Cleaning with kids can be a challenge for anyone. After all, balancing their energy with the never-ending housework can feel like a relentless second job to any parent. Sometimes that means that instead of enjoying your free time, you spend it on chores. Well, not anymore!
To help you with that, today we prepared a guide with 5 tips to help you save time when cleaning with kids. Let’s get into it!
1. Team up for cleaning
If your kids are still too small to take part in the cleaning themselves, it’s important to embrace “tag-team” cleaning: while one parent engages the children in some sort of activity (like reading or a craft), the other one spends 20 minutes or more in a power clean. After that time you two switch as needed.
When cleaning with kids try to focus on “high-traffic” zones per say, such as the kitchen, bathrooms, and main living areas. If you don’t have time to get to it all, let the bedrooms or playroom be a little messier during the day, since cleaning the other areas may have a bigger impact.
If you can’t count with someone else, them the key it’s to try to engage the children as best as you can. Even if they can’t help you yet, the more you portray cleaning to them as something fun, the easier it will be for you to count with them in the future.
Remember, kids mirror everything they see. If you are always stressed while cleaning, they will notice your distress and start to relate it with the chores. Step out when needed, go back when you can and remember these 2 things: it’s not about perfection, it’s about progress; and you allowed to ask for help when you need it. Hire professionals when you want to save some time!
2. Engage everybody
When cleaning with kids it’s important to make them see the chores as fun, not punitive. Put an upbeat music on turn the moment into a game, especially for younger kids. You can make a 10-minute tidy dance party, set a timer and challenge them to “beat the clock”, or even challenge them to see who finishes their bit faster.
By framing cleaning as a game, you build positive associations and give yourself more space to get to the actual cleaning.
Another important aspect of engaging kids in cleaning is to assign age-appropriate tasks. Trying to get children to do something they likely wont be able to do yet will only build frustration and delay the cleaning.
Toddlers can put toys in a bin. Preschoolers can help dust places they can reach or carry their plate to the sink. School-aged kids can make their beds, put away their own laundry, and help set the table. Teenagers can take on more responsibility like vacuuming, loading the dishwasher and working alongside you when it’s time to give your home a deep clean. Successful cleaning with kids is about giving them tasks they can actually accomplish, which builds confidence and responsibility.
3. Create a “Clutter Basket” for Each Room.
Following the teachings of the famous organization guide Marie Kondo, everything should have its own little home inside your house. That means designating proper places for each one of your belongings so that they don’t end up all scattered across the house.
To help you with that, you can designate a basket for every main room. At the end of the day, do a 5-minute “clutter hunt” where everyone in the house (remember? get everybody involved!) helps find things that don’t belong in that room and places them in the basket.
Then, items from the basket get returned to their proper homes. This is a simple, visual system that makes cleaning with kids a quick and manageable team activity, besides diluting the clutter into a more manageable thing.
You can also establish a “5 things before dinner” routine. Every day, just before dinner time, have everyone in the family find five things to put away. It could be five toys, five pieces of mail, or five articles of clothing. This tiny, consistent habit prevents mess from accumulating and makes the post-dinner clean-up far less overwhelming. Consistency is the secret weapon for cleaning with kids.
4. Apply the 1% Rule when cleaning with kids
The 1% rule is a revolutionary yet simple mindset shift for overwhelmed parents. Instead of facing monumental cleaning sessions, you commit to improving the state of your home by just 1% at a time. This makes the process of cleaning with kids far less daunting.
What does this look like in practice?
- While waiting for your coffee to brew, you unload the top rack of the dishwasher.
- During a TV commercial break, you quickly sort a pile of mail.
- As you walk from the living room to the kitchen, you bring two stray cups with you.
- Before bed, you spend 60 seconds wiping down the bathroom counter.
These micro-actions add up dramatically. The 1% rule is sustainable because it aligns with the fragmented nature of a parent’s day. It’s the ultimate strategy for consistent cleaning with kids without the burnout.
5. Model and Praise the Behavior.
Kids mimic what they see, especially what they see all the time. Let them see you taking pride in a clean space and treating cleaning as a good thing to do, instead of a dreadful thing. .
Praise is also very important during those moments. Instead of generic “good job,” offer specific praise: “Thank you so much for putting all your books on the shelf! That was a huge help.” Positive reinforcement makes children feel valued and more likely to participate willingly in cleaning. When you do that, you not only show them that cleaning is important but you also highlight how important their participation is.
Why does a clean home matters?
A clean home isn’t about achieving magazine-perfect sterility; it’s about creating a foundation for your family’s physical and mental well-being.
Children are more vulnerable to environmental pollutants due to their developing systems (and because they literally live closer to the floor) . Dust, allergens, pet dander, and germs can accumulate quickly, exacerbating allergies and asthma. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) emphasizes that good hygiene practices at home, including regular cleaning, are a primary defense against infectious diseases. When you are cleaning with kids in mind, you are directly contributing to their physical health by reducing their exposure to harmful bacteria and viruses.
Besides that, we also have another factor: the state of your environment directly influences your state of mind. A cluttered, chaotic home can create a cluttered, chaotic mind. For children, who are still developing their executive functioning skills such as focus, emotional regulation, and impulse control, a disorganized environment can be particularly overwhelming.
Clutter competes for our attention, resulting in decreased performance and increased stress. For a child, this might manifest as difficulty concentrating on homework, more frequent tantrums, or trouble settling down at bedtime. The simple act of cleaning with kids and reducing clutter can create a calmer, more serene atmosphere where their minds can relax and thrive.
This isn’t about shaming parents; it’s about understanding the stakes. The effort you put into cleaning with kids is an investment in their emotional and cognitive development.
The helping had you might need, or the best cleaning service in Colorado Springs!
Life in the shadow of Pikes Peak is meant to be enjoyed, even when cleaning with kids. Between hiking in Garden of the Gods, exploring the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and simply soaking in those magnificent Rocky Mountain views, the last thing you want is to spend your precious free time stressed about the state of your home.
That being said, it’s important to make peace with the fact that a home with children will not be pristine all the time. Now, if you want yours to be, you can always count on us! With your weekly housekeeping services you guarantee that your home will always get the care it deserves.
We don’t judge, we get the work done. You can take a look at our services and the area of work to pick what works best for you! We work with a broad range of services – from weekly housekeeping with our professional technicians, to disinfecting and fogging packages. Invest in your self-care! Show some love to your home.
Thank you for reaching this far! What else would you like to see around here? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
Written by
Vetter Cleaning & Maintenance Team.
About the company
Vetter Cleaning is a professional cleaning service located in Colorado Springs, CO. They offer a variety of cleaning services to meet most residential cleaning needs, including recurring maid services, deep house cleaning services, and move-in/out cleaning services.
If you live in the Colorado Springs area, we invite you to request a free home cleaning quote.
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