I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up, I was expected to clean and my mom didn’t really do anything to make cleaning more fun other than blast JuanGa or Los Bukis, which I’m totally not complaining about because dang it if I didn’t get all into my feelings while I was dusting and scrubbing. Fun or not, I’m grateful that my mom taught me how to clean, because it’s shocking to me now that I’m all grown how many adults don’t really know how to do basic chores. So yay, mom, for teaching me basic cleaning skills and life skills that I plan on passing on to my own kids.
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One thing I am doing differently than my mother is that I’ve added some fun cleaning life hacks to our family chores routine so everyone has a bit more fun in the process. Why bother to make cleaning fun when I could just tell my kids they have to clean and ni modo because I say so? Because I don’t want them to grow up despising cleaning. To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of cleaning. I love living in a clean home, but I don’t love being the one who has to clean it.
Throughout the years, I’ve found that when I break chores up and add fun to the mix, that cleaning doesn’t feel so much like a chore. Now that my kids are old enough to help out with the cleaning I’m passing on these creative cleaning hacks onto them and you. Check the life hacks out and adopt or adapt them to fit your own family’s style of fun.
Pump up the jams!
You don’t need us to tell you that blasting tunes makes cleaning more fun. Latina moms have been blasting cumbia, salsa, and rancheras for generations when they clean. But what about letting the kids play DJ? You can start off by picking the first song, then take turns having the kids pick, and so on until everyone has picked at least once and there’s been plenty of dancing and cleaning going on.
Turn it into a race.
This fun life hack consists of assigning everyone a particular room to clean and whoever finishes first, wins. Of course, they actually have to do a good job or they are disqualified. No cheating and shoving things under beds or in closets, and that goes for the adults as much as the kids.
Play cleaning red light, green light.
This life tip is fun if you are all cleaning in the same room. One person will be in charge and whenever they say “green light” everyone else has to clean as fast as they can. When that person says “red light” everyone cleaning has to freeze in whatever position they happen to be. The sillier the position you freeze in the funnier and more fun the cleaning becomes with this game.
Play the secret toy/item game.
You secretly pick an item or toy in a room and don’t tell your child what that item or toy is, then you set a timer and have your child clean up and put things away in that room. When the timer goes off, they win if they have put the secret item or toy away in time. The prize can be a small treat. If you have more than one child cleaning in the same room, whoever put the item or toy away is the winner.
See who can fill their basket up first.
In this game everyone gets a basket, then they go around the house or room and whoever fills up the basket with things that need to be put away first wins this round. Kids love running around and competing with each other, so winning might be the only prize necessary. This life hack will encourage your little ones to tidy up the house in a fun way.
See who can empty their basket first.
This is the second round of the baskets game. For this round, each player should have an equal-ish number of items in their basket that need to get put away. That means you might need to redistribute items among baskets. Everyone starts at the same time and whoever puts away all the items in their baskets first, wins. Make sure to tell them the items have to be neatly and correctly put away. They can’t just be shoved into drawers or put where they don’t belong.
Buy some cleaning gadgets they enjoy.
My husband inadvertently gifted me with a life hack by bringing home a new mop thing that I thought was totally unnecessary, but my daughters love and fight over. They literally fight over mopping the floors now, so I had to divide the chore so they could both do it.
Get them their own cleaning kits.
Fighting over who has the duster or sponge or window cleaner and where they left it is annoying. If everyone has their own little cleaning caddies that they can take from room to room, then they won’t have to keep asking each other for things. Let them decorate the caddies or pick out what they want in the caddies for added fun.
Create a cleaning scavenger hunt.
Another life tip for fun cleaning is to hide some kind of prize that your kids like and then create a scavenger hunt with tasks and clues that need to be done to find the prize. It could start with, “Go to the place where you lay your weary head at night and look under it for your first task.” Leave a piece of paper with a task written under their pillow. Once they complete that task, they get another clue and so on until they get to the prize.
Clean with them.
This one is simple. Instead of sending everyone to do their own chore, have everyone clean together, and be a part of the cleaning crew. Kids like being with their parents. Joke around, have fun, get the room clean, then move on to the next room.
Play laundry basketball.
This life tip works best if you have a laundry basket for each family member. You place all the baskets assigned basket around the room and put all the clean clothes that need to be folded in the center of the room. You all grab an item from the pile and try to make to score a point by getting that clothing item into the appropriate family member's basket.
Have folding watch parties.
Once you have all the laundry sorted by family member, have each person grab their basket as you settle down for a fold and watch party. You could make it so that everyone takes turn picking what to watch or use the points everyone scored from playing laundry basketball and whoever scored the most baskets gets to choose.
Play the sock matching game.
This life hack for cleaning with children is great if you have a little one who maybe isn’t so good at folding yet. They can still help when it comes time to fold laundry. Have them be in charge of all the socks. They get to find the matching socks and put them together. When they are done, they can count up how many pairs they made.
Pick a chore and treat from a bowl.
Write a chore on a strip of paper and attach it to a treat. Put all the treats and chores into a bowl and have your child reach in with closed eyes and pick one out. They get to have the treat after they’ve completed the chore on the paper.
Don’t be a perfectionist.
Here’s a life tip in general: Don’t be a perfectionist. And especially don’t be a perfectionist when it comes to cleaning with kids because it’s a real bummer for them. Imagine how disappointing it is for them if they’ve been cleaning their hearts out and all you do is point out what they didn’t do right. Be sure to compliment your children on a job well done even if it isn’t 100% up to your standards. The next time they go to clean that area, you can give them directions that will help them improve.
