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Greetings!
With summer vacation just around the corner, now is the perfect time to work on involving your children in your cleaning routine. Often times, we leave kids out of the cleaning equation because it seems easier -- or faster -- to just "do it ourselves". This month's newsletter is dedicated to showing you how to overcome that superwoman (or superman) complex and get your whole family involved in the fun! Also be sure to check out our spotlight on Using Clean Team Products, where I offer some suggestions on getting your stainless steel appliances shining like the day they left the showroom floor. Do you have a Clean Team product you want to know more about? Send me an email at jeff@thecleanteam.com. Have a happy June! | |
7 Sure-Fire Ways to Get Your Kids Cleaning
 Do you have trouble motivating your kids to help out with household chores? You know, some of us prefer to go it alone because we are perfectionists. If the kids scrub the toilet or make the bed, their efforts may fall short of our cleaning standards. We may even feel compelled to re-scrub the toilet -- to ensure proper sanitation -- or remake the bed -- so that the sheets are good and smooth. But what message is that sending to our kids about their efforts?
Whether you are a perfectionist or not, the secret to getting your kids to help with cleaning is being willing to make that initial investment -- and then letting go of the need to control the results. In fact, with a little bit of teaching and a lot of teamwork, we can not only help our family members develop valuable cleaning skills, we can also help save ourselves from countless hours of solitary scrubbing.
Here are seven sure-fire tips to get your family members on board with your cleaning routine:
1. Get an early start.
The younger your children are when they start learning to help with household chores, the easier it will be to make it a positive habit. Build on the chores you assign, making them more complex as your kids are cognitively and developmentally able to handle it. Toddlers can handle bringing their plate to the sink; preschoolers can rinse dishes and load then into the dishwasher; once your child is in school, he or she is probably ready to unload the dishwasher. And everyone can help set the table. Of course, if you're a stickler for having your fork on the left side of the plate, you may want to buy (or make your own) placements that illustrate just where to put the silverware, plate, napkin and cup.
If your kids are teenagers and have never so much as washed a load of laundry, don't throw up your hands and assume they are a lost cause. While it is better to start early, it's never too late to start! Jump in where you're at and remember to build on skills as they master them.
2. Join the party.
Kids and adults alike respond better to pitching in when you are working with them. You may not need two people to pick up the blocks and put them in their assigned bin, but that doesn't mean you can't lend a hand. The job get down twice as fast -- if not faster, since your child will actually be helping rather than resisting your instructions. Some young people (and grown-ups for that matter) are perfectly happy to work on their own; most, however, prefer the company of their favorite person: You!
3. Play not pay.
Many parents try to entice their children to participate in family chores by offering them a monetary incentive (aka an allowance). Rather than making your child's responsibility to the family pay-based, make it play-based. Turn it into a competition (two bathrooms, two kids, two spray bottles, and away they go!). Or crank up the music and have a dance-n-dust party. Make the experience enjoyable, and they are much more likely to join in the effort. If you feel you must reward your family members for their help, reward them with you. A special trip to the park, library or ice cream parlor would no doubt be well appreciated.
4. Invest in kid-friendly supplies.
When your kids will be helping to clean, it is critical that your cleaning supplies are safe for them to handle. The Clean Team's Red Juice is the perfect solution. It's powerful, biodegradable, odor free, and personally safe cleaner. No wonder it meets or exceeds all EPA and FDA requirements to be classified as a safe green cleaner. Another option is to mix up your own cleaners, using all-natural ingredients such as white vinegar, baking soda, essential oils and water.
To apply the cleaner, most young children will be thrilled if you hand them a spray bottle. Just put a cleaning cloth in their other hand and watch them go to town on your bathroom floors or kitchen cabinets. Alternatively, you can cover their hands and arms with an old pair of clean athletic socks and send them off to dust the bookshelves. As your children get older, you may want to invest in their own cleaning caddy or cleaning apron. In fact, you could even have the apron monogrammed for a special gift.
5. Ask their opinion.
Participating in family cleaning chores is not an option, but you can let your kids opt-out of least-favorite jobs. After all, most of us have dreaded chores (cleaning out the cat's box? Scrubbing down the baseboards?), so why can't our kids? One way to distribute chores is with a chore wheel, but that doesn't really allow children to say, "No thank you." Instead, try a modified game of Go Fish. Write the chores on a deck of index cards and then have your children pick their assigned chores for the day. If they draw a job they just can't stand, they can trade with a sibling -- or just re-draw from the deck. You can even include bonus fun jobs (help dad clean the car, help mom plant the new garden) to up the playful ante.
6. Make it routine.
One of the best ways to ensure success is to make cleaning a habit. This advice is true for you - and for your kids. Set aside designated times to clean up after meals, to put away toys/crafts supplies, and to tackle heavier duty tasks like mopping, scrubbing and vacuuming. Once tidying up and cleaning have become regular parts of your daily and weekly schedule, you eliminate 90% of the arguments about who will do what -- and when. Now, everyone in the family knows that the dinner dishes are cleared and loaded into the dishwasher before bath time can start.
7. Sort it out.
The best way to make sure that everything is in its place is to have a place for everything. Just like making cleaning a routine, this tip works for equally well for moms, dads and kids. Sort clothing, toys, school supplies and even laundry into clearly designated areas. If you want your kids to hang up their backpacks and jackets when they come home from school, you must make sure that the hooks are accessible to them. Label spots as necessary - with pictures, if your children aren't yet reading. As you begin a routine of returning items to their proper places, you may have to make frequent reminders. But soon enough, everyone will get the hang of the new system. Be sure to acknowledge your family members for their efforts when they do start to remember and get it right on their own!
Do you have tried-and-true tips for getting your reluctant kids involved in the cleaning routine? Send me an email at jeff@thecleanteam.com. I'd love to share your techniques in our next newsletter.
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Using Clean Team Products: Stainless Steel Cleaner
 Keeping stainless steel looking like it did in the showroom is no simple task. It may be "stainless", but it most definitely isn't "spotless".
First, let's separate stainless sinks from stainless appliances. Sinks should be cleaned with whatever you use to clean your porcelain sinks: Red Juice, Comet, Pro Scrub, etc. and a white pad or sponge. You don't, however, want to use our Stainless Steel Cleaner on your sink. Stainless Steel Cleaner is a polish -- and you don't need or want polish in the sink where you wash food and dishes.
Appliances, however, are a different story. You want to keep your appliances not only clean but polished, and the best way to do this is with Stainless Steel Cleaner.
The two secrets to using Stainless Steel Cleaner effectively are:
- If the surfaces are dirty (for example stove tops or greasy stove hoods), clean them first with Red Juice or another heavy-duty liquid cleaner, and then wipe them dry. Use a toothbrush or plastic scrubber on difficult-to-remove spots.
- Once the appliance is clean, spray the surface with Stainless Steel Cleaner. Then wipe with a dry polishing cloth (or cleaning cloth or paper towel) until the polish is completely dry, in order to avoid streaks. (This is the same technique you should use to clean a mirror, by the way. After spraying the mirror with Blue Juice, you must wipe with a dry cloth until the surface is completely dry, otherwise that little bit of dampness will create streaks.)
Happy cleaning! | |
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June Special Offer
Save 10% on the Dish Demon Brush
A good brush can make a whole lot of difference when doing the dishes. It needs a snappy angle in the handle and in the bristles, and this brush has both. The Dish Demon brush is normally sold only to restaurants and food-service operations. The firm but flexible bristles won't get limp, so they can clean the sink and faucet as well as the dishes and silverware. And it is tough enough to be washed/sanitized in the dishwasher. Overall length is 12", white handle and bristles. Cheap thrills at the sink!
Regular Price $4.95- June Special only $ 4.46
Item #7082S or 89 PERCS
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Thanks for reading us this month! Come visit us on the web at www.thecleanteam.com.
Sincerely,
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Jeff Campbell
The Clean Team Catalog |
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