Cleaning up is a chore many of us dread… And if you are a child, you dread it even more! In their minds, toys are made to play with not to pick up. Is it possible for this chore, to actually be fun to do? Sure it is! With a little creativity, you can get a lot done in a short period of time!
Here are some great tips on making clean up fun and friendly for everyone!
- Work together as a family and make it easier on everyone. The more people helping, the quicker the process will go!
- Have a clean up routine and do it every day. Whether it’s in the morning or evening, it doesn’t matter, whatever works best with your family. Kids will expect it and the habit becomes routine just like brushing their teeth.
- Set a timer – Who can put away the most items before the bell rings? Whoever finishes first can get a small reward. It could be an extra book that night or a sticker.
- Have children make their storage boxes unique. Have them draw and color labels with pictures of what should go into the box. The more ownership they have, the more likely they will be to upkeep the organization.
- Kids actually love to clean their toys, not necessarily put them away, but they do love to clean! Give each child a spray bottle with a little water and let the good times begin!
- Make clean up a scavenger hunt- have one child pick up all of the toys that have some red in it, toys with wheels, and so on. Not only are you cleaning up but you are learning too!
- Let your kids know it’s time to clean up and hide incentives for them to find. Like a little piece of candy or some coins! What they find, they get to keep.
- Turn the music on and dance, dance, dance to the music while your picking up as many toys as you can! Try to pick up as many items as you can before the end of the song!
- Marble Game- Each time the child picks up their toys when they are told; they get to add a marble to the jar. Decide ahead of time how many marbles they need to fill in order to get a surprise.
- Sticker Chart- Use the same concept as the marble game, but with stickers! Every time they pick up their toys they get to add a sticker to the chart. Once the chart is filled up, they can pick out a surprise.
Surprise Idea: For surprises, we have a large basket filled with small toys I bought from the dollar store. It’s been filled with slinky’s, silly puddy, play dough, colors, coloring books, little stuff animals, etc. The kids love the chance to visit the store. But of course in order to go to the store, you must have earned it!
A little incentive can go a long way!
Enjoy these moments and make them as fun as you can. One day, after your kids have grown, you will look back at the fond memories and may just actually miss those toys!
Happy Organizing!
