Whose turn is it to walk the dog? That seems to be the usual refrain in our house over the last 12 months since we adopted our beloved Santana. I know our two cats, Jasper and Hazel couldn’t care less about the dog, how many times she gets walked or if she ever decides to make a break for it out of the house. They give me that disdainful look that says, “just make sure someone cleans up our damn litter box and have our food waiting for us at 6:30 am sharp!”. My son’s bearded dragon, Guapo doesn’t seem to share that same contempt for Santana, as his daily activities have been relatively unaffected by her adoption. Get fed mealworms, scoff down a little lettuce, and bask under the heat lamp for the day. Despite being low maintenance, Guapo is a constant reminder to me every time I walk into son’s room about how many things in our house, big or small, that require daily attention by our family.
While I have repeatedly advocated for just putting a magic marker board on our refrigerator for everyone in our family to see their choirs, responsibilities and schedules, the way I use to when I was a kid, it seems like we would need to buy a much bigger fridge for that to work. However, maintaining the status quo of pleading with and reprimanding my kids to do the things they are suppose to do around the house has become an intolerable source of frustration to both me and my wife. I do know from past experience that bribery with the kids really does work. Wash the dishes and you will make $3. Take out the garbage and you get a $1. Punishment also seems to work, but I never feel very good about it afterwards. So when I came across an app that seems to incorporate the typical daily demands of any family and has a system in place that keeps everyone on track by encouraging them to cross off their to do list, I was excited to have been introduced to the OurHome App. Since our kids are on their mobile devices 24/7, OurHome offers a great option to let them know when it’s time to walk the dog, feed the lizard or take out the garbage. And if they do their chores, they can even be notified that they’ve earned cold hard cash for their efforts. It’s a win win for the whole family!
OurHome is a new and simple way to organize your family. Kids will be motivated to do chores and take responsibility while parents can reward them for their effort. There’s also a smart shopping list and a private family message board. Best of all, it’s totally free to use with no ads and no hidden costs.
With OurHome your family can take action right from their mobile device to start getting important work done around the house.
We decided to try out the app the week after Thanksgiving and gave our kids a host of responsibilities that they typically do, but it takes a lot of prodding before it gets done. This time around, the incentive was they’d be rewarded with money if they finished their chores in a timely fashion. Suddenly, the litter box was being cleaned each day without us having to ask. My daughter emptied the dishwasher and put away the dishes. My son even took out the garbage and that’s usually my responsibility! I think he tried that one so he could score some extra money…which he did. I’m happy to report, this new online system really works and I think we are well on our way to getting work around the house completed with the help of our kids…what a concept!
If you’re like me and are tired of asking, then telling and then yelling at your kids to do their chores, download the OurHome app, add your entire family and start watching as those chores get done and everyone is happy. Now that’s something I can completely get used to.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. However, all opinions are 100% my own including the fact that my children never do their chores on time.
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