Last night on CHEX Daily, I chatted with hosts Teresa Kaszuba and Mike Judson about what kids can learn from spring cleaning (responsibility, organization, social justice/generosity, etc.) I share what chores my girls do, and how I am teaching them to declutter their own belongings. I even managed to work in a reference to The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, one of my favourite books ever – no matter what my book club says!
A few things we didn’t have time for:
-Kids can be motivated by the thought of making money. While donating is wonderful, some items can be set aside for a yard sale, and larger items can be sold on Kijiji under your supervision. (Also a great lesson about Internet safety!)
-The one-in-one-out rule can work from toddlers to teens. No new toy/game/pair of jeans until you can find (at least) one to donate.
-Once items are purged, bins and labels are an organizer’s best friends. I like the idea of putting photos (e.g., of Lego, Barbies, cars) on the bins so pre-readers know where everything goes too!
Feel free to leave other suggestions or links to kids’ spring cleaning posts below. I’m always on the hunt for new ideas!
My kids like to help me with cleaning. They do their chores and get special sticker for each task. I've made a chart for them recently and they like filling it with the stickers. Cleaning in our house is a pleasant activity at all. Greets!