-2 extra chores per child that are all different (one unloads the dishwasher, another picks up the family room, another dumps the small garbages in the bathrooms and office, etc.)

So there is their short daily list – honestly, they think that brushing their teeth and getting dressed is far more of a chore than what I am about to show you. 🙂

Next, each of our kids participate in the 20-minute quick clean, but they also have 1-3 bag chores (depending on the day).

What is a bag chore?

A bag chore is a chore game where small 5-15 minute tasks are written on a strip of paper and then you randomly draw chores and what you get you can’t complain about!

Here’s some examples of what’s in there:

• Clean and vacuum out couches
• Clean under beds
• Wipe down doorknobs/light switches with antibacterial wipes
• Clean out bottom of pantry
• Scrub down table, table legs, chairs and chair legs.
• Shake mats/rugs
• Wipe down baseboards in room XYZ
• etc., etc., etc.,………

How cool is that??? The kids are actually excited about it because it is a game! It might sound like a super silly system – but don’t knock it until you try it. I was at my wit’s end to stop the whining until this came along! My house is cleaner (and deep cleaner) than ever as these fun chores dive into the heart of the messes that develop!

Every once in a while, they get one that they despise – I just say – “sorry, you’ll get something different tomorrow!” And they know that they can’t argue because I didn’t put it on their list or ask them to do it and so it makes it harder to say “this one is too hard today” or “her chore is easier than mine – that’s not fair.”

I LOVE bag chores….seriously LOVE them!

Inside of our bag chores bag and the little box that the finished chores go in!

Once they draw a chore, we put it into a ziploc or small box so that all of the chores get drawn before the old ones are added back in. We actually have dozens and dozens of chores in them. It takes us about a month to get through the bag. But you know what that means? The couches get vacuumed out often, under the beds are cleaned out often, baseboards are wiped down often, books/magazines are cleaned out often, and the list goes on! Trying to incorporate these tasks into a daily chore system rotating these additional tasks was just never happening before! But now it is!

Here’s how to play the bag chores game:

• Find a gift bag then print out the chores appropriate for your home. You will also find blank ones for you to add your own specific chores.
• Laminate them to make them last longer and cut them apart and throw into the bag.
• You may need 2-3 different bags for age appropriate chores – we just have 2, the kids and the parents – all chores in the kids are appropriate for our 10, 9, 8 and 5 year old. Many of the chores are mom and dad’s too 🙂
• Attach an envelope to the bag with the prize for emptying the bag that month – perhaps a pizza party, Wii game night (for us), board game night, zoo visit, etc.! Change it each round so that it is a surprise and seal the envelope!
• After a piece is drawn, collect the chores in a ziploc or box to dump back in after the bag is empty to start over.

The sealed envelope on the back with the “surprise” prize!

So to make this easy on you…. We have provided you with a few printables so that most of the work is done!

There are 3 different downloads:

• #1 has 4 pages of pre-made chores for you to just cut or laminate and cut out
• #2 has 1 page of blank game pieces to write in your own chores – print off as many as you need
• #3 is the tag that goes on the front of the bag chores game bag

<== Download your Bag Chores Game Pieces HERE

<== Download your Bag Chores BLANK Game Pieces HERE

<== Download your Bag Chores Game Tag HERE

Alex and Cassie became known as The Thrifty Couple after spending themselves into over $100K of consumer debt, then paying it off quickly with their own debt-zapping, life-changing program they share on their site. Today they live with their 5 kids in the Rocky Mountain Northwest on much less than they did as just the two of them, but share how they feel they are living life fuller than ever! They enjoy sharing frugal living tips, financial tips, DIY ideas, recipes and family life ideas on their site at TheThriftyCouple.com. Follow them on Pinterest and Google+ to follow their daily lives and gain many more ideas.