Keep Up With The House: Enlist HELP!

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• Take the kids out for ice cream once a week – So you can do a cleaning blitz or project.
• Do a special in-home activity – So you can go grocery shopping or focus on another room of the house.
• Take over one household task permanently – such as gathering and taking out trash.
• Join a weekly cleaning dash – as a family, you can do a Saturday cleaning dash just after lunch every day. 

• Playdate Swap: Twice a month, have a playdate with a friend. She watches yours once and and you watch hers the next. Fun for the kids and cleaning (or personal) time for you!
• Watch the kids: Have a grandparent or friend come over and occupy the kids so you can focus on a room. 

• Responsibilities – getting dressed, making beds, brushing teeth, washing face and brushing hair, etc. without being asked. They can be responsible for cleaning their own rooms. 

• Acts of Service – in our home the kids have “Acts of Service” they do for the family in the morning. Each kids has their own cleaning tasks that they master over time before we change them. Here’s my post on that for more details. 

• Zones – Have the kids assigned to a “zone” (living room, bathroom, etc.) and train them on how to clean it. You can have a regular or spontaneous cleaning blitz and everyone knows what zone they clean!

• Chores – For us, “chores” means tasks that the kids to to earn money they want, extra privileges and screen time, or things they do as consequences of complaining or bad attitudes.

• Make it a part of school – That’s Home Ec. right there! It may slow you down at first, but children who can help make meals, clean house, tend gardens, etc. will contribute to a well-run household!