I've been known to do all of the above. Right now I have 2 able daughters - 13 and 11. Both LOVE cooking. So Vannan (being my morning person) gets breakfast and cleans up right away. (I don't do it). I've got lunch and the girls might help with a few details (I help them too), but tend to procrastinate trying to get other things done - it's usually cleaned off within an hour or so, but if the dishwasher has not been emptied, I will very much procrastinate empty and refilling it. Kendra likes to do supper and she will dawdle half the night at the cleaning part. Vannan helps with 3 yo brother and doing the "patrols" - socks and shoes, toys, jackets, videos, books, etc. We have a small trailer and it MUST have a night time pathway. I get stuff ready for the next day - do grading and the like. We homeschool. It's a big mixture.

We always take our plates to the kitchen when we get up. What reason is there to leave them on the table, you get up, take them with you.

Where would I put all our papers and OTHER THINGS-- if I didn't clear the table? lol!!

The table is where we do EVERYTHING (including school work)so that is why we keep it clean!!

The real question-- is when do I clean up (wash dishes etc) after each meal?? Not until after dinner!! yes by 6pm my kitchen is a SIGHT!!!! (need to work on that!)

Mominpa
homeschoolblogger.com/mominpa

As soon as we are done eating we each take our own dishes to the sink - I clear the rest. I use a table cloth always - so not washing the table required.

Now washing the dishes is a totally different matter.

After a meal, each person is responsible to take their own plate/cup/silverware/trash to its appropriate place. The little ones who are too young to carry their own breakable items to the sink, leave them on the table for their older helper/sibling to take care of. I will take my own things and a few other items that I can carry in one trip. The older six children (aged 14 to 7) each have a specific kitchen-related job that they maintain for a week at a time and then rotate to a new job. One of the jobs is cleaning the table after meals. That involves putting away leftovers, throwing away any bits of trash, carrying any miscellaneous dirty dishes to the sink, and wiping the table. This is supposed to be done immediately after a meal, but the younger ones of the workers need reminders to get started on it. One of the benefits of maturity in children is that they can do a job start to finish and do it well. I love to walk in the dining room later in the evening and see a clean table.

Again, the same six children each have a certain type of dishes that they do. Here are the categories: 1. food prep dishes (bowls, mixers, strainers, choppers, etc.), 2. cooking dishes (pots, pans, etc.), 3. serving dishes (plates, bowls, platters, etc.),
4. plastic items, 5. silverware and utensils, 6. breakable items (glasses, mugs, glass plates/platters, etc.). The younger two workers share the plastic category, and I have the breakable category. I was not doing very well with my dishes, so I opted to pay a nickel per dish to a child who would wash them. Since the kids do not get an allowance or have any other way to make money regularly, this gives them a chance to earn at least a little bit. The 7 yr. old does not wash the breakable items.

I would love to clean it right away but we ALWAYS get distracted and since I don't want to do it it is easy to forget! Now the boys do their own dishes but that is not even half of the mess usually. Yes this is something we are all working on
Shorty

Holiday or fancy dinners are often exceptions, because with elaborate meals we don't have room in the sink and drying rack to wash all of the dishes at once, so we start cleaning up in the kitchen before clearing the table.

This was hard for me because we don't frequent the table. I know, I know! It is bad. But, when we eat at the table, we clear it right away. When we eat in the living room, we often procrastinate.

My children rotate chores and clearing/wiping the table is one of the jobs. We have the dinner chores split into 3 groups:
1. table setters - they also sweep after each meal and take care of cleaning up the baby after she eats.

2. table clearers. They also get the drinks for the meal.

3. Dishwasher. They empty and load for all the meals.

These jobs rotate each month. SO the table and floor are clean after each meal.

I don't actually do the dinner dishes the boys do but they do do it straight away. Or as immediately as two teenage boys can!
I do do brekky and lunch dishes. Luch dishes are usually done late arvo or whenever I'm prepping dinner.
I used to be shocking with the dishes but now I love my shiny sink so can't wait to get the dishes out the way.

I clean them right away usually its only a few minutes chore as I clean the pots and pans as I cook,then after dinner its just what we ate off.....My mother taught me that...always a sink of clean dish water to clean from as I go,makes life a whole lot easier!