Googlizing My Household

Housekeeping sucks and I suck at housekeeping. Like a George Clooney movie, this makes for the perfect storm.

Laundry needs to be washed. What doesn't need to go into the machine, is either piled in a basket or on the coffee table. Shoes, books, magazines and mail litter surfaces throughout the house and the dishwasher either needs to be unloaded or turned on.

When the housekeeper, Ms. Brenda, comes on Wednesdays, my house is nice and orderly but it's Thursday through Tuesday that drive me crazy. The thing is, the list of chores that I never seem to get done aren't reflective of my preference. I'm not okay with a strewn house. I have enough chaos in my head. I don't want to live in it too.

This weekend I came across an article in the WSJ that profiled a family who runs their home like a business. 'Agile Development' is a blueprint many companies in Silicone Valley use to much success. The concept is simple: organize workers into small teams that are responsible on specific areas and nothing more. Translated to how the idea could be adopted for your home: laundry, food, maintenance,etc.

Brief meetings, lasting no longer than 20 minutes, are held each week and the family discusses their goals for the upcoming week, what went well the week before and what they can do better the next week.  The children have input into the penalties enforced if their duties aren't performed.

Research has shown that adolescents perform better when self-analysis is apart of accountability. Research could show that fairies fly out of Unicorn's butt's when you say 'Beetlejuice' three times and, if it results in my home being less chaotic, I'm all about it.

We had our meeting, and our departments were divided up. Our next meeting is Sunday afternoon. Cross your fingers and say a prayer.

I'm goin' in.