Games and strategies to turn chores into playtime!
Number of Players: 1+ How to: Players pretend to be Princess Snow White (boys can use the name: Prince Ice Grey). The room(s) that need to be cleaned are the room(s) of the dwarves’ cottage. Tips: As they are picking up… Read moreSnow White and the Messy Dwarves
Number of players: 3+ This is a variation of freeze tag. Pretend that “it” is an ogre overseeing a mining operation. The other players are goblins working in the mine (aka cleaning). The goblins don’t like working in the mine… Read moreThe Ogre’s Clean Mine
This is a quick way to get some cleaning done. It can be used multiple times per day to keep up a comfortable level of tidy. You can have your kid(s) do a quick 20 thing pick-up just before dinner, before going outside to… Read more20 Thing Pick Up
This strategy works well to break a daunting messy room down into manageable tasks. How to: Decide on divisions for the room. Split the room up into corners and/or areas depending on the size of the room and the amount of work… Read moreClean a Corner
Number of players: 3+ Materials needed: blank paper and pens or pencils How to: Divide into two teams and pick a room. Take turns having one person on each team draw an item in the room that needs to be put away… Read morePicture It Pick Up
Number of players: 1+ How to: Create a playlist of music to clean to. This can either be a single master playlist utilized by the whole family or individual playlists, or both. Upbeat music is a good choice as it will help keep up… Read moreThe Rhythm of Cleaning
Number of players: 2+ How to: My sisters and I loved reading aloud together when we were younger and this is a great way to keep everyone entertained while cleaning. Players can take turns reading aloud from a book while… Read moreCleaning Read Aloud
How to: Choose a player to be “it” first. The other players should put a box (a paper bag also works) in the middle of the room and put 10 objects that are out of place into the box. “It”… Read moreTag, You Clean
Cleaning Game: Scavenger Hunt – Each player chooses a room and creates a list of 10 clues suggesting items to be put away in the room. The clues do not need to indicate a specific item. See below for an example list. When each player has finished writing…
Cleaning Game: Musical Clean Chairs – Set up a circle of chairs (one less chair than you have players) with their backs facing each other. If you only have 3 players, set up two chairs with their backs against each other. Choose one player to be the music maestro first. This player puts one item that needs to be put away on each of the chairs. The other players then…