Large Family Home Management Schedule

A how-to guide to homeschooling 6+ children, running home businesses, cooking from scratch, and small scale farming. Learn our large family home management schedule that makes motherhood better, easier, and more fun.

Large Family Home Management Schedule

I admit, three years ago, I took a LONG time to thoughtfully write out this entire home management schedule. And then, I did not follow through on it. I felt I was too undisciplined to follow the system and became discouraged. We since had two more babies, started a small scale farm, and continued to grow our two family businesses. We have six homeschooling children and a newborn baby at the time of writing this. I realized recently it was time to revisit this system, and had an important realization. I was not undisciplined three years ago; I just did not give the system a chance during our hardships.

Home Management During Hardship

Terrible morning sickness, post-partum exhaustion, and big seasons of business growth had me quit the system in the past. How could I possibly get it all done? To heck with clean floors, making balanced meals, homeschooling field trips, and clutter free counter tops! What I did not realize, was that this is sometimes the correct approach to our home management.

During seasons of hardship and challenge, it is ok to let go of the ideals of the system and lower our standards. It is ok to have a messier home, use paper plates, and allow more movies. Accept help and meals from others. Hide 75% of the toys to reduce clutter. Reduce extra curriculars and social events for a time period. The hardship passes, order is restored, and the ideal comes about again. I learned to not give up on a good system on a bad day or season! I let our home management system be the tool, not our master.

Daily Home Management Schedule

Our entire family participates in this schedule. Some children are exclusively in charge of certain areas of routine. For example, our oldest 2 children are in charge of animal and farm chores. They do not need my assistance, so I use this time for the other morning routine tasks with toddlers. Here is an example of our current daily schedule for our family. This changes seasonally with extra curriculars, new babies, time of year, but the bones remain the same:

1. Morning routine
   • “Mom time”-coffee, prayer, exercise, getting ready for the day (wake before children)
   • Breakfast with kids, bible verse, “table chores” (see below)
   • Animal/farm chores
   • Homeschooling- see our homeschooling system here
   • Lunch and dinner prep
2. Afternoon Routine
   • Lunch, followed by “table chores”
   • Quiet Time & finish homeschooling if needed
   • “Day of the week” chores (see below), events, extra curriculars
   • “Free time”: projects, games, toys, outdoor play, business pursuits, 30 minutes screen time if chores are complete
   • Dinner and breakfast prep
3. Evening Routine
   • Dinner, followed by “table chores” (see below), & family prayer
   • Teeth brushed, baths, showers
   • Final reset of kitchen and living room
   • Family outing: walking, biking, parks, sledding
   • Bed time kids: 30 minutes reading, puzzles, legos, listening to audio books, lights out

“Table Chores”

Ideally, most table chores follow each meal. Some only need to be complete after one meal. For example, we only need to take out the garbage once a day. If we miss a table chore at the first meal, we try again at the next. Again, the system is a tool, not our master. These table chores are done by the entire family, including the toddlers (who need assistance from mom and praise). Our children volunteered for the tasks they want to do, and they stick with the same tasks for several months. This way they become proficient at that task and we have less changing jobs (and arguing) to keep track of.

Examples of table chores:

1. Empty the dishwasher (10 year old)
2. Re-load dishwasher and wash dishes by hand (4 year old + mom)
3. Wipe the table and food prep area (6 year old)
4. Sweep under the table (4 year old)
5. Garbage and recycling out (6 year old)
6. Load of laundry started (10 year old)
7. Phonics lesson: 5-10 minute reading lesson with mom and child learning to read while other kids are finishing table chores (6 year old + mom)
8. Clearing table, putting food away (8 year old)
9. Keeping 2 year old out of mischief (8 year old)

“Day of the Week” Home Management

This “day of the week” home Management schedule was inspired by the books Large Family Logistics (re-printed as Home Management, Plain and Simple) and A Mother’s Rule of Life. I highly recommend reading these. I altered the schedule and tasks to fit our family’s current needs, and am sure you will need to do also.

We generally do many of these “day of the week” tasks daily, but the heavy lifting of these tasks get done on a specific day of the week. For example, we cook and meal prep every day, but we BULK cook and meal prep on “Kitchen Day”. We clean everyday, but we DEEP clean on “Cleaning Day”.

Our lists are the ideal, not always the reality. We do not always complete every item each week (nor does each task require weekly completion, such as paying bills on “Office Day”).

We have rotating helpers for some “day of the week” chores. For example, on “Kitchen Day”, children take turns making recipes. I am generally in the kitchen with a few children while overseeing homeschool questions with others. Everyone participates in the “Cleaning Day” chores.

Children naturally gravitate toward areas of interest. One of our children loves any and all outdoor activities and will be heavily involved in “Yard Day” without prompting. Another is very detailed oriented and loves to make lists and organize things. She is heavily involved in helping me on “Office Day”. However, we do have each child learn all skills eventually so they are successful adults someday.

Each child volunteers for “day of the week” tasks as they do for table chores, and are in charge of their tasks for several months. Again, cheerfully assign if no volunteers.

“Day of the Week” Chores, Events, Extra Curriculars

Monday, Kitchen Day

• Bulk food preparation for fresh meals and freezer meals (choose a few each Monday and cycle through your list): chicken soup, spaghetti sauce, lentil bread, desserts, kefir smoothies, fermented veggies, popsicles, tallow rendered
• Clean appliances and cabinets
• Wipe/dust all flat surfaces- counters, shelves,
• Clean 1 drawer, cupboard, or pantry
• Clean fridge
• Clean kitchen windows
• Mop floor in kitchen and dining room

Tuesday, Office Day

• Menu plan, make grocery list, place grocery pick up order for “outing day”
• Pay bills, update budget
• File important papers and emails, discard mail and delete emails and unneeded paperwork
• Update gift lists and family ordering needs for items we buy only online, place orders
• Check homeschooling work, document progress in binder, revise lessons as needed
• Mail thank you, sympathy, and birthday cards
• Request library books, round up all library materials and put in the van to drop off on outing day
• Schedule appointments, field trips, date nights, registrations for kids activities, and update calendars
• Bookkeeping, paperwork, tax prep for family businesses
• Research topics with kids, print requests from kids
• File art work
• Estate, will, insurance, financial planning/updating accounts and paperwork

Wednesday, Outing Day

• Plan an easy crock pot dinner to be ready when you come home
• Empty, clean, and pack the van (diaper bag, waters, snacks, grocery list, donations, library materials, cooler (for grocery shopping in summer if several stops are made)
• Order groceries (if not complete on office day)
• Extra curriculars- this school year, our oldest 4 children are all involved in the same wood working and art class program that caters to multiple age groups during the same time period. (A homeschool mom’s dream). We are intentional about finding activities that suit multiple children’s interests and age ranges during the same time so we are not running to multiple activities multiple days of the week.
• Grocery pick up

Thursday, Cleaning Day

• Clear and wipe all flat surfaces
• Dust and sweep whole house
• Mop floors
• Toys and crafts put away *exactly where they belong*; rotate out new toys and crafts monthly
• Clean glass door panes
• Dust cobwebs on ceilings and trim
• Deep clean by room (it’s ok if not all rooms are dusted every single week; remember the list is the ideal, not always the reality! This is why we deep clean on weekly rotation as a catch all if short on time and energy.)
  • Week 1- bedrooms
  • Week 2- living and dining room
  • Week 3- sunroom and foyer
  • Week 4- Attic, basement, crafts/toys/games closets

Friday, Laundry Day

• Wash sheets, bedding, rugs
• Wash stuffies, car seats, swing chair covers, bassinet
• Wipe down washer and dryer
• Wipe down the inside of the washer, run a clean cycle
• Clean the lint line from the dryer
• Change garbage, sweep floor, dust cobwebs
• Put away out of season clothes, jackets, shoes, hats and mittens, boots etc. and take out needed items for cold/hot weather etc. Make note of new sizes needing ordering on office day or thrifting for on outing day

Saturday, Yard/Garden/Farm Day (good weather)

• Deep cleaning farm animal chores
• Fill birdfeeders
• Spread, mix, add compost to garden beds
• Cut grass, weed gardens, plant, harvest, ferment, preserve
• Pick up toys, shovels, sandbox items, wood projects, outdoor gear (bikes, scooters, etc) and put in their “homes”
• Rake leaves, burn sticks and paperwork, shovel snow
• Sweep front porch and decorate
• Tidy and sweep garage and finish or put away projects
• Chop wood for the fireplace and campfires
• Render tallow, make tallow soap, make whipped tallow balm
• Power wash, paint, repair outdoor needs
• Drop off yard waste items, get woodchips, manure, compost for garden needs

Saturday, Yard/Garden/Farm Day (BAD WEATHER):

• Swap seasonal gear (kayaks for sleds, etc.)
• Declutter and fill donation boxes
• Rotate toys and projects and place in exact “homes”
• Clean and organize chest freezers
• Build birdhouses and other wood working projects
• Crafting projects
• Clean storage closets, bedroom closets, update/swap next size clothes and shoes for kids
• Office day overflow paperwork
• Outing day overflow errands- post office, hardware store, bank, returns, donations, groceries
• Indoor repairs, projects, updates
• Haircuts

If you would like a free printable of this weekly calendar and a full list of daily tasks, click here.

Tips For Creating a New Schedule

1. Ask your spouse for input before creating a final draft. Does he want you to exclusively manage the home and schedule while he is at work? Does he want certain things included to create a smoother home environment? Will you carry this schedule through the weekends when he is home? When discussing our daily schedule, my husband had good insight to have an earlier dinner time. He adjusted his work schedule to leave sooner in the morning and get home sooner in the evening so we could maintain a daily family outing. I wanted to get rid of the outing completely in my severely sleep deprived state post-partum. Having an earlier dinner and outing time allowed us to keep the outing and still get to bed earlier.
2. Discuss the importance and value of a good home management schedule and all the benefits of it. Benefits of most interest to children are time for free play, outings, learning new skills, eating nutritious, favorite meals and treats, and living in a clean, organized environment. Poorly managed time and a broken system do not leave room for these schedule benefits.
3. Ask for volunteers for table chores and then day of the week chores. “Cheerfully assign” the others if children do not volunteer. Try to make the job more easy and fun. Children love cleaning with spray bottles and playing with soapy bubbles. Older children enjoy extra privileges like staying up later, extra screen time, earning money, extra treats, special time with mom and dad…do not be afraid to use incentives and rewards to encourage desired behavior in the beginning.

Tips For Implementing a New Schedule

1. Make your systems visible. We have our routines/schedule on our fridge and the general times they should be done. Our table chores and who is responsible for these are hanging beside the schedule. The “day of the week” chores and events are accessible and can be referenced easily for reminders.
2. Ease into your new schedule and allow for failure. Many times we do not make it to the ideal, especially in seasons of hardship. The schedule helps keep goals in top of mind. We generally do not sweep under the table after every single meal and snack, but it for sure gets done once or twice a day when the goal is after every meal/snack. If we miss the phonics lesson after breakfast because baby has a blow out, we try again after lunch.
3. First, model how to do a chore. Second, do chore together with the child. Third, watch while the child does the chore him/herself. Check in periodically for accountability. Toddlers will need simple chores or to help alongside mom.