Teaching Our Children: Is it Really Clean?

The older the girls get the more responsibilities they are taking on around the house.  One of the cleaning projects they have tackled this year (and have done really well with it) is their bathroom.  To get them started I purchased a small bucket at Dollar Tree, put sponges, rags,scrub brush, and other cleaning supplies into it.  Since they are still pretty young I didn’t want them using any harsh chemicals for cleaning so I put in a box of baking soda.  Whenever they clean their bathroom they put a little bit of baking soda into a bowl, add some white vinegar, and a little bit of water which gives them a cleaning solution that works well but isn’t harsh on their skin.

The other day as I was finishing up some projects and cooking dinner I noticed this sign posted on the outside of the girls bathroom door “cleaning do not enter”.  It made me laugh that they would think to hang a sign!  I was curious about what they were doing in there with the door was shut but I could hear the conversation going on inside the bathroom which made me just let them be.

“Do you think I scrubbed the sink good enough?”

“Where’s the blue sponge?”

“This is so nasty!”

After listening for a couple minutes I decided to let them clean in peace and recheck in a few minutes.  They seemed to have it under control.  When I went back later to check on the bathroom I was pretty impressed at how well they were cleaned it.  I went over the basic rules and system with them once several months ago but for the most part they do the bathroom all on their own.

I think it’s great that they have practice cleaning their bathroom as well as realize the amount of time and energy it takes to keep the house clean.  Sure they don’t always do everything perfect but every time they do it they get better.  Lately there are very few things I have to correct after they have finished cleaning the bathroom.  I am thankful for the girls willingness to help.  Many times they will volunteer to clean the bathroom before I ask them to do it which is even better.