7 Ways to Make Chores Less of a Chore

Chores got you down? Kids and spouse not motivated to help? I know how you feel. But don’t worry, I’ve got some ideas that might motivate your crew and get you going. Here are 7 ways to make chores less of a chore…

Spring cleaning is upon us and that means cleaning of a magnitude we completely ignored through the cold, winter months.

Blinds are getting dusted, furniture moved, and silverware drawers wiped down… or they would be if I could get my kids to actually check something off on their chore to-do list.

Can you relate?

I am not a lover of cleaning. I’ve written about it before and probably will again. But despite not liking cleaning, I do really like how it looks and feels. A straightened-up house is like a balm to my soul. And so, despite the grumbles, it has to get done.

My kids are, at times, incredibly helpful in the chore department. They’ll surprise me by deep cleaning a room without a word from me, or going above and beyond my request.

But other times, you’d think they were lodged in a vat of molasses for all the speed they showed in getting to their chores.

So, over the years, I’ve come up with a few techniques that help them get motivated. Some of these work with my husband, too, but he generally has his own sections of the house so I leave him to it.

I also get more done when I do these things, so hopefully one or more will inspire your own spring cleaning efforts – or any cleaning/decluttering project you are involved in.

Here are a few ways to motivate your family, encourage yourself, and get the work done…

7 Ways to Make Chores Less of a Chore

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• Play music/podcasts

  I know this seems obvious, but for years, I never used music as a motivator. But over the holidays a few years back, I noticed that it put my kids and I in the spirit. We were more upbeat, singing along or laughing, and it made the entire process more fun.

Your music choice can be something fast and loud, or something calming. It could be season appropriate or just whatever is on the radio. We once cleaned to big band music from the 1930s! One of the kids picked it, and I was not going to argue if it meant work got done.

Try Spotify, Pandora, or Amazon Music. I also like to listen to podcasts when I clean, which Spotify is great for.

• Listen to audiobooks

This was a new discovery that has really changed cleaning in my house, especially for the older children and me. Listening to an audiobook is more engrossing than music and we tend to work longer and less distractedly when listening to one.

Most chores don’t require much higher thinking, so listening to an audiobook doesn’t affect our concentration on the task at hand. It also makes the chore seems less like a chore, and more like something you’re doing while you’re reading a book – a fun thing.

My kids vary in preference, but the Boxcar Children series is a favorite. They’re only an hour or so, easy for even younger kids to follow, and the mystery keeps them interested. We use Epic! books or Libby for library loans. Amazon’s Audible is also going to give a great variety.

I, of course, will fold laundry until the end of days if I have a Louise Penny mystery to listen to.

• Offer a reward

To be clear, I am not talking about a bribe. But a reward has a way of giving you and your family something to look forward to, a reason to put in the time and effort now. I find this especially helpful with my molasses-stuck children.

This year, to get my kids going for spring cleaning and intense decluttering, my husband and I said we’d get a basketball hoop for the backyard. We’d been meaning to for a while, and tying it to their efforts gave them great motivation.

Not everyone is the same, so calibrate the reward to your child or spouse’s interests. A new book, a trip to the park, a homecooked favorite – these are all fun ways to inspire us to clean.

• Try a chore game

I wrote about this a few years back in a post (How to Get Your Kids to Clean…and Love it (Really!)) and it still works today.

Take a dry erase board and draw a game board, Candyland-style. Each section has a chore listed in the order you want them done. As they complete each chore, you come in to verify and check it off, and then the magnet “game piece” is moved to the next space.

This is simple and fun and takes some of the dreariness from chores. You can have your kids work as a team, or make separate boards and let them compete for who can finish first. It’s up to you. As long as the competition is friendly, why not?

• Take before and after photos

Everyone likes a good before and after. They prove how far we’ve come and they can be a motivator long after the chores are done.

Have your kids take a photo of the room they’re working on. Whether it’s their bedroom, bathroom, or the living room, capture it at its worst. Then, when they’ve transformed it with their efforts, take another photo to compare.

This technique is especially helpful because it not only shows you and your family how much chores matter and how much they improve your living space, they can also be used as a guide for how the room should be kept.

After seeing this at our church nursery, my daughter printed out pictures of our playroom so even the little ones who can’t read can see where the toys are supposed to go from the picture. Brilliant!

• Make a time-lapse video

This is similar to before and after pictures, but more fun. My son started doing it with our aging iPad without me knowing, but when I saw how motivated he was when it was filming, I had trouble scolding him.

Basically, set up a tablet in an optimal viewing spot and let it film in time-lapse mode. This is a bit of a battery-drainer for big chores, but in the end, watching the video together is worth it.

You’ll laugh at the super-fast movements, but you’ll also see how chores can transform a room from a mess to a space you’d actually like to be in. My kids love this and I have to admit it gets them much more interested in doing the big jobs around the house.

• Visualize the results

This spring, I wanted to purge a lot of things from our home so I asked the kids to visualize certain rooms and how they’d like them to look in the end. Where would the furniture be? What do they want to stay or go? What decorations should be kept?

This isn’t always easy, even for adults, so don’t worry if your kids or spouse aren’t into it. But if they are, you can pull a lot of inspiration and motivation from visualizing the end result when the chores are done.

I hope that you and your family can take some of these ideas and techniques to make chore time less of a chore. Cleaning, decluttering, and everyday tasks can be boring and monotonous, but with the right attitude and methods, we can make them something we enjoy – or at least tolerate cheerfully.

What ways do you motivate your family to get cleaning and chores done? What works in your home? Let me know in the comments or on social media. I love hearing your ideas!

Looking for more on chores and cleaning? Try these popular posts:

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