For more spring cleaning tips, be sure to check out my post 15 Days and 15 Ways to Getting Your Home Ready for Spring. Click HERE to read. And to stay in touch with The Happy Gal’s organizing, fitness, and motivational posts, be sure to subscribe HERE and receive The Happy Gal’s 7-day menu plan (a $49 value) in your email right away.
1. Clean under the bed
At my house, there is a favorite place my kids will stash those items that need to disappear quick when cleaning their rooms: Underneath the bed. This job is a joyous reunion for them of old treasures they haven’t seen in a while! We have three boxes: keep, give away, and throw away. They sort into those boxes, and they must make a case to me about all items they wish to keep. I veto some. (Mean Mom!) I’m also strategic in the size of the keep box: all things to be kept must fit inside that box. It gives a little boundary.
2. Dust the baseboards
They are the perfect height, so I put them to work! They love to make their own cleaning cloths by cutting up old t-shirts (that’s the fun part.) Then we have a race to see who can get their sections done first.
3. Dust those inconvenient places
Spring is a great time to deep clean those places that don’t get much attention during routine cleaning. Challenge the kids to find spots in the house that are very dusty, set the timer, and see whose rag is dirtiest at the end.
4. Clean the inside garbage cans
I don’t know how it is at your house, but my kids are DYING to get in their swimsuits and play with the hose at the first sign of spring. On a warm day, camouflage this job as fun. Give them the inside garbage cans, a hose, and a cleaning rag, and let the good times begin!
5. Vacuum under couch cushions (a.k.a. have a treasure hunt!)
Seriously, I don’t know how valuables make their way underneath the couch cushions, but at the onset of this job, there is always a little anticipation at what we are going to find. Make them a deal: anything of value they can keep. Plant a few dollar bills in the cushions just for fun.
I’m a firm believer in team work, and a family is no exception. Now it’s your turn to share.
How do you get your kids involved with keeping up your home?
Image by Sandrine Hudgens at creoleartphotography.com
It is a great idea to let your kid join the cleaning of the house so that they will know the task that they can do in their early age. Thank you for sharing this article I will now let my son join me in cleaning our house.