Summer Hols: How kids can help keep the house tidy

School’s out for the summer and it’s a great time to teach your children a few good habits and introduce some new cleaning routines at home. Here are ten simple tips to keep your home tidier by getting your kids to help out with the chores.

1. First pick the things you’d like your kids to help with. Remember; don’t overwhelm them with too much housework as this is, after all, their holidays. Having said that, it is important to teach children to be clean and tidy, developing habits that will serve them well throughout their lives.
2. Keep the odd cleaning product close-to-hand. Some households may decide to keep the dust pan and broom out. Others may only put their vacuum cleaner away when guests are coming over. You have to decide what items you need handy to keep things tidy. Who knows, maybe your kids will start grabbing them too!
3. Bedroom routines remain. Let children know that everyone makes their own bed and keeps their rooms relatively clean.
4. Another chore that each person can look after is putting their dirty dishes into the dishwasher.
5. Rotate the bigger house chores like vacuuming, sweeping and dusting among family members. Ask younger children to help with these larger chores once a week.
6. This summer get the barbeque out at every opportunity. Not only is it more fun to get outside and tuck into some juicy burgers and healthy salads, but paper plates just need to be dumped into the recycling bin – a fun activity for the little ones after your meal.
7. To keep the clutter down, remind everyone that everything has its place. Put up hooks for jackets and backpacks, for example. Toys and electronics have a home and games belong in drawers or cupboards.
8. Nothing belongs on the floor. Make this a general rule. Everyone in the family is responsible for putting their ‘stuff’ away.
9. Have a clean kitchen at the end of every day. This is another great rule as it’s wonderful to get up to a clean kitchen. After dinner or before bed, run the dishwasher, and put out breakfast foods and dishes on the counter so they’re ready for the morning.
10. Last but not least, we’d recommend you lower your standards a bit during the lazy days of summer. With kids home full-time and lots going on, the house is unlikely to be as clean and tidy as usual. If you really can’t stand the extra mess, you could always contact MOLLY MAID to arrange a visit from our professional cleaners.