When the snow starts thawing, and the flowers start blooming, our thoughts turn to the many wonders of spring. The sun begins shining more and leaves start growing. A great way to get in the spirit of spring is to do a little spring cleaning. The family probably has other ideas though. What are some ways that you can make spring cleaning more fun? Try some of these tips.
Turn Your Clutter into a Vacation Fund
If there is some motivation for your family to clean up, they are more likely to want to help. The promise of vacation based on how much you get from the things you sell can be exciting. Having an enjoyable experience is a chance to show them the value of time spent instead of their “things.” The more they sell, the better a vacation it can be.
Show them what it is worth
Get family to pick some items in their rooms that they have outgrown and show them the money they can make from selling it. It can also be a great way to show them how to be responsible with their money. Help them divide up the cash between savings and the money they can spend.
Scavenger Hunt
When your family has a mission or purpose of finding and cleaning up the clutter, they are more motivated to be helpful. Assign each member of the family some items to see in their rooms or tasks to accomplish and whoever completes them first is the winner. You can give them a prize or come up with a trophy they can keep with them until the next time you do the scavenger hunt.
Make a Deal
Make getting new things a negotiation, like on a game show. Each time a child gets a new toy or piece of clothing, they have to part with 3-5 things in their room. You can teach them the value of the things they have and show them how to part with things they don’t perceive as valuable as other things. They will learn the importance of time spent with family.
Family Competition
Make a friendly competition between family members. You might have to have teams with some of the younger children, but put the sales of all the items people want to sell into a jar and whoever makes the most deals gets to keep everything in the pot. The winners get to choose what they want to do with the money and create a fun activity they can do with the whole family. That can be a movie, visiting a local amusement park, or going out to dinner at their favorite restaurant. Restart the next day or the next time you have a de-clutter session.
Make the cleanup fun
Let’s be honest. The cleanup is much more fun if the music is involved. Whether you pipe some fun music in through the intercom or speakers throughout the house or put on some tunes on your computer or CD player, make it a dance party. It’s always more fun with you combine fun with the work.
Spring cleaning is usually a necessary thing to do every year, and many hands make light work. So get everyone involved to make it much more fun!
http://www.hgtv.com/design-blog/clean-and-organize/5-tricks-to-make-spring-cleaning-fun