Spring Cleaning with Kids

Spring is here and that means one thing, SPRING CLEANING! Here at Mary, Mother of the Light Academy, we have some great tips on how to get your children involved in the process in a way that can also be a fun learning experience.

As the weather changes, and a new season rolls in, spring brings new beginnings which includes some cleaning. It is a time to collect unused items to donate, de-clutter, clean and organize. It might even be a great opportunity to gather some gently used items and have a yard sale.

What are all the places and things we can have our children go through? Your child’s age can determine how involved you might want them to get in the whole process.

For the older ones, we can, of course, have them do more. We should make sure our kids try on their clothes to make sure they all still fit. If they do not anymore, two piles can be made if necessary, one for donation and perhaps one for recycling or using for projects, cleaning, etc. The children can also go through their desks and make sure all of their pens & markers still have ink. You can make this more entertaining by giving them some scrap paper and have them draw a picture along the way. The children can also go through toys and decide if they are ready to part with any, and just like with the clothes, separate piles can be made.  If the kids are old enough, they might even be able to help clean up around the house. We recommend using natural cleaning alternatives when children are involved.

This also brings a great opportunity for learning. We can teach our children about reusing and recycling to reduce waste and save the environment. We had a fun Earth Day here at Mary, Mother of the Light Academy, but it never hurts to reinforce the lessons your children learn here every day. We can also teach our kids that it is always important to give back and help others that might be less fortunate than ourselves.

For smaller children, this might just be a great opportunity to learn a few valuable lessons and get in the habit of cleaning and decluttering for when they are old enough to help out more. Of course, they can still do everything we mentioned for the older crowd, but they might just need a bit more help along the way. We can also make them feel like part of the process by having them help sort and organize the items for donation and recycling.

If you decide to do a yard sale, it could be a great opportunity to splurge and take the kids to a movie or some other fun activity around Tequesta, Jupiter or even a fun little day trip down to West Palm Beach to reward all their hard work. Also, don’t forget that whatever does not sell can always be donated.

If you have any spring cleaning tips please share them with the other readers below.