Doing chores is a discipline that comes naturally to some, while others have to be taught. Children are no different. Today, let’s address a few ways of how to get your kids to do chores, specifically just starting with their bedrooms. You can add more responsibilities later as they master their bedrooms.

Of my three kids, one is a natural born organizer. He likes to keep his space neat most of the time. He gets annoyed by clutter and complains when his friends come over and mess up his space.

His twin brother, however, cares little about the appearance of his room. He isn’t terribly messy, but he will let the mess go longer in between cleanings. It doesn’t bother him like it does his twin brother.

My daughter is a mix of those two personalities. She maintains a level of neatness in her room once the clutter gets on her nerves. For her, it gets messy and drives her to clean it.

My husband knows I struggle to delegate the cleaning responsibilities to the kids. So, I began a search to see how to get your kids to do chores with the least resistance. I wanted a simple system. I also wanted to create a list that a child of any age can learn. 

I considered how overwhelming housework can be and what drives a person to neglect it. Let’s look a three possible causes:

1. Obviously, there is the issue of exhaustion. One’s energy is drained after a complete day of school or work. Children are no different. For them, home is a place to relax. So, things can get messy.

2. Another issue is that of perfection. I’ve written a post about that here. Perfectionism can limit you when you begin to think like this, “I must do it all perfectly and completely, or not at all.” Children can suffer from this, too.

3. Finally, there is the issue of overwhelm. In this scenario, the chore itself seems so huge and overwhelming that we delay doing it. It could be an issue of clutter. I’ve written a blog post about one possible solution for this here. Clutter is also addressed in this chore chart.

Whatever is holding your kids back from getting their chores done can be addressed when we begin to lower our expectations to a reasonable level and simplify the chore list. This is especially important for younger children.

What seems easier and more manageable to you? To clean the entire room, or to simply dust all surfaces? For obvious reasons, just doing the chore of dusting makes this whole process simple and easier.

How to Get Your Kids to Do Chores

I have created a basic chore list for kids to get them to get their entire rooms cleaned on a weekly basis without them having to give up a Saturday to get it done. These chores can be accomplished in less than 10 minutes a day. It looks like this. You can get the $2 printable like the one seen below here.

The goal is to have your child accomplish one chore a day and then just do the daily maintenance to keep it clean. At the top of my kids chart, I have chosen 5 chores for five days. We like to keep our weekends free. My kids share a bathroom, so bathroom upkeep is divided equally among my three kids.

At the bottom half of the chart, I have a daily list of what needs to be done each day to maintain a neat environment. For daily upkeep…Think easy items like: make bed, put laundry in hamper, put toys away. Daily tasks to add to the specific days of the week can include things like dusting, vacuuming, taking dirty laundry to laundry room, putting clean laundry away, etc. All of this work should be easily completed in 10 minutes or less per day.

Next, think of an incentive to get your kids to do chores. Some parents like to give a monetary allowance, while other parents say that the work should be done for “free” as a contribution to the family. Whatever side you fall on here doesn’t matter. The way to get the kids to help with chores is to create an incentive to do so. Maybe you will reward them with video gaming time, or maybe it’s a night out to the movies.

I personally like the idea of having everyone be responsible for their own room and laundry, but earn something by doing any chores outside that. You can even assign a dollar value to the chore. For example, cutting the entire yard could be worth $10 while vacuuming downstairs can be worth $2-3.

If you want to really get them racing to do chores, create a chore chart like the one I’ll link here. Then take cash and use a thumbtack to post it to the chart. That way, the money is earned and paid immediately which not only bolsters their self-esteem, but it gets them fighting to get the job done.

Bonus tip: We keep a clean spare set of sheets in a drawer in each bedroom, so changing sheets is quick and painless. You don’t want to have to wait on those dirty sheets to be washed a dried. Buy a spare set of sheets for each room to simplify this task.

If you feel the room is extremely dirty or neglected, you can find a deep cleaning list here to address this issue. Then, let the child learn to maintain it by following the basic chore chart above.

I believe most of us struggle, not just kids, with the idea of doing a chore completely or not at all. For some, clutter has become such an issue that we can’t address the surfaces to clean because they are hidden beneath piles of clutter. If so, read below to see some ways you can tackle the clutter and relieve the stress that clutter causes.

I hope you have found this information on how to get your kids to do chores beneficial. If you enjoy reading this type of material and need some cleaning and decluttering inspiration, be sure to subscribe for blog post updates. I am always looking for better solutions to support a more organized home. You’ll find lots of cleaning hacks and organization tips on my website.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can find that here.

Looking for an excellent FREE printable chore chart? Check out this great resource from Michelle over at practicalperfectionnut.com here.

Struggling with the daily housekeeping chores? Check out my ebook on this topic, entitled Make Over Your Homemaking. Use this link to get it at a discounted price.

Struggling to decide if an item is clutter? Use these questions below to help you determine whether to keep or toss any item.

Need to deep clean? I have lists for you to guide you along.

My How to Deep Clean Your Kitchen list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Bathroom list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Kids’ Rooms list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Living Room list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Bedroom list can be found here.

Also, to keep up the general housework, you may need to create a daily housekeeping schedule that suits your specific needs. To do so, I have created a helpful series you can read here.

Need to Declutter Every room? I have declutter checklists for every room and every space in your home to guide you along below.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.

How to Declutter the Guest Room or Your Kid’s Room checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Laundry Room and Patio checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Coat Closet/Hall Closet/Linen Closet checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Home Office checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Attic checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Garage checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Living Room checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Kitchen Checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Entry/Foyer/Mudroom checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Clothing checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Bedroom checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Bathroom checklist can be found here.

To Subscribe to this Declutter Series, drop me a comment below. Your email will be sent to me but will not be posted publicly. You’ll receive a daily declutter task via email for the daily task we are working on. You can unsubscribe at any time.

New to deemiddleton.com and don’t know where to start? I recommend going in this order:

Step 1: Check out this post on the 1st step you should take to get organized. Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.

Step 2: Create a daily Housekeeping Schedule. You can use this series to start to set up your own schedule. You can also use this simplified weekly schedule.If you often ask: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Or, if you struggle to get organized and have tried and failed time and again, you can likely find out which of these 11 reasons cause you to fail to get organized.

Step 3:  Get decluttering strategies here.…Sign up for the Declutter Series and get your entire home decluttered in just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.”Declutter Your Home” checklists are provided in each email.

Step 4: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Use a timer and use the Deep Cleaning Checklists above. They will help you get your home sparkling after you’ve decluttered. 

Interested in becoming a full-time blogger like me? Check out my blogging series. At the top of every page on my blog, you’ll find a drop down menu. Just select the BLOGGING category.

Check out the most popular posts on deemiddleton.com: 

14 Things That Make Your Home Look Cluttered

How to Do A 1 Day Declutter

How to Create a Daily Housekeeping Schedule

How to Clean House When You Are Completely Overwhelmed By Clutter

What is Preventing You From Getting Organized?

Also, check out a great post on decluttering over here from becomingminimalist.com. Joshua Becker has some great tips on decluttering and minimalism.

For further reading, check out the fly lady here. She has some great cleaning and decluttering ideas plus excellent organization tips to get you started.

Happy Decluttering!