The M.O.P. Cleaning System

"Cleanliness is next to Godliness"

Teaching our children the art of cleanliness is part of our duty as a parent. It is our job to teach them how to cultivate love and respect for everything they own and are blessed with. This embraces a positive motivation inside them to honor the things they own and appreciating that money does not grow on trees.

 Kids very rarely  keep their rooms cleaned, but when you ask them to help out with housework they often end up doing it any old way if they are not taught correctly. Teaching them to care for the things they own can be a tricky lesson for any parent...unless it is done properly and with good incentives, along with some parental guidance.   

Fall cleaning is less overwhelming (and takes less time) when tackled as a family project.

On Oct. 12, 1993, Family Circle issued a wonderful article on how to motivate kids to help out in all the house chores. 

They stated parents need to:

Motivate them

Organize them

Put'em to work

The Mop Cleaning System

"Motivate them, Organize them & Put'em to work...Chores make children true family participants and foster feelings of competence and confidence."...Family Circle

Children do learn what they are being taught by the example we set before them. They absorb everything we teach them.

Our home should also be a place of beauty and a place of delight.

Here are a few tips Family Circle published on how children can be involved in keeping the house clean in no time at all.

1. Pick a day of the week in which the entire family is able to participate in cleaning and clearing out the house.

2. Divide your family into cleaning teams to tackle each job.

3. On 3"x 5" cards list their cleaning chores with a list of the cleaning tools needed for the job.

4. For fun design badges or T-shirts bearing the teams names.

5. Assemble cleaning caddies with all their cleaning needs.

6. Promise your children that their hard work will be rewarded. 

Tips on getting it done.

Teach them what must be done before sending them off to work blindly.

* Clean the room from the back to the front and work yourself out of the room.

* Don't defy gravity clean from top to bottom.

* When you scrub anything go in all four directions.

Set the timer for 2 hours and dispatch your teamsters to go to work.

The true secret to cleaning is regular maintenance. Setting daily chores like emptying out the  trash, washing dishes after every meal cycle including sweeping and wiping down the dinner table, counters and stove.  Vacuuming, wiping the bathroom with a cleaning solution, and picking up after themselves and putting items back where they belong will maintain the home cleaner and less cluttered. 

Make sure your children do the job well....INSPECTIONS are crucial so they can learn to do it properly.