Every household has a busy schedule and life. Between work, school, hobbies, sports, and trying to squeeze in dinner plans with friends the household chores can get tossed to the wayside quickly. The good news is other people in your house can pitch in with the cleaning (We are talking about the kiddos)!

You can set your kids up for chore success by choosing age-appropriate tasks that are within their ability but can make a major impact on your to-do list. There are plenty of excellent reasons to get kids doing chores: building their self-esteem, giving them a positive way to belong in the family, and lightening your work-life balance challenge. This children’s chores list will give you some ideas for which household chores are age-appropriate at each stage of development.

Yes, Toddlers Can Do Chores

Your 2 or 3-year-old wants nothing but you to be happy, seriously! So give him or her ways to put a smile on your face. Give yourself extra time for cleaning so that you have the time (and patience) to teach your toddler to do these simple chores.

You will want to plan on doing these chores alongside your toddler. Even after they master the job, you’ll need to be in the same room or perhaps working on a related task. You can make it fun with silly songs, sing-along music, or funny voices.

· Pick up and put away toys to clean the playroom.

· Make bed their bed (with help).

· Put dirty laundry in the basket.

· Help you sweep or clean up spills.

· Dust.

· Fill a pet’s food and water bowls.

· Spray and wipe windows and counters, with help.

· Put out clean towels and toilet paper, with help.

Teach Preschoolers How to be Responsible for Their Home

Preschoolers, 4 to 5 years old are at the perfect age for beginning chores. They still want to contribute and be connected with their parents but they’re more capable than toddlers. They can follow multiple-step directions and are likely more patient when you teach them the correct way to do something.

They may enjoy the visual reminder and routine of a chore chart. Here are the chores that most preschoolers can learn to tackle and you can include in your chart:

· All the chores on the list above.

· Bring belongings from the car to the home.

· Help carries in groceries. (Strategically give them the lighter bags.)

· Match socks and sort clean laundry.

· Clean grit and dried toothpaste from the sink.

· Empty small trash cans.

· Spray and wipe windows and counters, with help.

· Clean floors with a Swiffer, vacuum, or dry mop.

· Water indoor plants.

Age Kids What Clean Looks Like

School-age children, 6 to 8 years old, are capable of a lot, so you want to get them used to chores when they’re fun and before they hit the sometimes oppositional tween years. Keep their interest high by giving them challenges and letting them learn chores that their peers may not be allowed to tackle. As always, make sure to do the chores with them until they’ve truly mastered them, refrain from judgment, and be willing to keep them company when asked. Here are some ideas:

· All the chores on the list above.

· Change a dirty cage/tank.

· Help put groceries away in the pantry.

· Vacuum or wet mop an entire room.

· Fold laundry and put away, with help.

· Unload dishwasher.

· Spray and wipe outside of the toilet; spray and scrub the bowl.

· Spray and wipe shower stall or bathtub.

· Fix their snacks and pack lunch for school.

· Clean the inside of the car.

· Water the garden and help rake leaves or shovel snow.

· Take out the trash.

Tweens Need to Clean

Tweens may seem like a challenge but if you stay one step ahead of them in the difficulty of the chore, you can keep them engaged and contributing to the family. Be sure to encourage them and appreciate all that they do, whether or not they do it with a smile. Here’s where their abilities can shine:

· All the chores on the list above.

· Clean the kitchen counters and sink.

· Rinse dishes and load the dishwasher.

· Wash, load, fold, and put away clothing.

· Keep a clean and organized room.

· Clean mirrors and the entire bathroom.

· Help washes the car.

· Keep the entrance of your home picked up and clean.

· Change the bedsheets and wash, fold, and put them away.

· Take a pet for a walk

Keep Your Teenagers Entertained With Tougher Chore

Do you want to keep your teenager from sitting with their phone or laptop? Doing chores together is a great way to connect with your teenager. It’s not like you’re sitting at the table trying to get out of them how their day was. You’re both busy doing chores and just chit-chatting. You can have great conversations over washing the car or walking the dog together. Here are a few other chores your teenager can do while you connect with them.

· All the chores on the list above.

· Go grocery shopping (with parents until they can drive).

· Plan and cook an easy dinner for the family.

· Rinse dishes and load the dishwasher.

· Wash their laundry, fold it, and put it away

· Supervise a younger child.

· Run family errands.

· Mow the lawn.

· Change light bulbs and the vacuum bag.

· Learn to maintain a car and household appliances, such as defrosting the freezer.

· Clean out the refrigerator and pantry together.

If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to chores and your children’s age, why not show them this list and ask if there’s a task they’d like to learn to master first. A chore system is a way to teach your children how to keep their house when they get older. Plus the quicker you teach them to clean up after themselves and others the quicker you can stop doing it all.

You’ve just gotten home from work and walked into a disorganized house. You look around and there are dirty dishes in the sink, half-eaten oatmeal-filled bowls on the counter, and an unmade bed… Netflix, pajamas, and a glass of red are calling your name, but you feel nagging guilt to tend to the clutter. Sound familiar? How to keep your house organized during busy weeks is the challenge at hand.

You have established a foundation for keeping your home clean and you have brought in the help of professionals. Now how do you keep it organized? Clean and organized go hand in hand but they are very different things.

That’s why I’m going to teach you how to keep your house organized with just a few simple day-to-day organization habits that require little time. It doesn’t have to take hours to maintain an organized home. With a few simple everyday tasks, you can clean a little and still enjoy your evenings! Here’s where to start.

Declutter the counters.

This may seem like an obvious task, and yet, it can be challenging. The key is to tackle your counters once and then maintain them as best as you can each morning or evening. Choose a five-minute window in which you have free time. Trust me, I know those free minutes are far and few between, but hear me out!

Take five minutes to do the following each day:

1. Put the dishes away and load the dishwasher. If you don’t have a dishwasher, at least rinse off the dirty dishes to make your life easier later on when you’re washing them.
2. Declutter your space. Mail? Go through it as soon as it comes in and file items where they belong. Knick-knacks? Store them where they’re out of sight, out of mind. (I use a “junk drawer” that is organized chaos but serves as a place to store odds and ends.)
3. Add little personal touches that make you smile. Whether that be treating yourself to a small bouquet of flowers, or buying a pretty frame to hold a special family photo, this will keep the counter bright and happy. It will also serve as a motivator for keeping your counters organized. You’ll enjoy the finished look!

Make your bed.

“A messy bed equals a messy head.” That’s what I was always told! Now as a busy adult I can understand how an unmade bed affects my day.

Don’t let the job of making the bed linger. Do it immediately after waking so you can’t create excuses to put it off. Keep your bedding simple and create a relaxing space that makes you take pride in your bedroom.

Get in the habit of making your bed every single morning. If you want to keep your house organized all week long, this small organization task will be the thing that starts the momentum.

Make sure all your belongings have a designated place.

Good luck keeping your home organized without giving your belongings a designated place, to begin with. As we go about our days, items shift around our homes. Without a plan of what goes where you’re left with stuff everywhere!

Odds and ends can be the trickiest to organize. Look for inexpensive baskets for small, difficult-to-organize items. Each day, make sure the makeup makes it back into the “cosmetic” basket, the shaving cream gets put in the “husband” basket, and the 400 bobby pins find a home in their “hair accessory” tray. It only takes a couple of minutes to put things away when they have a specified home.

Have a plan in place prior to leaving for the day to make sure everything is in its designated basket. It will ensure you don’t have a huge mess to clean by the end of the week.

Keeping a house clean really can be simple if you build habits of organization like these into your daily routine. The hardest part is starting! That’s why we recommend starting with something small each day like making your bed. It really does build momentum throughout the day.

Nothing feels better than that feeling right after your house has been cleaned by a professional. The issue is how do you maintain that feeling in between cleaning appointments. We have put together these three quick tricks that will help you keep the house looking and feeling fresh until the next time that amazing house cleaner comes by!

Start by Making the Bed.

I know some people think that making the bed is a waste of time, but it makes a big difference in how tidy the room looks. It only takes a couple of minutes to have that bed looking inviting. Plus, studies show that a made bed helps start the day well and who doesn’t love climbing into a made bed at the end of the day. To make things easier, simplify your bedding as much as possible. We ended up cutting out our top sheets {as they always just ended up in a big puddle at the end of the bed anyways} and just used a duvet and washable cover. If you love your top sheets though, you can look at minimizing the number of pillows on your bed or using a large enough comforter or duvet that you don’t need to tuck in your sheets.

Do a 15 Minute Nightly Clean-up.

Make it a routine to do a family 15-minute nightly clean-up. For some reason, it doesn’t seem quite so bad to clean up when everyone else is doing the same thing. Put on the timer and just stick with the top cleaning priorities. Kids can clean their rooms or do other small household chores while you finish up the kitchen cleaning or fold and put away laundry. Start with the things that are making the biggest mess or creating a lot of clutter or any “must-dos” that need to be done before bed.

Never Leave a Room Empty Handed.

This is one habit that can make a huge difference in the general tidiness of your home. As you move from one room to another {or from one floor to another}, try to do a quick scan to see if there is anything that you can take with you that belongs where you are going. Take only what you will have time to put away – moving a pile from one room to another without actually putting anything away doesn’t help you out much. It can be a couple of dirty dishes that you put in the dishwasher or some laundry that needs to be put away upstairs. Always keep in mind the “one-touch rule”, meaning that you ideally only want to touch items one time before they are put away.

Hopefully, these three tips will help you still love how your house feels days after it has been cleaned.

Trying to keep a house clean is a huge undertaking, but it can be even more of a challenge when the kids are home! That routine you developed to keep the house clean just went out the window because sweet Susie just dumped out all her crafts on the living room floor, or Johnny has left those small little feet destructors (some call the Legos) all over the floor of his room.

We all love having our kids around but when you are working and managing a family it can be hard to keep all the balls in the air and have an HGTV approved home. We have some good news! There are ways to get the kiddos involved in cleaning, make it fun, and have time left over to spend some much-needed time out at the park or other fun activities. Let this 5 step guide be your inspiration for all the other opportunities there are to get your kids excited about cleaning!

1. Turn Cleaning into a Dance Party

Who doesn’t get excited about a great song on the radio? When it is time to start putting all those toys away, turn it into the coolest kids’ party on the block. There are so many kids stations out there that have upbeat music that your kids will love (and are appropriate for all ages). Turn on the tunes and have the kids dance those toys and clothes right into the right spot. Feel free to give them some time for some freestyle moves as well.

2. Create a Little Healthy Competition

This is always a good one for the competitive spirits in your home. Give out a chores list that equals about the same amount of time and the person that completes them first wins! Make sure you remind them their time will be docked for tasks that are not done thoroughly and/or accurately. The winner gets to pick a dessert that night or what they want for dinner. This helps them stay focused and engaged. A good alternative if you only have one kiddo in the house is to set a timer and have them race against the clock.

3. Play a Chores Game

Chores games can be a great way to have a little fun, but also divide out tasks. One recommendation is to attach cups with chores inside to the back of a table and have the kids roll a ping pong ball into the cup. Each cup has a chore in it! Allow them to trade with the others if the others are open to it. It gives them a fun activity to play before getting into the chores.

4. Make a scavenger hunt

We love the idea of a scavenger hunt. Give the kids a clue and a chore to do, once they complete that chore give them the next clue and the next chore. Once they have completed all the chores they will have enough clues to find a special hidden treasure. The treasure can be as simple as a snack pack or a small little trinket. Kids will be excited to find it and the house will be cleaned.

5. Kids Size Cleaning Tools

This one will probably be more little kid-focused but we cannot help but get excited about small cleaning tools. Nothing empowers a kid more than to have things that their parents have also. There are so many brands out there that have kids-size vacuums, and brooms. You can also get on Pinterest and find fun activities on building kid cleaning kits out of baskets and other household items. If you are making your own we encourage you to get the kids involved and let them help build their kits! One thing to remember if you buy a kid-size vacuum be prepared that they will probably want to vacuum everything, all day, but at least the floor will be clean!

These are just a few of many ways you can get kids excited about cleaning. These tricks also help you make memories with your kids that someday they may try with their kids, and you are creating great habits that will only benefit them in the long run!

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Do you really enjoy cleaning your bathroom, vacuuming up the pet hair, and scrubbing your floors? Be honest. You probably wish someone else could do it. However, I understand that there are some misconceptions associated with hiring professional house cleaners, which might prevent you from exploring these services. I’m going to bust some of the myths and explain why hiring a professional is actually a responsible choice. Are you missing out on something that could really make a positive impact in your life?

Myth #1 Only “Rich” People Hire Professional Cleaning Services

Did you grow up with the perception that only “rich” people hire cleaners or lawn care teams? Today, residential cleaning services are very different from a traditional maid. We have clients from many financial backgrounds who find hiring a cleaning company a cost-effective solution. How much is your time actually worth? Take a moment to think about it. If time is in fact money, the time you spend scrubbing the kitchen floor might be spent more profitably (not to mention more enjoyably) elsewhere.

Myth #2 I’m Embarrassed – Everyone Will Think I’m Lazy

Are you secretly jealous when the cleaning car drives into your neighbor’s driveway? It is easy to brush it off with “well, it is such an indulgence and they are clearly lazy and entitled.” It is usually the opposite. People think women should be able to do it all – raise the kids, go to work, clean the house – but they can’t. How many of us have the energy to do it all? Busy professionals who work long hours often rely on the services of a house cleaning company. Instead of spending limited free time on chores, this gives them more time to do the things they love.

Myth #3 The Cleaners Will Invade My Privacy

I get it. Some people just feel a little bit weird letting strangers inside their home. This is natural to feel insecure that professional cleaners will spend time snooping through your personal things. It is important to remember that employees of a residential cleaning business are professionals. They are focused on doing their job as thoroughly and quickly as possible. They won’t judge you or invade your privacy. But, if you have important files or other property you would like the cleaning technicians to say away from, you can always choose to make certain rooms off-limits.

The majority of our clients hire us simply because they do not have time to clean or they don’t want to spend their only time off cleaning. The benefits of more time with your family and less stress adds so much more richly to your life than the actual cost of weekly service. Hiring a professional cleaner can save you time, save you stress, and give you more time as a family – in a clean house!

We hire direct employees and not independent contractors. All of our employees have undergone criminal background checks. This is to ensure your safety and security. They arrive in a professional Right Touch uniform and bring all of the necessary supplies and equipment.

We provide both solo and team cleaning depending on the geographic area, level of service, scheduling, and client preference. You will always find a professionally trained, cheerful, pet-friendly face in your home.

We’re in the process of hiring and training new staff and I thought you could benefit from some of our training methods. How do we guarantee that nothing is missed? When cleaning, we always follow the exact same plan of attack.

#1: Make every move count.

You might know what it is like to work without a system. You’re running back and forth across the house, picking up a towel there and searching for the spray bottle that you left downstairs. Your doing extra steps and your making extra work for yourself. In short, your working more than you need to, but your getting less done than you could.

When you learn to make every move count, you learn to move in a sequence. Once around the room and you are done (except for the floor).

#2. Always work top-to-bottom and left-to-right.

This keeps you working in a systematic way so you are less likely to miss areas. For each task, start at the highest point I the room (if dusting, this might mean the fan or high shelves), and move from left to right across the room. This way, don’t miss anything, and you won’t accidentally knock dust or drip cleaning product onto already-cleaned lower shelves.

Pro-tip: look up…look all the way up. People usually don’t dust up on the very top of furniture, and that’s where all the dust collects and then falls off.

So, try this next time you clean your home. Make every move count and work top-to-bottom, left-to-right. This will significantly cut your cleaning time so can get on with your life and have more time for yourself. How much time can you save?

The majority of our employees speak English and we have two teams where English is their second language. We translate cleaning notes into Spanish and office staff are always available to assist if any communication issues arise.

We want you to be comfortable communicating your needs, so do not hesitate to specify if you prefer only native English speaking technicians.

Bar Keeper’s Friend has been around a long time – since 1882 – and a lot of people rave about it. But is it really that good?

The product doesn’t offer any outrageous claims or fancy packaging, but what it lacks in pizzazz, it makes up for in cleaning power.

Bar Keeper’s Friend is ideal for kitchen surfaces like stainless steel, ceramic, and glass. Polish your stove, sink, and pots and pans. No more pots with blackened bottoms! Just use a light sprinkling of this power, a bit of water, and a little elbow grease, and Bar Keeper’s Friend will have you seeing the shine in minutes.

Then, move on to your bathroom where you can shine up dingy faucets and clean away grime on your tile or bathtub. It works wonders on glass shower doors caked with soap scum. Our teams even use it in the toilet!

If you haven’t added Bar Keeper’s friend to your cleaning tools — I recommend it.

The best news? It is under $3 and is easily available in stores like Walmart and Target.

I’ve had cats my whole life. This is my current Siamese, Zola.

You know the drill, you leap out of bed in the middle of the night at the sound of hacking and they have spewed vomit in a puddle on the carpet.

Usually, you want to move quickly. I would grab a paper towel and dab, dab, as much of the liquid as possible. Over the years I tried most cleaners from vinegar to special carpet cleaning formulas made specifically for cats.

Then, my husband introduced me to the shop vac! Really?! Could it be as easy as just vacuuming it up?

I love this method. First, pick up as much of the solids that you can (lightly) without smearing it further into the carpet. Then, make sure you are using a shop vacuum that can be used on liquids. Take a cup of warm water, pour it on the spot, and let it sit for a few minutes. Suck it up with the vacuum.

Repeat as many times as you need to make the area look like new.

Now, of course all carpets are different, so try it on a small area first, but I swear this is my favorite cleaning discovery!