In our house we do chores because we are all part of the family. I don't get paid for doing dishes and neither do they.
I have 4 kids. We have a system that I started quite a few years ago.
The house is divided into zones.
Cat duties, bathrooms
Dog duties, Dining and Foyer
Kitchen, Computer room
Off day, Piano and TV room
ON SATURDAYS each child gets two rooms and either a cat, dog or kitchen duty. If it is their lucky day, they have an off day but they still do the piano and TV rooms.
Duties include:
cat litter, feed cats, upstairs and down bath, sink, toilet, floor, dirty towels to laundry
dog doo outside, feed them, vacuum, dust, clean windows (dogs like to put nose prints on windows), straighten in both foyer and dining room
Kitchen: wash dishes, dry and put away. Run dishwasher, straighten sweep. wash down counters. Computer room, straighten, dust and sweep. Wash doggy prints off back door windows.
Off day person sweeps, dusts, straightens piano and tv room, adn the blasted dog prints
ON WEEK DAYS
THey do their animal and kitchen duties but not the deep cleaning.
They do the bedrooms in the evening now. We have a 10 minute clean up this room before you get into bed time.
Each child has his or her own colored marker. If it is Jessie's cat day I put a pink C on the day. THe next day is a pink D and then a pink K the next day after that. On J's cat day Karin gets a green D and then a green K and off then a green C on the fourth day. PHilip gets blue and Sarah purple.
This has worked for us for years. I have a foreign exchange student who has jumped right in and a son in the Navy who does his part when he comes home. it's just the routine.
Do not expect them to know how to clean a room because you said clean it. If you want it done a certain way then get in there and show them by doing it with them. This will take a couple weeks but they will eventually get the hang of it and get really good at it.
We have no squabbles over chores. If they do what is expected then we get to go as a family and do something fun. If they dont' then we tell them "well your chores are not done so NO we are not going to the mall or wherever." I have three teenage girls. Sometinmes we rent movies, sometimes they have extra time to make cookies or a cake. Usually they have free time and go to a friend's or have kids over here.
I love flylady.net I have a control journal that has everything in it. How to set the table, How to clean everything, How to do laundry, What to say to the 911 operator, who to call if you need something and it's not an emergency.
THe more organized you are the better they will adhere to the schedule. It takes more time in the beginning but now my kids look at the calendar and know whose on what day. and for the most part they do their chores, somtimes I remind them, but I don't have any more "I did it last time"