Family Work Day

**daylily** · 03-22-2009, 07:54 AM

This is something we do in our family and I thought others might want to try it. It really works for us! We are a family of four adults, me, DH, DS who is 33 and DD who is 30 all living in the same house. It works for us, saving us all money and we get along extremely well. Anyway, back to the real topic...

We draw straws with the one getting the shortest straw being the first to have a work day. Say I get the first day, the entire family will work for me for at least 8 hours doing whatever I want them to do. Then the next longest straw gets the next work day until we've each had our day. Then we start all over. In this way we all get help with our projects and it makes it easier to get those really difficult jobs done. You know the saying "many hands make light work"! Sometimes we do all four in the same week or sometimes we do two or sometimes only one a week depending on how hard we had to work.

Some of the jobs I have had help with include painting two bathrooms, transplanting ferns, getting bird houses and feeders built, getting all my mending done (DD does this one). Some things I recall for other family members include helping DS clean out his electronics shop, helping DD build a storage system in her bedroom closet, helping DH plant grape vines and putting in posts for the trellis, among many others. It's fun as well as productive.

I was a little surprised that DH went along with it but he was quite enthusiastic about the idea. Maybe it would work for some of you too.

Daylily

**hotprincesscm** · 03-22-2009, 09:50 AM

Wow great idea! Thanks!

**ravenmaniac** · 03-22-2009, 11:04 AM

Great idea. But I can see those straws going up in flames at my house.

**lvngwell** · 03-22-2009, 02:51 PM

What a neat idea!!

**Debbie-cat** · 03-22-2009, 03:00 PM

That sounds like a great idea and obviously it is working well for your family! Way to go!

**daylily** · 03-22-2009, 05:07 PM

I had some doubts as to whether my family would go for it too but they liked the idea. They all had some difficult projects that they wanted help with and saw this a a good chance to get some help

Now we plan ahead to get the most work out of each other! I don't want them to do something they will likely do anyway. I don't want to waste my work day on those jobs!!