Cleaning Game to help Make Chores Fun for Kids

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I don’t know about things at your house, but once in awhile we get way behind on our chores and we need a catch up day. On days like this, the whole family pitches in so we can get the cleaning done quickly. The kids never get excited about a big cleaning day, so I came up with a game to make the job a little more fun. This system pretty much guarantees no whining for our family and everybody chips in and works quickly.

I thought I would share our game with you in case you needed some cleaning fun at your house too.

SET UP

First, you will need to make a list of little jobs…LOTS and LOTS of little jobs. You want jobs that are quick, so the kids don’t lose interest. For example, instead of saying “fold all the laundry” you may want to choose something like “fold 10 pieces of laundry.” I usually have several slips of paper that say “fold 10 pieces of laundry” to make sure that all the laundry does get folded.

When I first did this I wrote out all the jobs on little slips of paper and it took me forever. I was surprised how quickly the kids went through the jobs, I couldn’t keep up! So, the next time I got smart and I printed out all the jobs with the computer and I cut them into strips. I can also keep them in a ziploc bag so the next time I don’t have to write them all out again.

Here are some examples of the quick jobs:

• Windex the sliding glass door
• Sweep the wood floor by the entry way
• Put away 10 things downstairs
• Take out the recycling
• Fold 10 pieces of laundry
• Clean the bathroom sink in the kids bathroom
• Vacuum the front room
• Load all the cups into the dishwasher

Like I mentioned before, there will be jobs that you can repeat several times like folding laundry, picking up items, etc.

When I first started this little game, I had kids ranging in age from 4-15, so I knew there were things that the younger kids couldn’t do.   To make sure the older kids got the more difficult jobs I made slips of paper that said things like:

• Have Jordan take out all the garbages
• Tell Austin to wash the downstairs bathroom mirror
• Get Levi to change all the light bulbs that are burnt out

The younger kids think it’s fun when they draw a job out of the bowl and get to tell their older siblings what to do.  The older boys were mature enough to be good sports about it!

To make sure there is some fun involved also, I include some fun and silly activities like the following:

• Do 10 jumping Jacks
• Sing I am a Little Tea Pot (This one is fun when the teenagers get it)
• Drink a glass of water
• Go tell Allie her hair looks pretty today
• Sing your ABC’s
• Eat 10 Ritz crackers

HOW TO PLAY/CLEAN

We put all the slips of paper in a BIG bowl.  Make sure you have enough jobs, I am always amazed how quickly the kids clean things up with this game.

Each of the children have their own bowl that they will put their slips of paper in once they complete their job.

Then it’s Ready, Set, GO!!!   They scramble to get their jobs completed.  I will admit since this is “race”, the mirrors aren’t always squeaky clean and the floors are perfectly swept, but they sure do pick up all the toys on the floor quickly.   We aren’t going for perfection here!   This is just a fun way to get a bunch of jobs one quickly.   It really is amazing how much nicer the house looks after we complete this game.  The most important part is that everyone chipped in and had fun doing it.   So, you probably won’t be winning any clean house awards with this game, but that’s OK in my book

THE PRIZE

The kids know that when we are finished with all of the chores, there is a treat at the end of the game. We will usually go out for ice cream or something like that.   The person with the most slips of paper in their bowl get to choose where we go for ice cream (Dairy Queen, Baskin Robbins, etc).   This way their is technically a “winner” but we all get the prize.   Especially Mom, because she gets a house that is picked up with no whining in the process.  What Mom doesn’t want that!

I’d love to hear if you have any fun or creative ways that you do chores around your house.