Spring is in full bloom (oh, for pun’s sake!) and I don’t know about your house, but ours is in desperate need for a good, old-fashioned Spring cleaning. We’ve got Lego pieces that need to be sorted, arts and craft scraps that need to be recycled, crazy things trying to burst out of kitchen drawers. What is it with Winter? Do all of the rooms in the house suddenly feel the need to hoard everything? I love minimalist living and detest extra clutter so picking a day to do this is right up my alley. But, getting everyone on board and making it fun? Maybe not. Here are some ideas to make it fun anyway. Who doesn’t like a little challenge?
Make a Plan
Pick a cleaning day that works for everyone and mark it on your calendar. Give everyone a start and end time. Figure out what Spring cleaning chores need to be done in the amount of time you have and divide it up accordingly. Create goals that can be tackled by even the littlest ones. Have them sort blocks by color, toys by kind or even let them try their hand at cleaning doors, windows and furniture they can reach. Decide who is going to do what and create a checklist with each person’s name and their workload listed under it. Post it on the refrigerator, a white board or central location so everyone can check off what they have accomplished.
Get Organized
Make sure you have all of the cleaning supplies you need ahead of time. Check out Radiantly You’s non-toxic cleaning line here. Gather buckets, rags, non-toxic cleaners, broom, mop, dusters, etc. and also place in a central location for easy access. If you are purging rooms, you can set up bags or bins labeled: Donate, Recycle and Trash. Make lunch ahead of time so you have it ready to go and keep snacks out for when your kiddos need a quick break to refuel.
Create a Family Challenge
This is the fun part! Figure out a fun challenge that will motivate your family to get their Spring cleaning jobs done, while having a great time in the process. Break into cleaning teams and give a prize to the team who does the best job with the fastest time or donates the most items, etc. Kick-off a cleaning race for certain tasks and give a prize to the winner. Create an incentive challenge. Tell your family you will take them to dinner and a movie if they complete everything on their list by the set time you give them. Set a timer. Let them know if they don’t finish in time, they will simply keep cleaning until everything is done and you will still take them out to dinner, but not a movie. This is fun because everyone gets a reward after a long day of cleaning, yet also gives them a challenge to get done faster with a bigger reward at the end. Be creative and use whatever kind of challenge works best for your family.
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