Clever Kids Cleaning Games & Ideas to Make Kids Chores FUN!

One of the hardest parts of cleaning with kids around is vacuuming.  Why?  One word: TOYS.  With an 8-year-old, 6-year-old, and 3-year-old in our small quaint home, it’s a rare moment when the floors are completely free of toys or clothes so that I can actually vacuum them.  And it seems like when they are, usually, after bedtime, I’m afraid to wake the kids with the vacuum or I’m honestly just plain exhausted.  But I’ve been working on sneaking cleaning and vacuuming in a bit more lately.  And the only way to do that is to get the kids involved.

Make Cleaning Fun with these Kids Cleaning Games!

(Psst… Check out my top picks for fun toys, children’s books, and cleaning supplies for kids HERE!)

Here are some cool cleaning games my fellow blogging mamas have suggested to help…

8 Cool Cleaning Games for Kids

1. The Dust Monster – “I purchased a bath hand puppet at The Dollar Tree for Rosie to use when dusting.  We created a fun game by saying the monster puppet was catching all the dust.  Rosie loves going around and getting the dust bunnies.”  Crystal of Growing a Jeweled Rose

2. Toys Need Sleep, Too! – “Since my toddler does his clean up at night, we often say the different toys have to go to sleep too and that they have certain places where they sleep.”  Jennifer from The Good Long Road

3. The Grab Nabber – “My two-year-old invented this game – I believe he was inspired by the grand nabbers from the rocket ship from the Little Einsteins.  He likes to wear my giant oven mitts, grab toys however he can and then take them to their place.  It’s a bit of a clumsy game but my son is two and he is helping so I think it’s great.”  Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection

4. Pretend Pirate Play – “I needed to make my bed.  So we decided the bed was a pirate ship. Loopy donned his buccaneer hat while I wrapped a headscarf around me.  Pillows became shipping supplies that needed to be loaded and unloaded from the ship.  The blankets became the sails that needed to be smoothed out before the luggage (pillows) could be put back on.  While pulling up the blinds, we pretended we were hoisting the rigging.”  Julie of My Mundane & Miraculous Life

   

5. Color Toy Cleanup for Kids – “We play a lot of games like ‘I am thinking of something blue’ and the kids pick up all the things with blue until the one I am thinking of has been taken care of!”  Amanda from The Educators’ Spin On It

6. The Kids’ Cleaning Robot – “I usually take the lead on this game and just start cleaning and saying silly things in a robot voice.  ‘I am a cleaning robot. I can put this book on the shelf.  Beep Beep.’  The boys find this so funny – and they want to imitate which means we all clean up together.”  Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection

7. Sing a Song – “Nothing lifts the spirits like a little tune.  ‘Whistle While You Work’ is a favorite.  We also sing ‘The More We Get Together’ but change the words to ‘The More We Work Together.’  We change the chorus to ‘My chores are your chores and your chores are my chores.’  If the girls are hesitant to start cleaning up, they jump right in when I start singing.”  Ellen of Cutting Tiny Bits

8. The Toy Sucker – “I’ve always let my kids believe that our vacuum can suck up anything.  So when I get the vacuum out, they run around like crazy collecting their toys off the floor so the vacuum doesn’t suck them up forever.  And I usually get a laugh when I chase them with it, too!” Krissy of B-Inspired Mama

Toys & Books to Make Kids Cleaning Chores Fun:

Check out my top picks for fun toys, children’s books, and cleaning supplies for kids HERE! 

More Helpful Parenting Tips from B-Inspired Mama:

• Parenting Survival Mode: 11 Tips from Moms Who’ve Been There
• Smart Storage Ideas for Kids Toys + DIY LEGO Storage
• Life Lessons for Kids from Their Pet
• I Have to Run a Household, Too?! Home Management Tips for Moms
• How to Discipline & Manage Behavior [From the Mouths of Moms]

(This post was originally published in November of 2015 but updated for accuracy in March of 2020.)