Spring is here! There is so much to clean and declutter. But don’t do it alone! Spring cleaning with kids can be so much fun. They enjoy helping out and it’s such a great opportunity to teach them. Here are a couple tips for spring cleaning with kids:
Turn Cleaning into a Game
Chores do not need to be a bore. Turn them into games! Spring cleaning with kids can be such a blast and an opportunity for teaching good life lessons. If you are worried about exposure to toxic chemicals, here are some great eco-friendly green cleaning products that our team members love. Yes, it will probably involve you teaching them how to clean, but here are some great ways to get them started:
- Baseboards: Give your kid a squirt bottle and cloth and tell them to make those baseboards sparkle.
- Windows: Cleaning windows can be so much fun, too. Kids will be able to see the progress of their work.
- Furniture: Unless you are the kind of person that dusts and/or wipes down your furniture routinely, giving your kids a rag and having them dust underneath coffee tables and chairs can be quite fun. Just make sure you clearly direct them to the specific furniture that can be dusted or wiped down.
- Porch: If your kids are old enough to handle a vacuum or a broom, put them in charge of sweeping or going after cobwebs. If not, once again, make them the champion duster or wiper. You can end by having a picnic on the porch and enjoying the fruit of your labor.
- Under the bed: This is a great time to clear out everything from under the bed…clean, declutter, and organize. Turn it into a treasure hunt…you never know what you will find!
- Walls: All you need to give your kid to spot clean your walls is water and a rag.
Make Decluttering an Adventure
If you are more interested in a “decluttering” approach to spring cleaning with kids, we have some great ideas for you, too. Kids play better when they have fewer things to play with! Simplifying choices and reducing distractions allows children to play with what they have for longer periods of time with more focus and creativity. As an added bonus, putting things away becomes less of a hassle, so clean-up time doesn’t have to be a battle. So, make decluttering an adventure and a celebrated event in your home! Remember to take a snack break when necessary during your spring cleaning projects. If your child is becoming distracted, you can always stop and refuel, or move on alone. Here are our recommendations for how to declutter with your kids:
Step 1: Pick an area – focus only on this area.
Step 2: Take all toys, books, and games out of wherever they currently live. Kids will LOVE this. They get to make a huge mess and get every toy out!
Step 3: Sort all items into categories placing like with like. You can start with making a big pile of books and then going on from there. Kids will really enjoy making piles of items.
Step 4: Go through each pile and decide what you will keep and what you will let go (throw away, recycle, donate, or sell). Use your judgment here on whether this step is best to do with or without your child’s assistance.
Step 5: Put all the “keep” items back in the place they will live. This can be a great step to do with your child because they will then know the place each item belongs. Here are some of our favorite organizing products for kids.
Step 6: Celebrate and do something special when you have finished decluttering an area! This is a big deal – you are teaching your child amazing things and by letting stuff go, you are living life more abundantly.
Ideas for Spring Cleaning with Kids
- Have a fashion show and go through kids clothes. It’s always such a good thing to teach your child to donate!
- Is getting out the door quite an ordeal with your kids? Establishing and organizing a launch pad for kids gives you that needed in-between place to house items needed when you leave and when you return home.
- Here are some of our favorite organizing products for kids. Finish off your spring cleaning with the perfect kid-friendly container!
- Paperwork, artwork, and sentimental items are abundant and just keep multiplying when you have kids! Here are some tips for organizing kids’ documents.
- It’s never too late in the school year to organize kids’ backpacks! This blog with 10 tips can help make the rest of the school year more organized.
- Maybe your spring cleaning is in the form of sprucing up the routine? Here is a blog that has an example of a morning and afternoon checklist for kids.
What are some ways you are going to be spring cleaning with kids? We would love to hear! Share in our Facebook Abundance Declutter Group for more.