By Get Organized

Sometimes the only way to get distracting members of the family out of the way while you try to spring clean is to involve them in the process. Not many people enjoy dealing with spring cleaning, but that does not mean that anybody should have to do it alone. Having the whole family involved can make it fun and rewarding at the same time. If everyone works hard to get something clean, then everyone is also going to be more likely to want to keep it clean. However, caution needs to be taken in order to give people the right activities to make the work fun and safe for everyone.

Different people often have different views of the proper cleaning methods once spring rolls around the corner. When getting together with the entire family for spring cleaning it is important to compromise and have fun with the tasks at hand. It can easily get overwhelming and frustrating if it is not handled light-heartedly.

Household work and chores are often mundane tasks so any additional fun and excitement can go a long way to getting everyone involved. Make tasks into games with small rewards and prizes. Humor is a great antidote to doing chores, if everyone is laughing and enjoying themselves while they clean the house will be clean in no time.
Best case scenario: your home will be cleaned and your family will be enjoying themselves in the process! Try dividing up the big projects such as putting up elaborate shelving and pegboards into the garage, shopping for storage tools, installing new pieces of equipment, and landscape work, for the whole family to team up and tackle together.

The youngest children of the family are sometimes a little harder to delegate responsibility to, but once you find a task and a tool for them, they can work with an enthusiasm otherwise unimagined. A feather duster in the hands of a four year old can, will some adult supervision; help the bookshelves become neat and tidy. Just be sure to keep breakable or otherwise dangerous items out of reach. Keeping the youngest children distracted with a simple task like cleaning up their toys, or being mom or dads assistant, can enable you to get more work done without having to worry about their safety or what they are getting into.

Another way to get children involved is to have them help you choose a colorful plastic storage container for their room. Place that container within their reach and teach them what items go into their pretty new box, as they quickly become zealous about using it. Young children can also help by being scavenger hunters. Ask them to search for items that may have ended up under their beds, in between the couch cushions, in the laundry baskets, in their toy box, or in other hard to reach places. Little ones love to be helpers and make their mom and dad proud, so be sure to use those talents well and keep them involved. With young children any task can become a fun game where you get to play and spend time together.

The oldest children of the family can also play a large role in spring cleaning. While it may be harder to entice them in getting involved with fun games and prizes, daily tasks such as vacuuming, cleaning the car and folding laundry can grab their attention and enable them to use their developed skills to help out the family. Including your oldest child's opinions in what cleaning products and household necessities to buy helps them feel like an adult, and part of the family unit.

Letting your children decide whether they want an under the bed storage container for their shoes, or which devices they need to make their room work well, can make them feel very mature and proud to be helping their family. It is good to get older children involved in daily cleaning tasks and decisions so that when they head off to college they will have a firm grasp on what goes on when you live on your own.

There are ample ways to make spring cleaning fun and accessible for the entire family. Families can assign appropriate jobs to members based on their interests, and investing in storage and cleaning products that will help get everybody excited about the work to be done!


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Get Organized provides you with tips and tools to help you organize your home, office, and any other area that needs organization.