Nobody is born knowing how to clean, but most of us do it so automatically now that it is hard to remember that at some point in our lives, cleaning was skill that we had to acquire. We were reminded of that recently after reading 'Teach Your Kids to Clean Their Own Rooms' over on Curbly.
Writer badbadivy asked her daughter Megan to let her room go, in order to photograph the process, and the 'before' picture, above, looks like a lot of kids rooms we have seen! Some tips for teaching kids to clean (and the 'after' pic), below.
Being modular is definitely a plus for enlisting my toddler's help. I have one toy (group) in one bin, another in another, etc.
Rather than being overwhelmed by a huge toy box, that just invites being dumped. He takes his car basket off the shelf, plays with his cars, and when it's time to clean up, it's not the huge mess of toys along with the cars he wanted to play with. He loves to help, because it's broken down in simple terms for him.
view diber's profile
when i was a kid i remember the overwhelming feeling of not knowing where to start... i actually found a book in my 3rd grade classroom that went through step by step how to clean your room and as an adult i still follow them loosely... the basic method was: take everything off the bed. then make the bed. then gather everything that's on the floor and put it on the bed - pile it high if you have to! and then start taking everything off one by one and putting it in it's proper place. there was something too about once you've picked it up off the bed, you're not allowed to put it back on the bed - you have to put it away. and then once everything's away you can vacuum or sweep and dust. it helped me a lot.
view molly h's profile
Less is more is SO important. Kids can turn into pack rats if you let them. Before Christmas and birthdays, when I know my daughter will acquire a whole mess of new toys, we sit together and decide which old toys she would like to give to needy kids. Not Mommie Dearest style, where she only gets to keep one new toy, but in a way that teaches her to be charitable and also to edit her own belongings down to a manageable amount.
view MEP's profile