Everyone has Their Own Household Chores

I cannot do it all on my own. All my kids have age-appropriate jobs that they do, and everyone helps out. Often, that help is far from perfect, and sometimes it makes the messes worse. Everyone does necessary tasks and I accept the imperfection of it.

When the littles get older the quality of work will improve, but only is the seeds are planted now. My two big kids are already loads of helpfulness and do their work without a hitch. It is SO IMPORTANT that they learn these are things that are normal to do, they need to be done, that they are capable of doing it, and that we value their contributions to the house.

Since many of my children are not reading yet, pictures help. These free printable laundry labels are on their drawers to make it easy to find and out things away. 

See this? This is not me.

Chores in my house:

Everyone has to hop-to when mommy says "Let's tidy up!" and I say something like, "find 5 things that don't belong and put them where they go", and even the toddler tries to be a part of that. It's fast, imprecise, and it happens a few times a day. Also, "who wants to play with little brother in the bathtub" is also a 'job' that could be anyone.

My 10yr old sorts the laundry, puts away her own laundry & helps one of the littles put away theirs, assists at tidy-up times, sometimes sweeps, and is kinda of an all around helper for thing that might come up.
 
My 8 yr old switches out the laundry machines, helps clear & clean the table, puts away her own laundry, helps one of the little put theirs away, assist at tidy up times, and is in charge of the shoe area.
 
My 6yr old and 4.5 yr old put their own laundry away (sometimes with help), and help pick up bits o' garbage (usually old coloring pages & bits of paper), and help with misc tidying time. Sometimes the 6 yr old likes to sort & put away the flatware.
 
adults:  Daddy takes out the garbage/s. I do the dishes and am in charge of food and pretty much everything else. Once a week I hire cleaning help come in and we knock out all the grime and dirt.