As a parent, you know how much of a challenge it can be to get your kids tidying up. Why not make chores fun with these cleaning games to add some extra excitement to an otherwise tedious task.
I can’t guarantee they will be lining up to do their chores each week, but these fun cleaning games sure will help get them motivated to get the job done!
Why & How To Make Cleaning Fun
By turning house cleaning tasks into a challenge or making a game of it, not only are you getting the jobs done that need to be done, but you are also turning it into an opportunity for fun for you and your kids.
After all, kids don’t remember the chores they did growing up, but they do remember the fun!
This can be a surprisingly effective way to connect with your kids.
No more resistance if they know there’s a game involved!
Chores are important for kids and help to teach them responsibility.
It also helps set them up with good cleaning habits when they are older, which they will thank you for later!
A child is never too young to start creating tidying habits.
Starting early will lead to less resistance later, as well!
So let’s get those kids ready for some cleaning game fun! Grab your supplies and get started!
Fun Cleaning Games For Kids (And Adults)
When it comes to cleaning, it can be quite a challenge.
Especially when you want to get the kids to help out with cleaning, or to just clean their own room. The latter ends up being a challenge altogether.
However, there are ways to make cleaning less of a bore, and that’s with cleaning games.
It’s a strategy that makes cleaning fun, as your kids get involved with cleaning chores, engaging in an active activity and working together as a family.
Some of these best cleaning games will especially appeal to kids who like a bit of healthy competition too, with a few cleaning games setting family members against each other to tidy up the fastest.
That brings a whole new meaning to speed cleaning!
1. Cleaning Jenga
What You Will Need: Jenga Classic Game or a similar stacking game such as this colourful option, a marker pen or labelling machine if you don’t want to permanently mark your game pieces.
Using a Jenga game or similar, write cleaning activities, chores or individual tasks on the large flat side of each wooden block.
Stack your Jenga tower as you would when playing the game, so the chores are not visible when stacked.
Have your child choose a wooden block, all while taking care not to knock over the tower. Depending on what block your child chooses, that becomes the cleaning duty that they will do.
Repeat with each house member. If a small chore is chosen, you may want to set a rule on how many they need to complete each chore day.
If the tower falls – it’s up to you! Maybe that means they now have to choose 2 chores instead of one!
Bonus: This cleaning game helps younger children to improve fine motor skills as they try not to knock down the tower of blocks.
2. Cleaning Treasure Hunt
What You Will Need: Wrapped treats or a toy set with multiple pieces, such as a LEGO or DUPLO set
Children love treasure hunts, so it’s great to incorporate this idea into a cleaning activity.
Hide small treats and toys here and there and tell the kids that the only way for them to discover these treasures is by getting the house, or their rooms, cleaned up.
Make sure you don’t forget where you’ve hidden them, especially if using food-related treats.
Instead of food, this would be a fun way to encourage your child to collect each piece of toy or play collection, hiding just one or several pieces each time they clean, so that over several weeks they can collect the full set.
Doing this can be an alternative to pocket money for kids, allowing them to earn a toy they’ve been wanting by doing their chores. This works perfectly with a LEGO set or collectable toy sets, such as Shopkins, that typically come in multi-pack sets.
3. Cleaning Robot Game
If you have a relatively small area to tidy up, such as toys on the living room floor, this is a really fun idea.
Your child will have fun pretending to be a robot while cleaning up their mess.
Give your child directions based on simple computer codes, such as turn left, turn right, walk forward, bend down, pick up, and so on.
Bonus: Not only is your house getting cleaner, but you are also teaching your child the basic elements of coding as well!
4. Laundry Race
This is a great cleaning game for more than one child. The winner is the first child that comes back from their room with all their dirty laundry sorted by whites and darks.
Or you can switch it up and do what we do each week with our clean laundry.
Split your clean laundry into equal piles between each of your children.
If you have a toddler or younger child, you may want to make their pile smaller than their siblings.
Have the kids sort their piles into the correct pile – one per family member and piles for towels, linen and any other laundry.
Then have them fold and put away their own clothes pile. Younger kids usually need a little assistance with folding.
The first to finish is the winner. We usually give a pocket money bonus which keeps their motivation high.
5. Scratch-Off Chore Chart
What You Will Need: A pre-made scratch-off chore chart or one you make yourself with scratch-off paint or stickers.
Give your child their own scratch-off chore chart to have them rushing through their chores to scratch off the next item.
Get instructions to make your own homemade chore chart with scratch-off paint, using this tutorial.
Or with scratch-off stickers to make it even easier.
Once they reach the end of the chart and have completed all their chores, they can win a prize or earn pocket money!
Using a scratch chart can be a perfect alternative for clean up games for toddlers.
6. Cleaning Dice Game
What You Will Need: A dice
Write down a list of chores and number them from one to six, let the kids roll the dice and see which chore they will be doing first.
They can do their chores as a team, or have a set of chores for each child and have them roll the dice to reveal their own set chore.
After completing their first chore, they’ll continue rolling the dice to reveal the next item on the list.
If they roll the same number, have them roll again.
This can also be a fun way to teach probability of what number will come up next by having them guess what it will be.
7. Cleaning Pretend Play
What You Will Need: Dress up clothes or let them find items from your wardrobe to complete their look.
This is a fantastic idea for kids that enjoy playing dress-up!
Have your child come up with a character, and then they get to dress up as their chosen character and pretend to be them while doing their chores.
Tell them to choose a voice they think their character will use and to stay in character throughout their home cleaning tasks for a little extra fun.
Imagine how exciting it will be to clean the house dressed up as a superhero they love, using their special superhero powers to get the job done fast!
Or perhaps it’s their favourite Disney princess singing her way through chores.
Bonus: Pretend play is a great confidence-building activity for children and using their imagination promotes creativity.
8. Kid-Sized Cleaning Tools
What You Will Need: Mini cleaning equipment such as this cleaning stand with a mop, duster and broom or a mini Dyson vacuum cleaner.
Cleaning will be so much fun with kid-sized cleaning supplies.
Kids don’t like having to use bulky and weighty cleaning supplies, so having cleaning supplies that are sized just for them makes it far more enjoyable to play house while they do their chores.
Set up a special place next to your full-sized cleaning supplies for their mini-sized ones. Such as a mini spray bottle and clothes, mini dust-pan set.
You can even get functional mini vacuum cleaners for kids to add extra joy to their cleaning games.
Bonus: Cleaning toys are great for little boys and little girls, as a way of reducing gender role bias with cleaning tasks.
9. Cleaning Bull’s-Eye Game
What You Will Need: Coloured tape, a broom that is small enough for a child to use.
Create a bull’s eye on the floor using tape and the aim of this game is for your child to sweep all the dirt into the bullseye.
This game is a great way to get your child to focus on the task at hand. It can also help improve their coordination skills as they aim to get everything into the floor target.
Change the size and location of the target each time to keep this cleaning game interesting and fun.
Tip: You can play this game outdoors on the porch or patio as well, or turn it into an autumn leaf-raking game, filling a target with fallen autumn leaves. Or snow shovelling during winter if you live in a snowy climate.
10. Create A Cleaning Commercial
What You Will Need: A mobile phone or camera, cleaning products & equipment.
Pretend to film a commercial that stars your kids using your camera or phone.
The children will love this, and they won’t just be cleaning, they will be cleaning with a smile on their faces for the many action shots.
Afterwards, you can edit the film and turn it into a cute commercial to keep as a family memento or share with family members.
While this isn’t a cleaning game that will have your house spotless in a hurry, it sure will motivate the kids to get their chores done if it means they can watch back their commercial afterwards.
Bonus: This cleaning game encourages your child to act and develop their own cleaning slogans. This is a great one for building their confidence in presenting or speaking out loud. It also helps them to understand how media and advertising works, giving them improved critical reasoning skills.
These cleaning games are the perfect way to encourage your kids to do their chores without making a big fuss!
But what about making cleaning fun for the grown-ups? Many of these cleaning games are great for the whole family to join in. But if you need some extra motivation, check out these ideas for how to make cleaning fun for adults too.
Check out these activities for home or in the backyard, birthday party games, balloon party games, Christmas game ideas and Halloween game ideas for more fun ideas!
For more busy family tips on keeping your house clean:
- How to create a daily, weekly & monthly cleaning schedule
- Room by room deep cleaning guide
- Things you are forgetting to clean
- Age-appropriate chores list & chore chart
- Ways to reduce cleaning time
- Home cleaning hacks to try
- How to speed clean your home
- Oven cleaning hacks to make your life easier
- Non toxic cleaning solutions for your home
