Dust Bunnies, Cob Webs, and Little Helpers: Spring Cleaning with Toddlers

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SpringClean1Before I had kids, I kept a shiny, clean house, complete with an in-depth spring scrubbing that would have made Martha Stewart proud. These days, I’m doing well to keep the dishes picked up on a daily basis and the bathrooms wiped down every week.

Nevertheless, I’ve had spring cleaning on the brain lately. Maybe I’ve seen Winnie the Pooh’s Springtime With Roo one too many times, but I’ve been brainstorming deep cleaning ideas that are actually doable with toddlers running around.

These are my top five, and some are simple enough that my girls can pitch in too.

1. Wipe down toys

If you’re like us, our toys are a bit neglected unless they get super yucky. Giving everything a bath (whether in the washing machine or with some wipes) should be easy to accomplish over a weekend. And my little gals can help with this one for sure.

SpringClean22. Organize the family closet

My oldest daughter has the new, endearing habit of taking all of her clothes out of her dresser and closet at bedtime. Every night. I have no idea why, but we’ve not been able to put a stop to those hijinks. So, rather than going back in the proper place, their clothes have been slowly progressing to my room, but we haven’t had a chance to get everything fully organized . . . yet.

I’m dreaming of a family closet in the master bedroom with their closets transformed into a Little People village (keeping all 337 of them corralled in one place).

3. Clean out clothes

While we’re rearranging clothes, we might as well take this time to hand down my older daughter’s spring and summer gear to my younger one and store away the items that the little one has outgrown for good. (Sniff, sniff.) We’ll go ahead and put away the winter gear and make sure they have everything they need for the next few months.

4. Decorate for Easter

This is another one they will love to help with. We’ll finally put away the Christmas decorations (kidding, kidding) and bring out the bunnies, eggs, and flowers.

5. Change the smoke detector batteries

It’s hard for us to remember to change the batteries in the smoke detectors unless we have a regular reminder. Spring cleaning is just an easy time to take care of that important step.

Even though I can’t deep clean like I did before I was a mom, spring is still a fun time to freshen up a few things around the house. We’ll put on music, open the doors and windows, and see what we can accomplish in the next few weeks.

Do you have any tips for spring cleaning with kids?

5 COMMENTS

  1. We have a 5 year old and a 3 year old. One thing I (as a Dad) have been learning is how to get my kids to help – sometimes I feel as if everything is just easier to do myself, but it is better to teach them how to help.

    I think my favorite spring cleaning “chore” to give them is the dusting – give the kids a damp rag or swiffer duster etc and they go to town, my oldest is detailed enough he LOVES cleaning the blinds… I love it, especially since it cuts down on the allergies in the house etc.

    I enjoyed reading the post!

    Josh @ Deckhand Pressure Washing – Serving Keller

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