Today is the first Tuesday of the summer.
Tuesday is the day I clean bathrooms.
So . . . today was the day I taught my kids to clean the bathrooms.
Overall, it went quite well.
I was prepared. I had their supply baskets ready to go, complete with home-made kid-friendly cleaning products. I had the bathroom cleaning checklists printed and laminated. I put all of my hair products, lotions, toothpaste, etc. in an empty laundry basket, so whoever cleaned the master bathroom wouldn’t have to clean around anything.
At 9 am, we got started. I wouldn’t say the kids were excited, but they seemed pleased to have their own baskets, and who doesn’t love the feel of anything laminated?
My 4 year old surprised me by having the most fun. She is in charge of the half-bath, and she gave it quite a shower with her vinegar/water mirror-cleaning solution. She explained that she really didn’t like cleaning toilets . . . to which I replied, “Who does?”
I scrubbed the toilet for her.
My 6yo needed the most help. He was in charge of the kids’ bathroom, and although he reads very well, a few words like “vacuum” and “faucet” threw him. I read the list off to him. I’m hoping that as the weeks go on, he can be more independent as the more difficult words become familiar to him.
My 8yo was fully independent. He’s the one who, like me, takes frequent trips to la-la-land. So, like me, I think he enjoyed having the ultra-detailed list so he didn’t have to constantly ask what to do next. Neither he nor I do well at mentally remembering long, elaborate, lists of steps. I was quite proud of him, as I didn’t hear anything from him until he yelled, “I’m done!” And when I checked, he was.
The favorite thing for all of them was standing on the counter to clean the mirror. Thankfully, I had put that higher on the list than wiping down the counters . . . so they were able to wipe off their own footprints.
I really enjoyed working with my 6yo. He asked some great questions. For example, he wanted to know how often we had to do this, and was relieved to know it was just once a week. He also said, “So, you do this every Tuesday?” and “You have to do all three bathrooms by yourself?” Um, music to a mama’s ears, right? Especially when last summer, that same mama would have had to say, “Umm, well, no, but I really should . . . ”
Total, the bathrooms took about 30 minutes. Not bad, and hopefully it will go even more quickly as we get better at it. I’m glad that I’ve planned Wednesday as a day off from chores. I hope that having tomorrow morning free will keep them from becoming resentful of this new way of life.
