Cute Kids Cleaning Checklists that Will Save You from Massive Headaches

You’ve probably tried ALL of the kids cleaning checklists, right? Chore charts? Rewards? Bribery? I’m guessing you are still dealing with kids who won’t help around the house. These cute kids cleaning checklists have made chores so much easier at my house because it puts the responsibility back on the kids. It doesn’t hurt that they are super cute and look great on display.

Most of my kids have been home this year. I didn’t expect to be homeschooling again after we stopped several years ago. Having my kids suddenly home more often meant that chores became a major issue.

I work from home so I don’t have time to follow my kids around the house cleaning up after everyone . . . nor do I want to.

Cleaning up is an important life skill and one that is so much easier to learn while kids are younger.

Chore charts work, but here is the problem.

Too often kids are overwhelmed by the idea of “cleaning their room”. What does that mean? Where do they start? Where do they put everything?

Before you can put kids to work “doing chores” you have to have systems in place. Make sure there is a home for everything. Declutter as much as you can so the job isn’t quite so overwhelming.

Label every container (use photos for kids who are not reading on their own yet). This helps kids know where things go.

Keep in mind, kids are learning HOW to do chores. They can’t simply jump in and do them unless they have been taught the process and know how to use systems that have been put in place. It’s a lose-lose situation if you don’t take the time to walk them through what you expect of them.

We had tried pretty much everything to get kids to do chores and here is what works best for us:

• Create checklists that make kids responsible for their own chores.
• Post them visibly so everyone stays accountable.
• Make an itemized list of every task so overwhelming jobs can happen one task at a time.

I create a customized cleaning checklist for every chore that I ask my kids to do, with adjustments made for each child. I laminate each list so that kids can use a dry erase marker to check off each item on their cleaning checklist daily. This helps to motivate them to keep going because they see progress and helps me check at a glance to see who has finished the items on their checklist.

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