Challenge Your Kids to Do These Spring Cleaning Jobs
If you’re like me at all, spring cleaning can be a bit of a domino. I could start by cleaning the baseboards, but when I get to the stairs, I’m like, wow, these handrails are dirty. Etc. By the time I finished, I also found splashes of coffee on the walls, cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling, and the dustiest blinds I’ve ever seen – and I feel pretty nasty. I also feel pain because my back is not what it used to be and it seems like the worst mud is either low or too high. But do you know who else has good backs? Our children, that’s who.
I believe that spring cleaning should be the business of the whole family. There is a lot to be done from home to street. And children (at least when they are young) are usually ready – even excited – to help. You could ask them to help you move from task to task, but sometimes it only slows you down. Instead, if your kids are old enough, I suggest you try delegating some of the work this year: sharing what needs to be done and giving them full responsibilities.
If you don’t know what household chores kids usually have, then this kids housework guide for kids is a good place to start. But spring cleaning goes beyond just making the bed and folding the towels, so this list will include a few larger and less frequent projects that you can assign.
Small children
You will probably get the most out of your young children when you announce it is time for spring cleaning. Of course, for all their sweet enthusiasm, young children will also be the least independent (and thorough) when it comes to solving their problems. If your children are under six and you want to get them involved, they will need supervision and help, so make plans.
But by the time they get to the age where you trust them to feed the pets themselves and sweep the floor, you can probably show them what to do and then send them out yourself. In my experience, this happens somewhere between the ages of six and eight. However, you will still want to consider a couple of things, namely what types of work they like to do and how carefully you need to do things. Any job that you happily call “good enough” is more appropriate for this age. It can be:
- Vacuum or sweep areas that would normally go unnoticed during regular weekly cleaning, such as basements, porches, car floorboards, and garages.
- Vacuum the living room furniture, remove the pillows, and clean up all those old crumbs.
- Collect old, dried leaves left in the yard last fall.
- Weed removal.
- Clean the above skirting boards — spare your back and let them all be bent over!
Teenagers
Teens will be even more self-sufficient than their younger peers, which means that you can make good use of their slightly more developed critical thinking skills here. Teenagers are old enough to do what is often a major component of spring cleaning – sorting, recycling, or donating things that we no longer need or need.
Here’s how teens can get involved in your spring cleaning extravaganza:
- Sort out their clothes, piling up a bunch of things that no longer fit or they don’t wear to give, donate, or sell to another family.
- Sort their books and toys by items they no longer read or play.
- Clean up the closet and rearrange or rearrange the bedroom (helping to move furniture if necessary).
- Steam cleaning kitchen or bathroom floors.
- Empty the kitchen drawers to wipe them down.
- Plus any tasks that you would entrust to a younger group.
Teenagers
This group may be least interested in helping, but they also have the greatest potential for thoroughness – plus a little more muscle to put in their efforts. Here are some of the tasks that teenagers can do:
- Help organize the garage.
- Wash the car.
- Wash trash cans automatically.
- Move home furniture for a more thorough vacuum cleaner.
- Help with planting or mulching.
- Wash windows or mirrors.
- Clean up bathrooms.
- Help young children with their tasks.
- Plus any tasks that you would assign to younger groups.
I used to call it a “spring cleaning party” and only half joke – when all is said and done and the winter grime is wiped from all windows, celebrate your efforts and take advantage of your refreshed space. Order a pizza and chill out at the family movie night, or start a fire to grill marshmallows and enjoy your freshly manicured backyard.
I would also like to use a little monetary incentive, especially for older children and adolescents, to ensure their cooperation during this process.