It’s springtime! And somehow, the weather has finally caught on. With the gorgeous spring weather, all I want to do is throw the windows open, and — both literally and metaphorically — throw off the dust and gloom of winter. That’s right: spring cleaning time is here!
There’s something invigorating about the spring season. I love winter; I love the hearty soups, curling up in front of a fireplace, fuzzy blankets, and cozy sweaters. But still, spring comes along and I cannot stop myself from opening every window and shopping for every flirty dress I can find at Target. Part of the springtime urge, though, is also spring cleaning. If winter is all about cozy warmth, spring is about everything feeling fresh and clean. And I don’t know why — we all clean in the winter too, right? — but everything suddenly feels grubby and old when spring rolls around.
And while spring cleaning is all well and good, it’s a million times harder when you have kids. Even just regular cleaning is hard enough, let alone the deep-clean that you feel the urge to do when the temperature jumps above 60. Lord knows kids are never excited about cleaning.
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But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible! Here are some great tips to get your spring cleaning done, while juggling being a mom, too.
- Downsize when the kids are gone. I hoard everything; I admit it. With six kids, I always feel like I have to keep things because another kid might need it. And then, there’s the battle with my kids whenever I go to throw anything out — suddenly, it’s their favorite toy/stuffie/shirt/whatever, even if they haven’t even looked at it in the past year, and a huge dramatic tantrum happens. But if they don’t see you toss it, they probably won’t even notice it’s gone. And less stuff = less clutter.
- Set timers. It’s hard for anyone to do any job for too long, and that’s especially true for kids. Their attention spans are way shorter than ours are, and spring cleaning is a big job. So break it down into smaller chunks. Instead of a major task, set a timer, and tell them they clean until the timer goes off — say, 10 or 15 minutes. Give them a break for a little while, and then do another small chunk. It makes it more manageable, for both the littles and the adults.
- Make it fun. Cleaning usually isn’t fun, but you can lessen the drudgery! Blast some music, dance while you sweep and mop, heck — even blow bubbles while you clean so your kids are laughing and having fun! One brilliant hack that my kids love is an IRL Among Us game for chores, and they beg to do it on weekends, because to them, it’s not cleaning; it’s a game. Whatever works for your family, make spring cleaning less of a chore and more of something fun. (Here are some other great ideas for cleaning games!)
- Hold a yard sale. Yard sales are great for spring anyway, but kids love them too. It helps them feel grown-up, and they can do a lot more fun things, too. Help them set up a lemonade stand, and sell cookies, for example. Tell them they can keep whatever they make! Especially for kids who are a little bit older, they’ll be much more motivated to help with the yard sale knowing there’s some financial motivation behind it too.
- Plan a reward. Remember when us elder millennials were kids and Pizza Hut had Book-It? There was NOTHING more exciting than going to Pizza Hut and getting your own free personal pan pizza. Unfortunately, Book-It isn’t around anymore, but take inspiration with that in your spring cleaning and have your kids work towards a reward. Pick your favorite local pizza place and have a party there; have a huge ice cream sundae party at home with a gazillion toppings; take them out for a family movie. Whatever it is, come up with a reward everyone can agree on and be excited about, and set up a checklist of things they have to do to earn it. Shoot, go all Harry Potter on them and set up colored marbles to let them visualize it better if you want! However you do it, getting a big reward planned afterwards will help with the motivation.
What are you favorite spring cleaning tips?
