The struggle of clean-up time

I don’t know about you, but for us, clean-up time with the kids (or even without kids) can seem like such a stressful chore. Clean-time up sometimes includes nagging, frustration, yelling, and power struggles. Each person is different in their toleration levels of messiness, so it can make it difficult to be on the same line of expectations. Cleaning up takes time in itself and stopping to badger the kids and help push them along can make the task even longer. Along the way, I have picked up some clean-up strategies for young kids that work:

Clean-up strategies

• Communicate the expectations

  First and foremost, it is important to communicate the reason behind cleaning up, and the expectations of the house. Whether it is a child, teenager, or adult, people need to be informed of expectations of any process or task. It cannot be assumed that a person knows exactly what to do, or what is asked of them. There are people who take initiative for tasks, such as cleaning up. But, as mentioned, every person has different definition of “clean.” Therefore, during a time when the family members are able to sit down and talk, it is a good idea to discuss the following:

  • Why cleaning up is important– It helps to teach responsibility, and promotes a healthy lifestyle. Another part is being organized, so we can better find our belongings.
  • What are the different clean-up processes and detailed steps- List down all of the different clean-up chores that should be done. Break it down even further and go over the exact steps for each chore. People learn by doing,so it is crucial to also actually go over the steps, not just say it. The teaching portion of this process is going to be long, but it will definitely pay off in the long run when the family members have gone through every aspect thoroughly. Then eventually it will be a self-run process. Woohoo!
  • How often and when is each clean-up task going to be completed during the day/week/month- There are times when we just clean up when a section of the house looks filthy. The messiness factor inspires us to think, “Okay, I think it is time to clean!” A more efficient way would be to set up a schedule or a routine. For example, every morning can be designated as emptying out the dishwasher together as a family. The grown-ups can handle breakables or sharp utensils, and the kids can put away the lighter plates, and cups. Every Friday can be dusting and vacuuming. Bathrooms can be done every weekend or every other weekend. Each family is different in how their schedule can be set up. Creating a job chart/wheel that rotates is a useful visual to help each member to know what their task is for that day.

• When-then (strategy from: Positive Parenting Solutions, Inc.)

  To avoid the cycle of asking multiple times, reminding, and eventually yelling, using the “when-then” strategy is effective. To use this technique, you first inform the child what task needs to be done first. When that is completed, then the child can go on to the activity that they want. For example: “When you clean up the playroom, then you can play outside with the neighbors.” Another example is “When you put away your blocks, then you may take out the play-doh.” There are some conditions to the when-then strategy. The privilege should be something the child is interested in. So, if they do not want to play with the play-doh, or do not want to go outside, then this would not be effective. Another important condition is to say this in a calm manner, and emphasize the words “when” and “then.” After stating it, ensuring they heard you, walk away, and do not give them the chance for whining or negotiating. The final condition is to follow through and make sure that the privilege is not granted until the task was completed.

The “when-then” technique is an amazing parenting technique that can be applied in other manners, and is not just for cleaning. I learned this strategy along with many other effective parenting techniques from Amy McCready of Positive Parenting Solutions, (She also hosts frequent free webinars on how to get kids to listen without yelling, nagging, or reminding).

• Checklist 

  My kids love checklists as much as I do. It helps me feel like I accomplished something. Therefore, having a checklist to illustrate the main steps of the clean-up chore will not only be a visual reminder of what to do, but it will also help the kids be more independent and self-sufficient to complete their tasks. That way they are not needing to go back and forth asking you what to do next. (If checklists are your thing too, keep on going through the rest of this post to see how you can get access to the 4-page checklist I cooked up for you)

  Clean-up crew

  There is something “official” about calling my kids the “clean-up crew.” I wrote those words on a label, slapped it on a baseball cap, and as soon as the kids were wearing it, I could see they felt like official crew members. We did not modify any of the clean-up tasks, but the kids seemed motivated to complete them as part of a crew! The key to this is really playing up the title, and that the house needs their help! (Note to readers: I don’t know the exact age
  when this will wear off, but try it with your young children, and see if it works).

• Clean-up Train

  Another fun way to get kids (and even grown-ups) to efficiently clean up the different areas of the house is to become a “Clean-up train” and target one room of the house at a time. As the Clean-Up Train, you use a basket or a large container and head out to one room of the house. The kids pick up the “passengers” (which are the items that do not belong there and need to return to their “home.”). It doesn’t matter which room at this point. The goal is to get all the items put on the train. Then move to the next room of the house. If there are any passengers whose home the items belong to, then they can be dropped off in their proper location. Passengers in this room (any misplaced items) can also be picked up as well. The process repeats in each room until all of the things are put back in their proper place. This is efficient since one spot is the focus area, instead of going back and forth to different rooms, using up more time. Have fun with it too, and shout out train sounds or sing, “All aboard the Clean-Up Train!”

• Clean-Up dance party

  Turning on music helps lighten the mood and seems to make tasks go by quicker. We turn on some upbeat Disney tunes or kids’ music, and dance while we clean. If the kids are motivated by music, you can say that the music stays on only if they are cleaning, so the moment they stop, the music stops. It can be explained like their cleaning energy is powering up the music. No cleaning energy, no music. Lots of cleaning = more energy for the music.

• Clean-up Store

  My kids have a cash register toy with a scanner. The kids like playing a modified “store”  game where they bring the item to me, and I scan it, say what aisle the product belongs to, and they bring the product to the appropriate “shelf.” Although I am more involved in the process, the fact that it is a game, and is fun for the kids, eliminates the power struggles, and stresses of cleaning. It ends up becoming a family activity as well. This activity can be modified as well, with a household object, brush, cellphone, remote control, or wand to be the scanner.

• Timer + Category Hunt

  Using a timer can keep everyone on task since they can visually see how much time is allotted before completion, or before moving on to the next chore. Depending on the level of the mess, they are usually given 15-20 minutes. Time can be adjusted depending on the age of the child and on the complexity of the chore. A timer on a watch, a or a phone, mobile device app, or a visual timer can be used. The ones that show the minutes and seconds counting down are helpful if your kids can read numbers. Another neat timer we use in our house is the Time Timer. The added visual of the red disc shrinking down is helpful for my younger daughter who cannot quite yet read all of the numbers.

  We make it a fast-paced game sometimes where the kids are given an amount of time to find a certain item category and return it back to where it belongs. For example, we can say “Ok, you have 1 minute to find all pieces of clothing” or “You have 30 seconds to find anything green.” Then the timer is set and they quickly go around the house to clean up that given category.

• Final thoughts & tips

  Cleaning can be a stressful task and we can help minimize the frustration by ensuring we take the time to teach the why’s and how’s of cleaning, and to try to make it as positive an experience as possible. While cleaning is definitely not the level of fun as Disneyland, we want to try to have some sense of enjoyment to make this chore seem less of a bore.

  What are some strategies you use to clean with your family?

  (Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links)