Spring Cleaning Fun for Any Age!
In celebration of Spring, Dee’s Green Cleaning is excited to share these tips and tricks on how to make spring cleaning a sustainable, family-friendly experience for all ages.
From a young age, it’s important to educate children on the importance of cleaning and how we can make it enjoyable, rather than seem like a punishment.
Together, we’ll go through specified cleaning tasks and games that can be used for specific age groups to encourage their participation in your spring cleaning, and beyond. ✨
Age Appropriate Tasks for Younger Kids
As children begin to learn the importance of cleaning and how to participate, it’s important to embrace effort over perfection. It’s important for us “grown-ups” to embrace that things may not be organized or put away “our” way, yet you are teaching kids autonomy and responsibility.
Kids ages 3-5 do best with cleaning tasks that focus on one goal at a time to reduce feelings of burnout and overwhelm. One game to help kids accomplish their task is to set a “one song” timer.
Pick a task like matching socks, or putting dirty clothes in the hamper
Choose a favorite song from your kid-friendly playlist
”Ready, set, go!”
Let the child complete the task in the allotted time
Pause when finished, & celebrate their accomplishment 🎉
Another game we recommend is the “Color Sort” game 🎨
Let them pick a color ❤️
Next, go around the house & collect all the toys with that matching color
Help them sort & put away!
This encourages that “feel good” feeling that comes from a clean, clear space.
One more game-style you can create are “challenge” type games. One example is a “5 minute organization challenge”, or “the first person with 5 items to donate wins!”. Instilling the notion of donating helps to teach generosity, while also teaching our children that sometimes, just because we have a lot of “stuff” doesn’t always mean we have “more”.
By creating games with your children you are also establishing your presence; helping to create deeper connections with your little ones. Oftentimes, kids will want to participate after seeing you in action! 🧼
Age Appropriate Tasks for Older Kids
Children ages 6-11 thrive with designated tasks, timed cleans, and also, more games! 🎉 This age range means more room for autonomy and responsibility. Remember, there might be a little more soapy water on the floor with the help of our kids, and that’s okay! We embrace effort over perfection. Before any cleaning task, it’s important to set kids up for success by providing them with the necessary tools.
Our first spring cleaning task for older kids - wash baseboards🧼
For this you’ll need:
A bucket of warm water
Cotton towels
Your favorite all purpose
Favorite songs in a timed playlist
Your step-by-step guide to wash baseboards:
Start in one room
Combine cleaning product with water
Add cotton towels to the solution
Ring out towel
Set timer for 10-15 minutes & let the music play
Clean around the room with your wet towel
Dry as you go with a fresh, dry towel
Celebrate with a dance party when task is finished 🎉
For your spring cleaning task 2, we call this “Under-Bed Clearance” 🛏️
What you’ll need:
Trash bag(s)
Storage bin
Receptacle for donations
Set a timer for 10-15 minutes, turn up the tunes, and get groovin’!💃Within this time period, instruct your child to clean out and organize under their bed.
Any garbage will be placed in the trash bag
Anything to be kept will be put away in the closet or storage bin
Any unwanted items will be placed in the donation receptacle.
If they are unsure, remind them that they can always ask for your help or advice. If the task is not completed in the designated time, take a 5 minute break, and return 👍
Our last task is “Couch-Crumb Duty” 🍪
With a cloth or vacuum, (depending on the comfort and age level) instruct your children to flip over the couch cushions to either vacuum or wipe away crumbs! If a vacuum is being used, show the importance of vacuum attachments like crevice tools, as well as demonstrate how to vacuum the couch cushions themselves to remove any pet hair, additional crumbs, or dust.
Bonus: any change they find, is theirs to keep!
Age Appropriate Tasks for Teens
Including your teens in family cleaning teaches them the importance and functionality of a clean home as they continue to grow and eventually, care for their own independent space. Dee’s Green Cleaning has 3 spring cleaning tips to help!
Digital Purge - encourage your teen for a mental health reset by limiting screen time!
Most phones have the ability to set a time-limit on socials & websites.
If they’re up for a challenge, delete one social media account for a few days
If they want to step it up a notch, delete all social media accounts for several days or maybe even a week!
This allows them to pick up a new hobby, focus on their physical spaces like their room, friends and family, or reconnect with nature. These other activities can reduce stress and bring more metal clarity.
45 Minute Deep Clean Challenge - like all kids, teens respond to engaging activities, as well as timed, designated tasks. Teens are capable of taking on more arduous tasks, such as cleaning the inside of the fridge & pantry. Tasks include:
Removing, recycling & throwing away expired items 🍎
Wiping down & sanitizing shelving 🧽
Organizing products & produce once finished ✨
If your teen hasn’t completed when the timer goes off, no sweat! Take a 5 minute break and get back to it till completed. Timers help reduce feelings of overwhelm. Remember to celebrate when finished 🎉
Clean & Organize Tech - just because your teen is in their digital detox, doesn’t mean they can’t clean and organize their devices!
With your favorite cotton towel and disinfectant (we love Dee’s Green Cleaning All-Purpose!) spray and wipe down:
Tables
Remotes
Video game controllers & consoles
Screens
Untagle miscellaneous cords & chargers
Donate or recycle unwanted or broken devices 🎮
Giving teens authority and autonomy over their space and how it’s organized helps to grow their confidence.
If your teen is unsure of certain tasks, working side by side can allow your teen the opportunity to ask for advice and questions.
Cleaning side by side helps to spend time together and grow relationships.
Age Appropriate Tasks for Adults/Parents
Let’s be real, age appropriate cleaning tasks for adults include: everything😉 some days it feels like the cleaning checklist will never end. In addition to maintenance cleaning, spring cleaning is that time of the year where people feel motivated to deep clean. Here are a few spring-cleaning tasks to consider from professional house cleaners:
Focus on tasks not regularly cleaned: like the inside of large appliances such as:
Oven
Fridge
Freezer
Washer
Dryer
Remember, you can always recruit your teen to help for an educational moment!
Dust & wash walls: over time, our walls can become dingy from neglect!
What you'll need to get started:
Flat mop
Mop head
Mop duster head
1 bucket filled with water + your favorite all purpose
To begin, take a dry mophead or duster head and:
Attach to your flat mop
Dust down walls top to bottom
Move around the room till completed
Once dusted:
Get your solution of all purpose + water in your bucket
Wet a new mop head & attach to your flat mop
Wash walls in the same method
Enjoy that sparkle ✨
Wash interior & exterior windows: bonus points for adding blinds! Spring is a wonderful time to wash windows and blinds in order to let the light in ☀️
One Last Thing
One last thing you can do is to call Dee’s Green Cleaning to take care of your spring cleaning needs. We offer services such as:
Deluxe Deep Cleans
Maintenance Cleans
Vacant Move In/Out
Janitorial Services for your office space
In addition, we take care of extra tasks like:
Interior & exterior window washing
Interior fridge, freezer & oven cleans
Wall washing
Plus more!
