Getting Your Kids Involved in Daily Clean-Up

Getting your kids involved with daily clean-up {free printable chore chart!)

My boys are turning 6 and 8 in September, can you believe that? They’re getting so big already and can do so much on their own now. I recently came to a life-changing realization: they’re old enough to help with chores! Why are my husband and I doing all the work when we have two able-bodied boys to help us?  So we started giving them an allowance and I developed a list of chores for them.

IMG_4961

There are some chores that are mandatory – they don’t really count for allowance, they’re just everyday housework that they need to be doing, like keeping their room tidy and folding their laundry. The other chores on the list are for them to choose. Right now, I only ask them to choose 3 for the week. I think that giving them a little bit of choice when it comes to chores helps them feel like they still have some control, and keeps them from getting bored and annoyed at having to do the same chores all the time. There are some favourite chores that they both fight over (like mopping the floor), so we have to alternate those each week to make it fair.

I find the most amount of daily clean-up takes place in the kitchen, and the doing the dishes is probably the most time-consuming process.  With five family members in the household who all like to eat a lot, we create a huge amount of dirty dishes.  I recently received an OrbitClean dishwasher, compliments of Frigidaire, to test out on my dish-dirtying family.  I’m finding that it makes dishwashing so easy that even the kids can handle a lot of it.

IMG_4958

The OrbitClean has a super fast 30 minute cycle, so if I haven’t had time to run the dirty dishes earlier in the day, this cycle is fast enough to get them done while I’m making dinner. This way, I can get the dishes unloaded and ready for the kids to load up after dinner when they clear off the dinner table (one of their mandatory chores).

You don’t have to do any prewashing on the regular cycle, because this dishwasher is powerful! The kids can put their dishes straight into the dishwasher without rinsing and the dishes will still come out spotless. I just have to make sure they scrape any chunks of food off their plate first.

It’s very spacious with adjustable racks, so you can fit tall items on both the bottom and the top shelf, making it easy for the kids to load things themselves.

IMG_4959

I still have to unload the dishes myself, because it’s too hard for the kids to reach the cabinets to put the plates away. I don’t mind though, since it’s a lot easier than it used to be with my old dishwasher when all the dishes were still wet at the end of the cycle and I had to hand dry them. This new dishwasher has a “SaharaDry Cycle” that actually dries the dishes really well. Sometimes the plastic items are slightly wet, but if I leave the dishwasher door open right after it finishes, they air-dry just fine.

The stainless steel on this dishwasher is smudge-proof, so when this little toddler puts her grubby hands on it, I don’t see her fingerprints all over it. She still manages to smear food on it sometimes, but it wipes off easily so even the boys can handle it.

IMG_4962

Do you want to print a chore chart of your own? Just click on the link below and fill in what chores you’d like your kids to do. Sit down together with your kids and ask for their input so they’re involved in the entire process.  Happy cleaning!

downloadchorechart

Disclosure:  I am part of the Frigidaire Canada Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group.  The opinions on this blog are my own.

 

Print Friendly

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome! I’m Megan.

My kids like to whine, especially when it comes to the food they eat, but that doesn’t stop me from trying to make tasty and healthy meals for them. Follow along as I share family-friendly recipes and reviews from my picky family members, who I lovingly call “The Whine Critics.” Read More…

Connect with us

Subscribe to Weekly Email Updates

You’ll get 2 Free Meal Planning Guides for signing up!

Popular Posts

Kale, Broccoli & Bacon Rotini

Cheesy Mexican Rice and Beans

Spinach and Pesto Tortellini

Skillet Lasagna

Sushi Night!

Got the Leftover Blahs? Check out our “Making Over Left Overs” (MOLO) series: