Spring (Kid’s Room) Cleaning - Here is the Plan
Does your child’s room look like an aftermath of a strong wind storm? And the closet is even worse?
4 TIPS, 6 DAYS
Spring break is here. I wandered into my children’s room and oh my….! I could barely make my way to the window without stepping on toys, clothes and who knows what else was on the floor.
During school at least they clean up the area the appears on their zoom camera… I am beaming with pride! Now that they are not on zoom, their desire of having a clean room is very small to nothing. 12 years of hard work is not paying off in this department! Sigh.
It’s clean-up time! Spring is here. Let’s open the windows and freshen up the closets, the shelves, the pillows, and rugs.
Here are my time-saving and sanity-saving tips for a kid’s room cleanup. You might even call it a room “make-over”.
Tip 1 - Do not try to do it all in one day! Spread out the tasks to several days or even weeks so you can keep your kiddos engaged. This will help you avoid arguments, fights, whining, and crying. Yes! They are doing this with you!
Tip 2 - Clean-up time before video games. I do not know about yours, but my kiddos are so good at making promises but by the time afternoon comes, the delivery is not there. New rule: “When you pick up the toys, then you can play video games.” They need to be looking forward to motivation and reward.
Tip 3 - I will help. When we do bigger cleaning or organizing I offer my help. Helping your kiddos has a triple bonus: #1 It allows a little bonding time while working together; #2 you can train them how to do it (you get trained at your new job too, right?; and #3 you can ensure quality work.
Tip 4 - Create a plan of different tasks and schedule it on the calendar, on a whiteboard, or on paper.
Day 1 - Floor: easy. Just walk around, pick up stuff, and put them away. Vacuum and mop.
Day 2 - Shelves: remove all items, dust the shelves, and put things back neatly. Remove books that are for the younger generation and donate them. Discard unwanted or broken items, get several plastic shoe boxes (they are inexpensive, stack nicely and see-through), and organize toys, balls, legos, … etc.
Day 3 - School area: go over the stacks of papers. I have a bigger bin where we collect all school papers, in case they are needed later. We recycle them when school ends. Get several jars or a bigger box for pens, pencils, coloring devices. Stack the books neatly. Don’t forget to dust.
Day 4 - Closet and dressers: remove all items. Dust. Spring is a great time to take inventory of summer clothes. Do they still fit or need new ones? We usually fill up several paper bags for donation. My older son’s closet was easy to organize this year. He grew out of everything besides a couple of T-shirts and some recently purchased sweat pants. His closet definitely looked neat. (Empty)
Day 5 - Bed: wash sheets, flip the mattress, take the pillows and blankets outside to freshen up in the sunshine (if you have space). Move the bed to look for dust bunnies behind and under. Honestly, there are always some that are hiding.
Day 6 - Windows: clean windows, wash curtains, or wipe blinds. I love the smell of Mrs. Meyers’s laundry soap on the sheets and curtains that will spread the scent for several days. My favorite scents are lavender and basil. Which one is your favorite?
All these activities sound daunting but you can actually make clean up a FUN project. Turn your favorite music on, have fun with the toys, be silly, play throw and catch with the clothes. Regardless of the age of your kiddos, you can be silly and have a good time while organizing their room.
Note: try not to think that the room will be a disaster again in a few days! Lol.
What is your favorite tip to manage your child’s room somewhat clean and organized?
