September 23, 2008

Teaching Your Kids how to Clean their Room

My daughter, Sara, is 8 - which means she has a lot of stuff or treasures (as she calls it) or junk (as I call it). Keeping a child's room clean can be challenging.

We would all want our little girls room to look like this:


and we don't want it to look like this:



I'm trying to compromise and find middle ground.


Set some standards for your child's room. Let them know what you require them to do before they start their day. For Sara, her bed is to be made and no clothes on the floor.

Once a week - teach them to dust and vacuum. A little girl loves to sprinkle carpet deodorizer. You can even make some home made stuff together.

Tackle the paper! Kids consume a lot of paper. Whether it be art projects from school or crafting at home we always have plenty of paper! Have one storage unit for paper projects. Once its full - they have to take something out before having more. Encourage your child to make a scrapbook of their art work. You can also take pictures of your child with their project so they can see if forever (but this way you won't have to keep all of it).

Label it! Sometimes I think kids don't do well cleaning their rooms because they just don't know where their stuff goes! Solution: label it. Label their drawers ie. tshirts, socks, underwear, etc. If your child doesn't know how to read yet label it with a photo.

Keep up with Seasons Twice a year the parents & kids together should go through clothes that no longer fit and toys that are no longer played with to donate to friends or charity. This step is a must - if this is not done things will get out of control. This week alone I donated Barbie puzzles that are meant for a 3-5 year old.

Don't let them leave the room! I'm not saying lock them in their room silly- Just don't let them out of their room until the room is clean. Kids can get distracted so quickly if they leave the room while cleaning. I've taught Sara to create piles while cleaning: garbage, donate, and to be put into a different room pile. Keeping them in their room will get the job done quicker!

When all else fails: Inspire them. For some kids cleaning a real messy room can be overwhelming. Help your kids. While at school clean their room for them. It's much easier to keep a tidy room clean then to start from scratch with a messy one.

How about your kids? Is their room clean or messy right now?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

i've lowered my standards when it comes to the kids rooms. i can't clean them any longer!

i do like your suggestions.

Anonymous said...

My kids have come to appreciate that the less they own, they less they have to clean. They really don't own a lot and their rooms are always clean. No, really. I don't think they are deprived--I think most kids have too much stuff. We also clean out their rooms at least three or four times a year and they decide what will go to Goodwill. Of course, I have boys and they aren't keepers as much as girls probably are. They don't keep things just because they are sparkly.

Anonymous said...

Dana, this is a great post! So have your kids made a scrapbook with their own art? That's a new idea to me.

letterstoelijah said...

Denise - you are too busy to clean! Even though I read your blog I don't know how you do it all!

Rena - I think you have the key - less junk! Girls, I believe, are more sentimental then boys - sometimes it's our downfall!

Rachel - Eli has no scrapbook yet of his art work - he's not that into crafts (weird child) Sara, on the other hand keeps books of her art work. She tapes in her art work in big scrapbooks. Girls and their tape!

Anonymous said...

That is a great list! Thanks for participating in 100 Days to Christmas. I look forward to reading about your Christmas planning success!

Jen
http://www.100DaystoChristmas.com