Cleaning can often be seen as a mundane chore, especially for kids who would rather be playing and having fun.
BUT! Cleaning can actually be fun and enjoyable for your child AND for you with this simple, imaginative game.
We’re calling it “Putting the Fun in Getting it Done.”
Our Cluttered Reality
If you’re like me, a cluttered, messy house stresses you out. It’s a struggle to feel playful or present with my kids when there are a ton of dishes in the sink, toys all over the floor, and scraps of food on the floor.
And when you’re a parent, the mess is constant. The cleaning is constant. It’s overwhelming.
The Lightbulb Moment
A couple weeks ago, while driving my stepdaughter home from school, I started to feel stressed. I knew that we were about to walk into a big old mess that I hadn’t had a chance to clean. In other words, I had done everything else possible that day and procrastinated…
Because guess what? I don’t enjoy cleaning! There, I said it. I really DON’T.
I thought to myself, “We’re gonna have to clean up or I’m going to be irritable. How can I make this fun for both of us so we’re motivated?”
Then I remembered something. I’ve always weirdly enjoyed tidying up OTHER people’s homes! The newness of other people’s stuff keeps it from being boring and tedious. It’s less enjoyable to me when it’s our own mess.
And ALAS! My idea for this game was born!
How We Embraced the Cleaning Game
“I have a fun idea!” I said to my stepdaughter, still in the car on the way home. “What if we pretended we were best friends who had a professional cleaning service together and someone hired us? What would our company name be?”
“Hmm…” she thought. “The Fun Cleaners!”
“Oh, that’s good,” I said. “What should our slogan be?”
We decided on “Putting the fun in getting it done.”
Has a nice ring to it, right?
And that’s where I left it.
Fast-forward to after eating. I held an imaginary phone up to my ear and said, “Hey MARSHA!”
She looked at me with a funny, confused half-smile. “Yes…?” She went with it…
“Marsha! Hi, it’s me, Jill! We got a call to come clean a house. Boy, this family left a really big mess. They must have kids. Maybe even a toddler. Maybe dogs… I don’t know. Anyway, they said they need us!”
I could not believe how effortlessly my stepdaughter snapped into character to play along. She actually jumped up from the table and came over to get to work.
We assigned each other tasks, based on our strengths, and kept up a playful conversation, in character, the whole time we cleaned.
“Marsha… I’m probably going to handle these dishes first, but you’re so good at organizing. Do you want to pick up all those books that the kids left on the floor and put them back on the bookshelf?”
“It looks like they left their stuffed animals out. I don’t know where those should go! Do you?”
We asked each other questions about where things should go or how we should clean them, as if they weren’t ours and we didn’t know. We commented on how messy this family was and how lucky they were to have hired us! We agreed that we’d better do a good job so they hire us again!
Cleaning as Serious Play
Fred Rogers* said,
“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”
And, ladies and gentlemen, when I tell you how SERIOUSLY she took this cleaning game…!
In turning it into a make-believe game, my stepdaughter took cleaning MORE seriously than if I were to have said something like, “I’m serious. It’s not time to play. It’s time to clean up.”
*If you love Mr. Rogers as much as I do, check out Fred Unboxed!
Respect Is the Key to Making Cleaning Fun
I think the key to making cleaning enjoyable for kids is treating them with as much respect as an adult and involving them in the decision-making.
By pretending we were both adults running a cleaning business, we had a more equal dynamic. The game allowed my stepdaughter to contribute her opinions on organizing and cleaning, making her feel valued and important.
Connection Makes Everything Better
Playing in an imaginative way with kids is incredibly valuable and important for connection. This was a win-win, getting to engage in that way and accomplish tasks at the same time.
The game was actually fun for me, too. I let myself dig into the imagination of it all and pretend I was hired to do this job as I talked and joked with “Marsha.”
I was in a much better mood, because I was getting to be “productive,” having hands-on help, and connecting with my stepdaughter in a fun way. And, since kids feed off our vibe more than we may realize, she was in a good mood, too.
Not a One-Time Thing!
After the first time we played, I thought, “SURELY I cannot get away with this game more than once. She is gonna be onto me.”
NOPE. She’s still down to play. All I say is, “Marsha?” And we go.
Sometimes my husband even makes comments like, “Wow, Marsha did a really good job on these countertops!”
It’s a running game/joke and it’s here to stay. (I hope!!)
This game is the ultimate hack for making cleaning fun.
In fact, we played a couple days ago. That is how we got our playroom from this…
To this…
- In 15 minutes
- With no complaining
- Laughing all the way (ha ha ha)
I’m so eager to see if this idea works for you! What unique twists or versions do you have for a “cleaning game?”
I don’t know how long Marsha and Jill will happily be in business… so please share your ideas with me in the comments!
Hi! I’m Mia.
Mom, stepmom, wife, songwriter, performer, and theater educator.
I love sharing ideas, tips, and templates for connecting with kids through low-to-no budget, waste-free, creative play.
