The Maid Doesn't Live Here

These are words my mom used to utter to us constantly during summer vacation when I was growing up. Having kids around the house much more frequently meant that there were many more dishes to clean up, toys to put away, laundry to be done, etc. She expected us to pitch in!

The folks at The Maids realize that kids sometimes need a little motivation to help clean, and have offered up some tips to make cleaning more of a game and less of a chore.

• Don’t expect kids to use adult tools to clean. Instead, create supplies that are kid-friendly. Use an ice-cream pail for mopping chores or shorten an old mop handle or broom to make it kid-sized.
• Fill a squirt gun from a solution of a gallon of water and a drop of dish soap. Let kids squirt windows and mirrors and wipe dry with paper towels. Leaves glass clean and streak free!
• Cover kids’ hands and arms with dad’s old athletic socks then squirt the socks until lightly damp with a safe solution of vinegar and water. Send them off to dust around the house.
• Got a pile of blocks or action figures strewn on the floor? Scoop up toys in a few swoops using a kid-sized leaf rake to form a pile for easy pick-up.
• Make cleaning a game; give young kids grill tongs and challenge them to pick up toys and put them in a toy box or bin only using the utensils. Keep score and see who wins!

Don’t forget the fun music to help your kids get a groove on as they boogie around the house cleaning. Happy cleaning!