All In A Days Work

With Christmas on the horizon, most of us are scrambling to get our shopping and baking done and preparing for holiday visitors. Sometimes trying  can become slightly overwhelming – as Mom’s we have to remember that we can’t always do it all.  As much as I would love to be Mom of the year-Betty Crocker-Martha Stewart and the perfect housewife wrapped into one, but I’m not. I have to work 2 jobs, run kids around to countless activities, and try to take care of the house and all that comes with it. So to keep myself from a full-on stress or anxiety attack, I have enlisted the help of my little elves to get my house guest ready.

You’d be surprised the load that your kids can take off you by helping with household chores – and how much pride they can take in it. Just remember ‘practice makes perfect’ – from toddlers to teens, remember it will take them some time to learn to do it like Mommy wants!

It’s pretty easy to assign chore list to teens  (when they listen!) sometimes it’s a bit harder to keep the younger ones busy, but believe it or not they can be as big of  a help as the older ones. My 7 year old has a weekly chore list that he does, (that we’ve tweaked and made his) that I wanted to share. You can feel free to print the below chore and reward chart to encourage your little one to be a big helper too!

Mop the Floor. In the beginning a mop and a 7-year-old proved to be a bit more work for me than it was for him. Excessive water, dirt being swished around – you can imagine how much longer it took me to clean-up his clean-up. Finally we discovered that a spray bottle with a mixture of the cleaning fluid and a rag makes the perfect mopping system for my busy guy. This works for the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room area.

Empty Trash Cans Around the House. He’s the garbage collector each week – collect all garbage bags from each room, and put by the door to take out, and replace each bag. It took him  some time at first to learn how to get the bags around the trash can, but after a few weeks he had it down.

Wipe Down the Kitchen Tables, Chairs and Counters.  Much like the mopping the floor chore,wiping down kitchen tables,chairs and counters with a spray bottle with cleaner and clean rag can save you lots of time; the first few weeks I did it with him, showing him what he needed to watch for – he became a pro in no time!

Help with the Laundry. Obviously little ones can’t do a load of laundry, but helping fold towels, pj’s and other clothes to help speed your laundry time along can be a huge help. Plus a little time together to chat (my favorite part)

Dust. Dusting with dusters is one of his favorite chores. He even knows what to move and what stays, and we always have a dance party while doing it. Definitely a fun chore he enjoys.

Baseboards, Light Switches and Doors. Know those places you always say, “I’ll get to later” when you are in a rush cleaning, and next thing you know it’s been months and yo have to spend days catching up? Bring the spray bottle and rag back  out, and put them to work. Walls next to stairs, baseboards, light switches, doors, vents, cabinets, etc. It’s amazing to have this done each week!

Vacuum. Recently we received a Hoover Cordless Vacuum and it has become my son’s prized possession – in fact, he’s claimed it as his own. Lightweight and cordless, it gives him the freedom to go from room to room. No cords to wind up,  plugs to plug in or unplug , or cords to trip over this is the perfect size vacuum for your little helper.

The Air Cordless 2-in-1 Stick and Handheld Vacuum is completely versatile and able to be used on multiple floor types – from wood floors to carpets, and furniture. What the stick can’t reach, the handheld usually can. It’s easy to use, in fact I’m pretty sure he figured it out before I did!

The vacuum comes with an interchangeable battery that works with all products in the Hoover cordless line. The LithiumLife batteries have double the capacity of standard battery, so it last longer to complete all the household chores that need done for the day -without losing power. He can easily sweep the kitchen (and all the creases and crevices) as well as the bathroom, and the furniture before the battery needs recharged – the charging station is easy to use, you just pop off the battery and place it on the charger.

The Windtunnel 3 technology provides performance by using two channels of suction to lift and remove deep down embedded dirt. Lots of power, but easy for a little one to use.

If you are looking for an easy-to-use versitle vacuum, you definitely need to check out the Hoover Cordless line.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.