It’s nearing the end of the day…dinner has been made, eaten, and if I’m lucky…cleaned up. The girls are getting tired but they are having oh so much fun playing with daddy. Toys, shoes, blankies, books, etc. are strewn throughout the house from the day. In my mind I’m thinking, “Get the kids to bed, then clean, or TRY to get the girls to help?” Is it worth the extra effort to get a little help or not?
While visiting with a friend she told me about a simple yet wonderful idea. Before the girls have hit their wall and head to bed, we play the ten minute game. We set the timer for ten minutes and see how much we can clean up before the time is up. It’s amazing how racing against a timer can make things more fun. Usually in those ten minutes my house is ready for a new day, and I didn’t have to spend half of MY night doing it. I have time to sit and visit with my hubby, play a game, read a book, work on some sewing project, write in my journal….so much more that I would rather do than clean. Plus…and maybe the most import part of all…I’m teaching my kids to work, to be responsible, and to help around the house.
What other ideas do you have to help keep the house clean and ready for a new day? I’d love to hear your amazing ideas.
~Aubrey
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
We do something similar, except instead of using a timer I turn on music. I tell the kids that we’re going to try to clean as much as we can before two songs are up (sometimes three depending on how bad the house is!). The music helps keep them motivated–sometimes it’s classical, sometimes it’s rock, sometimes it’s country or folk, but it’s always something with a good beat to keep everybody moving.
The timer idea is a good idea too–I might throw that in once in a while just to change things up!
Andrea, I love your idea! I will have to try that one to! I think the key is to just get them involved in helping. Thanks!
Love the idea of music! We are music lovers around my house so this idea is perfect!
It works! I still do this sometimes when kids don’t want to pick up and it always changes the attitude to “I can do it” instead of “it’s too hard mom”.
Our family is very competitive, so racing works well for us. But instead of racing a timer, we usually race each other! Actually, to avoid hurt feelings (my competitive kids hate to lose), we usually race against Daddy. We have all kinds of races – shower races, using the bathroom races, seat belt races, putting on pj races, and doing all of your chores before Daddy gets showered, dressed, and shaved races. You can make up whatever you want – just make sure Daddy usually loses so that the kids can celebrate a victory.
By the way, making the competition kids vs. parents has an added bonus: I often find my kids working together and helping with each others’ chores so that they are sure to beat their Dad.
Fun Cynthia! I do like that you do it against Daddy instead of each other.
I do something a little like this just with myself, but I think I need to take your advice and involve the fam.
After dinner, I used to think I would just take care of the dishes in the morning, but now I tell myself, fifteen minutes, just see what I can do in that amount of time and then I can deal with the rest in the morning. I usually get the whole kitchen clean! And in only fifteen minutes. And your right, it is the thrril of seeing how much you can get done that makes it fun, kind of!
Great post.
ah the threat of no chocolate works in our house….for everyone!
Just kidding, my eldest is suprisingly tidy until about 4pm when crazy time begins and things start to fly and fray! My youngest then follows suit of course…..
They just do tidy, may be I’m lucky. No timer needed – in fact I only fear that having a short time to do the put away would wind them u p more.
I love a timer! The music sounds good too. But I set a timer when I let my son play on the computer because this way he knows he is getting his set amount of time “for real” and I don’t have to worry about getting side tracked and forgetting to say “time’s up!”
Clean up is always a dreaded time so the timer is a good strategy – as is the decluttering ideas I have just read from your past posts.
I am brand new – as in the last hour – to your site and I love it!!! Thank you.
Thanks Tracy! Good luck with the timer and clean up.
When my children (5 of them) were young I would have to vary my ways of getting them to help clean up. The timer was good for a while but I also tried “everyone pick up ten things” (or however many you think is needed). For the younger ones, it helped them to count. For the older, they didn’t mind as much because, hey, it was only ten things! Mom and Dad also picked up ten items.
Great idea too, thanks!
This is a great idea. We do the racing thing sometimes, but it is nice to have ideas for changing it up once in a while. Everyones suggestions are awesome.
and…..Amen Destri….I have to force myself to do the dishes after dinner, but it really only takes about 15 minutes and it is sooooo great to wake up to a clean kitchen!
My kids have a contest too…at the end of the day, I announce that it’s time to do “every day jobs”. My two boys have about 15 minutes worth of clean up, feed the cats and pack backpacks. The first boy done, gets to choose whether he has a bath first or reads with Mommy first. The second boy done with jobs takes the other
We did that growing up. My mom set the timer, put on loud, fun music, and called it a “Mad Ten,” because we’d clean like mad. There was one mom and three girls, so in a Mad Ten, we could get forty minutes of cleaning done. Sometimes the house was so bad we’d have to do a Mad Fifteen.