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Here are three of my family's successful strategies for getting the kids to help clean:
Onesie: For my little guy, three-year-old Payne, cleaning games work wonders. Yes, cleaning games. (No, that is not an oxymoron.) Here's how to play our favorite, which I call Onesie. Payne puts away one type of object, for example, everything that's blue, bigger than his hand, or round.
When Payne was a baby, I simply had him put things into boxes or low plastic bins as we went. No, he really didn't help much, but he enjoyed it and became accustomed to the idea that he should help clean. Plus, games like these introduce Payne to educational concepts like colors, shapes and sizes.
60 Minutes: On Saturdays, our whole family engages in a 60-minute, top-to-bottom cleaning routine. This is a round-the-room and through-the-home cleaning and organizing system, with a role for every family member. The tallest (me at 5-foot-5) takes top duty, wiping down crown molding, cabinet tops, and hanging lamps. The smallest, (3-foot-3 three-year-old, Payne) tackles the close-to-the-ground jobs, such as running his hand along the baseboards with a damp bobby sock.
Meanwhile, my preteen son cruises around the room damp-mopping the floor, while my preschooler has happily moved on to getting old magazines ready for recycling. And my preteen daughter, Lyndsay? She's changing the sheets on her top bunk. The goal of the day is to turn housework into teamwork, with everyone helping get it all done right - and fast.
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