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Sarah Luft |
Spring is here. If warm weather and sunny skies are any indication, we know spring cleaning won't be far behind. With that in mind, we've pulled a few camp-inspired ideas together to share with you. The goal? To get the whole family involved and laughing. Turn your annual cleaning ritual from drab to fab with these low-cost, simple, and effective tips.
The Cleaning Fairy
How do camp staff get hundreds of campers on board with cleaning? A bit of creativity, healthy competition, and...an old mop. If you visit North Star Reach, a SeriousFun camp in Michigan, you're sure to come across celebrity figure Hairy the Scary Clean Cabin Fairy. Equal parts moth, mop and mysterious presence, Hairy floats through the cabins in search of the cleanest spaces. His winning “Cleanest Cabin” is given a coveted prize: Hairy’s company for a day. And for this privilege, campers have been known to send Hairy his fair share of fan mail, plot out bribery attempts, and of course, give their cabin it's best, honest-to-good clean. It might just be time to grab the nearest mop, sponge, or broom and invent a cleaning fairy of your own!
Game Time
With a packed schedule at camp, we know what it's like to be on the go. Do you only have 15 minutes before you and the kids head out the door? Then set the timer for ten and get moving! Whether you team up with the kids, each claim a room, or set a collective goal, racing against the clock can encourage even the most unmotivated of chore-doers. Some children like to beat their own records, and others thrive on a bit of friendly competition. You know your kids best so pick a strategy that will focus their youthful energy into some fast cleaning!
The Golden Plunger
It's said that with hard work comes great reward, so why not reward the family with a good laugh after a job well done? Recognize their efforts with The Golden Plunger, a tried and true camp classic. All you need is ten minutes, a clean plunger, and some shiny, gold paint. From there, you can create an award system that works for you and the kids, perhaps giving the trophy to the family member with the neatest bedroom. You might even find yourself hosting a house-wide Spring Cleaning Olympics, bronze and silver plungers included!
As part of the partnership with Niagara, employee volunteers visited Camp Korey, a SeriousFun camp in WA, to help get the camp ready for upcoming sessions.
Ice Pop Stick Mix-up
Looking to add spontaneity to routine tasks? Then get ready for a game of chance! Jot down a list of chores together and establish a time frame they should be done in. Next, write each task on an ice pop stick and place in a mason jar. The chore each family member picks out is theirs for the day, the week, or the month – whatever you decide. (If you have little ones who can’t quite manage tasks like cleaning out the fridge, try splitting this list in two and creating a kids’ jar.)
Then, mix in a few “freebie” sticks to keep everyone coming back to that jar. We’re thinking the likes of “no chore day”, “comfy chair on movie night”, “breakfast in bed tomorrow” and “your favorite meal”—but anything goes!
Green Cleaning
Make cleaning more eco and wallet friendly. Teach younger kids about reducing, reusing, and recycling by turning old socks into duster puppets. It's an excuse to craft and clean, and your kids will have a puppet to play with while they're at it. For adolescents, build interest by mixing up some DIY cleaning remedies such as a vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice solution. It's a great opportunity to chat about eco-friendly products, and pass on a few life skills.
Whether cleaning, organizing or building, the help camps get from the Niagara team makes all the difference!
The Super Spring content series was made possible through a grant from Niagara Cares, the philanthropic initiative of Niagara Bottling. Funding from Niagara Cares also supports a variety of camp programs within SeriousFun Children’s Network. SeriousFun associates are responsible for the content within this article.
