The Jar of Doom

I had another good idea.  It happens occasionally.  This idea was motivated by my frustration with my messy house.  Years ago I accepted the fact that the house is always going to be messy in the summertime.  With all the kids being home it's just the way it goes.  We clean but it only takes a short time before it's a mess again.  Yes, they should clean up after themselves and for the most part they do but I really have to nag and nag and nag.  I got tired of it. 
I wrote a bunch of random jobs down on slips of paper, put them in an empty jar and it was done.  I wanted to come up with some cutesy name for the jar or stick a vinyl letter on it but there was no time for that.  I told the boys if they made a mess and walked away from it they would have to pick out an extra job from the jar to do as punishment.  If they didn't obey the first time I asked them to do something they would also have to pick from the jar.  Marcus's eyes got really big and he said, "You mean the Jar of Doom?  Nooooooo!"  So the name stuck. 
The boys are doing much better at cleaning up after themselves, and I love that little jobs like dusting the piano, taking out the trash, or washing windows are getting done as well.  They try to avoid the Jar of Doom at all costs.  Landon even prayed over dinner saying, "Please bless me that I won't have to pick from the Jar of Doom."  It was awesome! 
It's taken about a week to get through every job in the jar and already I'm thinking to color code the papers so the older boys will have to pick jobs that are a little harder like cleaning out the fridge or vacuuming, but for now it works like a charm.  Bring on the child labor!