Summer is a great family time and also a great time to teach kids cleaning skills. These tips will help jobs move along smoothly. After cleaning, plan a fun activity as a reward for participation. Your family will love it!

• Always clean top to bottom. When you dust, start at the top and work your way down.
• Take all your cleaning tools with you into each room to avoid unnecessary trips back and forth.
• Turn off the phones and TV.
• Eliminate clutter. An uncluttered home looks better than one that is dust-free, but strewn with odds and ends.
• Clean as you go! It takes a lot less time to remove new dirt than old and to put things away as you use them than it does to clean and store the piles that accumulate.
• A house that smells fresh will give the impression of cleanliness. Leave baking soda on carpeting for the night to absorb musty odors and vacuum in the morning.
• Keep a doormat or big astro-turf mat on the porch to cut down on tracked in dirt.
• Keep a basket in the kitchen for mail, newspapers, car keys, etc. to help reduce clutter.
• Keep a laundry hamper in every bathroom.
• Put family members in charge of making their own beds and picking up after themselves.
• Always pick up the TV room before bedtime, and start the dishwasher.
• Prioritize and decide what is most important.
• Delegate by getting the entire family involved.
• Make a checklist, and when a job is completed, check it off so you can see how much you’ve accomplished.

This article was written by Carolyn Washburn, Utah State University Extension associate professor,carolyn.washburn@usu.edu.