Tips To Make Cleaning With Kids Easier

Thanks to On-Cor for sponsoring this post and offering quality, multi-serve entrées that everyone loves.

Whether your family has set chores daily or has a cleaning day once a week, it’s important to get the whole family involved in keeping the house tidy. Sometimes I feel like getting kids to help with the housework may seem more like a chore than the actual cleaning task does. Because of this, I wanted to share some of our favorite ways to make cleaning with kids easier, including ending the day of cleaning with a special family night featuring one of our favorite On-Cor entrées.

Make it fun

Doing anything with kids is immediately easier when you find a way to make it fun. We love to turn on some music that everyone likes and dance arround as we clean (especially Lucas who always seems to be dancing whether there is music on or not!) The kids also like when we make cleaning into a game. Since my boys can make anything into a competition – as many siblings do- a lot of times just making cleaning up a race gets them excited. Whether they are racing to see who can pick up an area first or who can be the first to put away 10 toys- competitions and games make cleaning time a lot more fun!

Let them help make a cleaning list

One of my secret (or not-so secret now….) goals as a mom is to help my sons grow up to be men who help with the housework. Whether it’s helping with dinner (like heating up convenient, quality dinner solutions from On-Cor that are perfect for busy nights) or cleaning, I want them to be able to identify things that need to be done and do them which is why I love the idea of having kids help create a cleaning list. On a weekend morning when everyone is pitching in to clean, or right before having company, kids can walk around and make a list of what things they see that need to be done. I’m proud to say that Jacob is really great at identifying what things need to be picked up and cleaned and doesn’t need me to constantly tell him what to do next. Plus, I feel like having a list is a good way for kids to visually see what things still need to be done and cross the tasks off as they get completed (and who doesn’t love the satisfaction of crossing something off a to-do list!?)

Provide kid-friendly cleaning tools

If kids are going to help with the chores they need tools they can easily use. Wet wipes are aweome for every day cleaning. They also make child-sized cleaning tools that are fun for young children to use (like these ones pictured…aren’t they adorable?!) Rags with non-toxic cleaning products can be used by older children for more heavy duty cleaning.

Give children specific tasks to do

Sometimes kids can complete a larger task (like cleaning their room) on their own but often times, children need larger, overwhelming tasks broken down into smaller steps. I have one of each type of child and it’s something I try to keep in mind on cleaning day. For example, I can tell Jacob to clean his room and he completes the task while Lucas needs to be told what to do next (ie. pick up the superheroes, put your laundry in the hamper, etc.) A checklist with the steps to larger tasks broken down can be helpful and your child’s age and maturity can determine whether this is done with text or photos and how many steps that tasks need to be broken down into.

Have them work towards a reward

Nothing is more motivating than knowing there’s a reward at the end for a job well done. After a long afternoon of cleaning, reward kids with a special family night. We love to have dinner and then let the kids pick out a movie to watch or game to play. Spending time with family is the best thing and it’s even more fun when we can enjoy it in a room that’s spotless! You can add a spin to how you give out the rewards. Maybe at the end of the year, you could hold a fun little awarding ceremony. The entire family can get dressed up in their fancy outfits, and you can even decorate your house like the Oscars. You can also prepare cute customized rosette award ribbons and exciting prizes to amp up the anticipation. The kids will love it!

Since I don’t want to have to clean up the kitchen (again) after I’ve been cleaning all day, I like to make meals that are quick and easy and don’t make a lot of dirty dishes. We can have at least one night of no pots and pans in the sink, right?! That’s why I love On-Cor meals- they are just a freezer away for an always easy, always satisfying and always ready solution because life’s demanding enough. Dinner shouldn’t be! On-Cor does the prep work, so you can take care of other to-do’s and spend more time with your family!

From hearty entrées to microwave favorites, convenience has never tasted so delicious. No frills, no fancy. Just really, really good food. The boys love the Penne Pasta & Meatballs with Tomato Sauce entrée and I love that it makes pasta night easy. Plus, it now has 25 percent more meat so there’s more meatballs for everyone to fight over lol.

For your next family meal, head to the freezer aisle of Jewel-Osco or check out the store locator at www.on-cor.com to pick up one of On-Cor’s entrées. What tips do you have for making chore time with kids easier? Let me know in the comments below and make sure to enter to win a fun On-Cor prize pack!

Giveaway prize package includes: (1) Coupon Valid for One Free On-Cor Entrée (1) Organizational Glass Containers, (1) Scrub Brush, (1) Kids Cleaning Set, (1) Set of 4 Kitchen Towels, (1) Sink Caddy (ARV: $150)

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of On-Cor. The opinions and text are all mine.

103 thoughts on “Tips To Make Cleaning With Kids Easier”

  1. We love the sliced turkey with gravy. It makes a great meal after a long day of cleaning. With being a mom of a teen the best tip I have is bribery. no really bribing him with 10 bucks works every time.

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  2. I think involving the kids in cleaning the home is so important! I agree that when you have a big day of cleaning, the last thin you want to do is make more dishes.

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  3. I’m a don’t sweat the small stuff kind of cleaner so if toys are left out I’m ok with it , vacuuming is fine by all of us and the kids help clean surfaces

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  4. Penne Pasta & Meatballs with Tomato Sauce is our favorite! We like to set a timer and blast music to make cleaning more fun!

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  5. We make cleaning easier by making a game out of it. Set a timer for 2 minutes and see how much work everyone can get done. Do that a couple times a day and things start looking better!

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  6. My daughter and I love to clean together. When I clean the toilets, she immediately runs in and asks to help me. It’d be easier to just do it myself, but more important to let her help.

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  7. Cleaning with kids can be tricky. I have found if you try it make it sound fun and make it like a game, it usually turns out good.

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  8. To make cleaning with the kids fun is to make them feel like it is a game rather than work, like singing the song clean up, clean up while picking up toys.

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  9. kid sized cleaning tools are a must. my older one sweeps, the younger one uses a dust buster. they both help load and unload the dishwasher. my family really loves the salisbury steak! so yummy

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  10. we have chore charts and we take turns with different chores. the first time we do a specific chore i teach and then we make sure they understand before leaving them on their own.

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  11. Cleaning with kids is made easier if you put on some upbeat music and make a game out of general cleaning and cleaning up toys.

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  12. Our favorite meal of theirs is the Sliced Turkey and Gravy! We love making open faced sandwiches with it. Bread..then turkey..and a scoop of mashed potatoes! Top with the gravy…oh yum and so easy!

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  13. I make cleaning easier with the kids by making a list for each of them and having all the supplies we will need in a caddy to go from room to room.

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  14. Out favorite On-Cor meal is the Lasagna with Meat Sauce. Super easy meal just add a tossed salad and garlic bread.

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  15. My little girl is at the age where she loves to help. It may slow me down, but she is at least learning how to help me clean.

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  16. well the kid got choirs since it 4 bed house one does dishes and then oone does the table by hleping put food and one set table

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  17. I’ve found that really concentrating on teaching them the right way to do things when we first start working on something makes things easier later!

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  18. I give a big thumbs up to having kid-friendly cleaning tools on hand. I have a cute monkey-shaped kitchen scrubber that I bought because it made my giggle, but the kids fight over who gets to use it so it was $6 very well spent!

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  19. I like to have the kiddos help while we do chores. I have cleaning cloths, a non powered vacuum, and a Swiffer to encourage teamwork. I love their Macaroni and Cheese dinners.

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  20. I make the cleaning easier by listening to music. I also bribe myself with a treat that I can have when I’m finished.

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  21. Our favorite On-Cor meal is Salisbury steak! Yummy! We make chores more fun by all cleaning together and with music, we dance and make it fun!

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  22. To make cleaning fun and easier with kids, we crank up the radio and do silly dances to it while cleaning. Our favorite Oncor meal is Penne Pasta & Meatballs with Tomato Sauce. It has been our favorite for years.

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  23. I give them there own spray bottle with water in it and towel and the spray everything and wipe it they think it’s so fun….lol I let them vacuum and dust we put the music on and dance and be silly.

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  24. We have two kids so we split the tasks up.. it also makes it easier on them if we help… that way they don’t see it as us just giving them the jobs we don’t want to do. In dusting, I’ll do the high areas and they do the low ones =)

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  25. My kids earn “points” toward rewards and privileges for doing chores and cleaning. They are always asking what they can clean next!

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  26. I would like to say that I would reward my kids with an On-Cor meal, but it is more a treat for me. They love those candies, especially chocolate.

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  27. I love to make cleaning fun by turning on music and getting everyone in a mood to clean. It makes everyone happy, and isn’t as tedious.

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  28. Make cleaning easier with kids? Impossible!(I try to clean when the little ones are napping!) Let the older ones help with something to help occupy them!

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  29. We sing the ‘Clean up song’ with the Grands just like we did with our children. They love to sing and dance and clean!

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