Involving Kids in Cleaning the House

Summer has arrived, and your home is probably paying the price in kid-sized messes. (How do such small creatures create such big messes?) You can get kids involved in cleaning using these fun tips from The Maids Home Services:

• Don't expect kids to use adult tools to clean. Instead, create supplies in their size. Use an ice-cream pail for a mop bucket, or shorten the handle of a mop or broom to make it kid-sized.

• Fill a squirt gun from a solution of a gallon of water and drop of dish soap (Ivory works especially well for avoiding streaks). Let kids squirt windows and mirrors and wipe dry with paper towels or crumpled newsprint.

• Cover kids' hands and arms with old athletic socks, then squirt them until lightly damp with a solution of vinegar and water. Then send them off to dust around the house.

• Got a pile of blocks, cars, or action figures strewn across the floor? Scoop up toys in a few swoops using a kid-sized rake, and they are in a pile for easy pickup.

• Make cleaning a game. Give young children grill tongs and challenge them to pick up toys and put them in a toy box or bin using only the utensils. Keep score of the toys they pick up and see who wins.

• Play fun music to help your kids get their groove on as they boogie through their chores.

Remember, children's cleaning may not be as "perfect" as yours, but their skills will improve with patience and practice.