How to Assign Spring Cleaning Chores

Spring cleaning is not meant as a task for one person alone. This intensive cleaning extravaganza is thorough and detail oriented. Even with several people participating, it usually takes an entire day. Everyone in a family has a part to play on spring cleaning day. If you're in charge of the family (or of spring cleaning), you've got to know how to properly assign the chores for the big event.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Printer paper
• Printer
• Colorful markers

1. Decide whether anyone in the household is going to be exempt from spring cleaning chores. Children under the age of five, the very elderly, the frail and the sick (or recovering) should not be required to participate in spring cleaning events.

2. Assign children their own bedrooms to clean. If children share a room, everyone who uses that room should participate in cleaning it.

3. Assign chores based on abilities. For example, children and short people shouldn't be given chores like cleaning the ceiling fans or the top shelves of closets. Strong people should be given chores requiring vigorous scrubbing or heavy lifting.

4. Assign older children the task of supervising younger children. Giving them rooms to clean together may help facilitate this.

5. Create an assignment chart for chores. You can draw this with colorful markers or print it out on a computer. The chart should clearly define who is responsible for what task.

6. Place your chore chart in an area in which it's easy to see. On your spring cleaning day, anyone who has a question about what he is supposed to do next can refer to the chart.

Tips & Warnings

• Let toddlers watch you as you do your spring cleaning. Even if they are too young to participate, they can still learn a lot from observing what you do. You could even let them help you with small, simple tasks if they ask. When they're old enough to start taking on some chores of their own, they'll be more informed as to how certain tasks are done.
• Check in on children frequently during spring cleaning day. You should do this not only to make sure they're doing their assigned chores, but also to make sure they're doing those chores properly.
• Don't assign children tasks that involve moving furniture, using harsh cleansers or cleaning lighting fixtures. Each of these activities includes very real ways for children to get hurt. Save these tasks for the adults.