The Key to Summer Chores and Cleaning Up!

*This post was sponsored by P&G as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. I received complimentary products to facilitate my review.

I am honestly not a big fan of chore charts… all of that assigning, coaxing them to get started, following up to see if they did a good job, and then rotating the chores so it is “fair” to everyone…. it's all too much work! I like to be more “in the moment” with my assignments based on what needs to be done right NOW. So a few months ago we started a new chore policy around here:

And honestly- it has worked beautifully! Dinner time is so smooth- I simply assign a helper or two to prep dinner, set the table, and serve, a helper or two to put away the leftovers and clear the serving pieces, and a helper or two to wash the pots and pans and start the dishwasher. I mix it up a little on whom I ask to do which task… and no one is complaining because a few minutes working in the kitchen is LOADS better than having to clean the potty!

So No One Has Any Real Chores?

Oh- they definitely have things they need to do- like everyone must clear and load their own dishes at dinner. Everyone must dust their own bedrooms, put away their laundry, and straighten up. The usual stuff. And here's the thing- we don't pay them an allowance for these tasks. This is just part of what it means to be in this family. We all have work to do around the house, and none of us is getting paid to do it!

But Here is Where Things Fall Apart…

So while we are handling “the big stuff”… it's the little stuff that threatens to make me lose my mind! The child that makes a fruit smoothie and proceeds to leave wet sticky splashes of juice and fruit on the counter, never wiping it up. The tween who eats crackers at his desk while doing homework and somehow scatters crumbs all over the floor. The teen who fails to remove his muddy shoes after playing soccer in the backyard and tracks dirt into the house and up the stairs. And don't even get me started on the snack bowls left on every table in every room of the house! Not to mention the pile of dirty dishes that are rinsed but left to sit on the kitchen counter all day, rather than being loaded into the empty dishwasher! 

WHY OH WHY DON'T THEY CLEAN UP AFTER THEMSELVES?!

Mothers everywhere are nodding their heads in agreement…. but what can we do?

3 Tricks to Get Your Kids to Clean Up After Themselves!

There are three tricks we can all use to motivate our kids to recognize their own messes and take action to clean it up- and it doesn't involve nagging or begging! Ready?

#1 Catch Them in the Act of Mess-Making!

I don't mean this as a “gotcha” thing where you catch them doing something wrong… I am saying that remind them while they are actually engaged in the mess-making activity that they'll need to clean it up completely when they are done. Hear that blender running? Pop into the kitchen and remind them to wipe down the counter when they are done. See them doing homework at the desk with a snack? Remind them to clean up their crumbs and put their dishes in the dishwasher when they are done.

I think most of the time kids aren't trying to leave a mess behind- they just have no awareness of it! So if you can offer the gentle reminder before they make the mistake- they have a better chance of actually doing the right thing! (And yes- you'll need to do this 10,000 times for each child before they will start to clean up after themselves automatically on their own… or they'll turn 18 and head off to college- whichever comes first!)

#2 Give Them the Right Tools

One of my husband's favorite expressions is that “It is all about having the right tools for the job!” And while I think this just serves as an excuse for him to buy more power tools every time we start a DIY project- I think it also applies to kids and messes!

So you'll first want to head over to Costco and score a great deal on P&G Household Needs products! Things like Bounty Advanced paper towels (Bounty's most absorbent towels vs. National Bounty Select-A-Size Towels!), Mr Clean Magic Eraser (which quickly wipes out dirt and grime with its water-activated micro scrubbers), and Swiffer Dusters and Swiffer Sweeper refills (which both are great at grabbing dirt, dust, and hair)! It's the little details in these P&G Household Needs products that make them different from other brands and makes them the perfect tool for your kids to use to clean up their own messes!

And you'll need to make sure the kids know where you keep these products, how to refill them (mine can't be the only house where kids never remember to change the paper towel roll when its empty!), and how to use them. A little training in this area will go a long way!

#3 Reward Them

Some might call it a bribe, I call it “an incentive plan”. I have absolutely no problem taking all of the kids out for ice cream or building a campfire to roast some s'mores on a day when the kids did a great job of cleaning up after themselves. We're building life-long habits here people- ones that their future spouses will thank you for! So bribe… er…. reward away!

Here's How I'm Mastering the Art of Summer Chores and Getting My Kids to Clean Up After Themselves!

I created this retro-silent-film-style video to show you how I am going to master this technique this summer!

*This post was sponsored by P&G as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. I received complimentary products to facilitate my review.