I came across this series of articles written by Lara at The Lazy Organizer and liked them so much I wanted to link them here (so I can find them again when I need the reminder):

All about including children in cleaning-up.  But more than that too.  So much good stuff.  Go.  Read.  (Dream of the day your child/ren will be old enough for this to apply.)

• Part I, Whose Job is It?
  
• Part II, Getting Rid of the Clutter
• Part III, Let Them Help
• Part IV, It Takes Time
• Part V, Work Together
• Part VI, Learn to Practice
• Part VII, Make it Easy

The emphasis is on training now, so they’ll be equipped later– not having to figure out on their own so much of the stuff we (even 2nd and 3rd generation!) young homemakers have been working toward.

It’s funny.  I did every kind of job while I was at home, so I wasn’t unprepared that way, but I still had no idea how to put it all together– how to make it regular or automatic (or efficient!).

These are the things I’m trying to catch-up on now, and I imagine the great value it would be to help my children learn  (as Lara puts it so well) while they’re young and have so many fewer distractions.

Its the same principle behind music practice and scripture-memory in childhood, really.

Now if I could only pull myself and my desires into order.  That would make all these lessons more effective…