Spring Cleaning Tips for Your Family
Just the word “spring” evokes flowers and sunshine, but for busy parents, it also incites dread. Because with spring comes the draining task of spring cleaning. It doesn’t have to take over your entire month of April, though. If you get the whole family in on the spring-cleaning process, you might be surprised by how quickly it goes. You might be even more surprised by how fun it can be (or, at least, not painful). Check out our guide to spring cleaning with your entire brood:
- Devise a game plan. Don’t dive into spring cleaning blind. If you do, you’re going to end up with double-dusted shelves while pet hair clings to a couch that no one has so much as touched. Come up with a plan of action that includes everyone and takes into account each youngster’s abilities. Assign easy tasks to little ones, like dusting off low shelves and tables, and grant more responsibility to older kids. This is great opportunity to teach your kids about the importance of using natural cleaners, especially since you want to keep the children themselves safe while they pitch in.
- Learn how to delegate (without micromanaging). Of course, your game plan is going to mandate that you relinquish some control to your kids and spouse. If that thought pains you, be on guard against the urge to micromanage. So what if your little one leaves a patch of grime on the kitchen table or misses a corner while vacuuming? Don’t redo what they’ve done. Part of the benefit of bringing kids into the spring-cleaning process is teaching them how to be independent and build confidence. You might squash this if they see that you consider what they’ve done “wrong” or not good enough.
- Don’t just declutter, deep-clean. When you’re scrambling to get the house ready for guests, it’s totally acceptable to throw random toys and jackets into the nearest closet. When you’re spring cleaning, however, it is not. This is the time of year when you should really take some time to organize items that always seem to end up on the floor. If you find that the reason these items are always laying out is because they don’t actually have a proper place, time to consider taking a trip to the thrift store with some donations.
- Foster friendly competition. The best way to get a kid invested in the cleaning process is by turning it into a contest. Offer prizes to the person who cleans the fastest or does the best job. The prize can be something as an ice cream trip with mom or dad or an extra visit to the pool that week. You can even divide your clan up into two teams and pit them against each other, promising the winning team their favorite dinner or a special movie night in the living room, complete with popcorn.
- Make “an ounce of prevention” your new mantra. Once your home is sparkling clean, keep it that way. Instead of going through this entire painstaking process next spring, try to maintain a level of order throughout the year by reminding kids to keep their stuff organized (and doing the same yourself).
Image and attribution:
