The results have been very surprising. The kids are very excited about their chore charts. My daughter is even finding new things to help with so she can fill in another square. My daughter was the first to ask about helping with laundry. At first she helped sort the clothes which she had no problem doing. Next she wanted to fold the laundry. This was a little more problematic. But, we had a solution.

A month or so ago, I saw a t-shirt folding machine. There are several places online that have instructions to make one. They are very simple to build (my 4 year old helped me) and cost next to nothing. They are fun to use and work quite well.

Materials

• Scrap cardboard or foam core
• Packing tape

The machine is made from 4 pieces. Since I was trying to involve the kids, I made the folding machine small enough for their clothes. They are both in shirts in the 6 – 7 size range. If your kids clothes are smaller or larger just size the middle section up or down accordingly.

Cardboard Pieces

• (2) 12″ x 22″
• (2) 8 1/2″ x 11″

Construction is simple, just tape both sides of the joints with packing tape. The side pieces are only attached at the top so the bottom of the center can flip up. To tape the seams, you will want to leave a small gap. The easiest way to leave the gap is to lay the pieces on top of each other and wrap the tape around the stack. When you flip the top piece back down, you can tape across the seam from the other side.

Using the folding machine is also easy. Just lay the machine so that the center portion that is not attached completely is away from you. Lay your shirt face down centered in the middle of the machine. Fold one side towards the center. Repeat with the other side and lastly fold the center flap towards you. You should end up with a cleanly folded shirt.

Have fun.

Here is the first video that we came across for a folding machine. This video also has dimensions for a folding machine that is sized for adult shirts.

So, I gave up. When I was in the back yard last week, I noticed one of our deck boxes and it occurred to me that it would be a perfect toy box.

Some of the qualities I like were:

• The box was quite light, this should prevent any nasty bumps on their heads if the top should suddenly close.
• It is not air tight. No chance of a game of hide and seek turning terribly bad.
• It is huge, all of their toys easily fit inside.

The downside is that it didn’t pass the mother test. She thinks it looks trashy. Maybe she is right, but it isn’t staying for ever. Hopefully, she will forget about it. : )

Yeah, you can use a knife but why? Well, sometimes, you will have to actually break down and use a utensil but many times it is unnecessary.

Specifically, the most common request I get is to remove the crust from bread/toast. It is far faster to just pull the crust from the edge of the bread with your fingers, rather than cutting it off. Other soft foods, such as pancakes and similar items can be treated the same.

If you must resort to using a knife, keep some safety in mind. Here is a short list of the most common foods that are choking hazards.

• Hot dogs. Make sure to cut the hot dogs down the center to prevent circular pieces
• Grapes, cut in half
• Popcorn