If your house is anything like ours, the enthusiasm for cleaning is reserved for some family members more than others. Fortunately getting in on the spring cleaning fun is great for kids – and helps ease the burden on parents, too. Here’s what you need to know about cleaning (safely) with your brood, with minimal whining to boot. We’d love to promise no whining, but let’s keep that bar nice and low.
Top 3 Tips For Spring Cleaning With Kids
Did you know that doing chores in childhood has been linked to being a more successful adult? If you think about it, it makes sense because chores are a great way for kids to build skills like organizing, decluttering and of course cleaning. It also helps them feel important as a contributing family member and learn about the value and importance of teamwork. Regular chores like cleaning can help them develop their work ethic and sense of responsibility – not to mention ease the burden on you! Here’s how we think about spring cleaning with kids.
1. Don’t Compromise On Safety
When it comes to cleaning products, it’s even more important to ensure children aren’t coming into contact with harmful chemicals and toxins that are common in conventional household cleaners. This is in part due to their rapidly developing bodies and smaller size, and exposure to these under-regulated chemicals. That’s not a green light for adults to use them, though – a recent study found that exposure to the chemicals in cleaning products is as harmful to our health as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.
For more great info, here are our guides to non-toxic cleaning.
2. Buy In That It’s Valuable For Kids to Clean!
It’s tempting to just swoop in and handle things for kids and that robs them of the opportunity to learn. Remember, kids often do like cleaning! Even the littlest children enjoy learning practical life skills like folding, sweeping, and dusting. That’s why many learning philosophies (like Montessori) include practical life areas in the classroom.
Cleaning teaches independence, responsibility, and appreciation for the effort that goes into keeping a home clean and healthy for your family.
3. Make It Age-Appropriate
Making kids do chores they’re not developmentally ready for is only going to lead to frustration, but there are so many ways for kids to get in on the action in a way that’s appropriate to their age. Here are some of the top chores and how different age groups can work together to achieve them.
Doing Laundry with…
- Toddlers: put clothes in their hamper, bring them to the laundry room, put clean clothes away.
- Preschoolers: match socks, fold simple things like dish towels and bath towels.
- Elementary+: sort laundry by color, spot treat stains, use the washer and dryer, hang clothes to air dry, and maybe even put the clothes away (read: total laundry independence!).
And, here’s how to choose a safe laundry detergent, plus 3 of our favorites.
Helping in the Kitchen with…
- Toddlers: wipe down fridge doors
- Preschoolers: set the table, clear their plates, help unload groceries, put away silverware and kitchen utensils
- Elementary+: load and unload the dishwasher, help with meal prep, wipe down counters, wash and dry dishes by hand, wipe cabinet and drawer pulls, and oven knobs.
Cleaning Floors + More with…
- Toddlers and Preschool: make beds, clean up toys into bins, practice sweeping
- Preschoolers: water plants, feed pets, clean their rooms, wipe windows and dust surfaces, wipe down baseboards
- Elementary+: refill coffee maker and water pitchers, weed in the garden, mopping and sweeping
Learn More
When it comes to chores for kids, don’t forget to let them take ownership of the tasks and they’ll surprise you! Force of Nature is safe on surfaces, so check out this guide on the safest cleaning products for babies, kids and sensitive families and let your kids decide how they want to help. Baseboards, kitchen drawer handles, remote controls, and humidifiers are all fair game – they might think of something you never would have!
Let Force of Nature Be Your Cleaning Superhero!
Force of Nature is a great bleach alternative for disinfecting, because it has no toxic chemicals. Our convenient, countertop device uses simple water, salt, and vinegar to create a powerful cleaning and disinfecting solution: hypochlorous acid (HOCl). This solution is the very same one our own body creates to help our immune system fight infections and works by attacking pathogens by breaking down their cell walls. Force of Nature is an EPA registered Hospital-grade disinfectant proven to kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses, including Norovirus, Salmonella, Influenza A, Staph, MRSA, Listeria & Pseudomonas Aeruginosa. The EPA has registered Force of Nature for sanitizing and disinfecting hospitals, ICUs, medical clinics, and more, and Force of Nature is certified 100% skin-safe and best for sensitive skin by SkinSAFE, Mayo Clinic’s allergy.
Shop for your Force of Nature starter kit and learn how to use Force of Nature throughout your home!
