With a busy schedule and tons of events that need to be accomplished, the last thing anyone wants to worry about is completing the long list of chores that keeps getting longer. What if there were a way to make chores more enjoyable and get the whole family involved at the same time? If you’re looking for ways to keep up your home without hearing a large unanimous “groan” whenever you bring it up, take a look at these tips on ways to make chores more enjoyable.
10 Ways to Make Chores More Enjoyable
1. Create a Scavenger Hunt
Consider reworking the term, “chores,” into a “scavenger hunt” instead. As your children perform duties like dusting and doing laundry, hide special treats in the areas they’re cleaning (this could be money, stickers, a small gift—anything that feels like a reward to your children will do). As your children help you with chores, it will be like they’re participating in a special challenge to see who can find the coolest goodies while they’re cleaning. Depending on the age of your children, try upping the ante with better treats or special items that you know they might like (think: gift cards or money to go out with friends).
2. Add Incentives
Let your kids know they’re doing a great job by adding incentives to their chores. This can be as simple as creating a list of everyone’s names and adding a checkmark when they finish a task. Deem is the first one to finish all their chores, “Helper of the Week.” For younger children, you can get a little more creative with incentives, such as allowing them to choose what they want for dinner one night a week or finding a fun outfit to wear to school.
3. Make a Game Out of It
Try playing a game of “Go Fish” when sorting through the socks. Each player has to hold up a sock to see if anyone has a match. If not…go fish! You can also gamify other tasks like a game of “Tetris” to fold the laundry or to organize the dishes in the cupboards. If you have multiple kids in the house, try adding a little bit of fun competition that allows them to tackle a variety of tasks faster and see who completes their chores first.
4. Goof Off a Little
There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun while doing chores, even if it takes a little longer. Think about turning socks into little duster mittens to clean off the houseplants and furniture while also making time for “puppet hour” with your sock mittens. If the floors need to be cleaned, play your kids’ favorite playlist and have everyone take turns in a “karaoke hour” with their brooms as mics.
5. Set a Timer
For quick tasks like clearing off the dinner table and putting the dishes in the dishwasher, set a timer for a “Quick Clean” session. Ask your family to clean as much as they can in a set amount of time—whoever gets their job done first gets to choose what to watch on the television. This is a perfect activity to do right after dinner.
6. Get Creative With Your Supplies
Make special buckets for everyone and let them decorate and fill it with all their cleaning supplies. This will give them a special creative project to finish that they can enjoy every time they clean. This can also be a great way for Mom and Dad to find all their stray items and place them in their own bucket to be put away.
7. Have It Go Towards a Good Cause
For the bigger tasks, like getting rid of clutter, have a “good cause” incentive. According to House Method, consider taking all the items you don’t use anymore and give them to charity. Go room by room and sort through all of your belongings—if you have no use for the object, don’t use it often, or find that it doesn’t bring you joy, put it in a pile to be given away. This way, you’re cleaning your house and giving back.
8. Keep In Mind…Money Talks
If you have teenagers in the house that are resistant to chores, try offering an allowance. This will give them the incentive they need to complete a task as a job that earns them compensation. Try and get a little complex with this. For example, if a task is completed before its “due date,” offer more allowance. If someone doesn’t complete a task at all, take away the allowance reserved for that task. Reserve this just for older children. Most children like to be involved in the upkeep of the house and show off their skills when completing tasks.
9. Create Official Titles
Just like any other job, titles hold quite a lot of weight when it comes to doing chores at home. Assign a title for each member of your household. Each title can be a representation of the series of tasks they need to complete. For instance, reserve “Mr. Duster” for the duster of the family, and reserve “Ms. Laundry” for whoever does the laundry, and so on. This gives them a sense of identity and also an added incentive to complete their tasks because that is their “title.”
10. Let Them Choose Their Chores
Just like adults, all children have their strengths and preferences. Try to not force a chore on someone who isn’t particularly the best at the given task; instead, focus on their strengths. If you have one child who loves to organize, task them with picking up toys and putting them in their proper place. If you have someone who is great with cleaning, task them with wiping down the tables and counters.
Conclusion
This not only sets your family up for success but also allows them to embrace the chores they’re good at instead of dreading the chores they struggle with. To help them grow, have a day once a month dedicated to a chore they aren’t great at to help them grow. It may be hard, but it will be well worth it in the long run for development.
