If you get creative, chore charts are useful for all kinds of projects with your kids. The interesting thing is, however, lots of parents think printable charts are just for little people; preschoolers through elementary aged children.

Nothing could be further from the truth. If you're using this line of reasoning, you're missing out on a simple yet powerful tool to use with your tween or teen.

Try these quick ideas for using some variant of a chore chart with your older child.

- Elevate chores for better results.

This is so easy. Combine your chore chart with your child's schedule. Yes, actually schedule the chores! Quit treating tasks as if they are unimportant and will only be done if there is nothing else to do.

This is all about mindset. If Tom comes home, takes a look at his chart or schedule and sees that putting away the dishes is at 3.45, wiping down the bathroom is at 4.00 and soccer practice is at 4.40, it's a lot easier to get in the groove and get everything done.

- Chores are one of the first ways you can teach your tween or teen about the wonderful world of accomplishment. Make your chore list into a checklist so your child can check off completed tasks and see real progress.

Let's get real here. If you ignore training your child about the power of a to-do list and the natural euphoric reward that comes from getting one's work done and done well, then you just might be setting yourself up for life with a grumbling, complaining and even lazy young adult.

Do you want that? Hm. I thought not.

- Homework assignments are a form of chores.

Just like the idea above on scheduling chores and after school activities on the same chart, you can do a similar thing with homework and chores. For some kids, chores are more interesting than homework; after all, there's no test and you don't have to think very hard.

- Advanced training.

Using blank chore charts for kids and adapting them a bit, you can teach your older child how to get really efficient doing household chores.

Why is this important? How much time a week do you spend cleaning? Doing laundry? Planning meals? How would you like to cut this time in half AND have a cleaner house?

Most of us just aren't very efficient when it comes to everyday chores. That's too bad because this is an area that affects us all our lives; it just makes sense to get smart about these tasks.

You can do a google search for "fast cleaning" and pick up some clever chore tricks that way or you can simply go through each chore on your family's list and break it down piece by piece on printable chore charts. Do the chore while following your list and take a good look at each section of the job.

Where can you improve things? Is there clutter on your bathroom counter that gets in the way of cleaning? Put it all away into drawers or cabinets. Tired of moving stuff off the floor to vacuum or sweep? What is currently on the floor that can be put away, tucked on a shelf or simply removed?

This type of training can be applied to a lot of areas, like doing homework, keeping a desk neat, making a meal, or mowing the lawn. Teach the advanced arts of planning and strategizing to your tween or teen and you'll all benefit greatly.

Using easy little chore charts to help your young adult get more efficient just makes sense for everyone.