A cleaning checklist for kids’ rooms empowers your children to take responsibility for their space while helping them learn valuable life skills.
This particular cleaning checklist was born out of countless arguments I had with my children over whether their rooms had really been cleaned. You know how those go: you ask them to clean their rooms. After a while, they say they’re finished, but it looks just as bad — if not worse.
In my home, that used to lead to frustration all around. I’d shown my kids repeatedly how to clean things, and I didn’t want to have to watch them every second. They knew that cleaning their rooms was part of earning their allowance, but felt like they didn’t know where to begin.
Cleaning Checklist for Kids’ Rooms
If you’ve used my printable cleaning checklists around the house, you know they break tough cleaning tasks into manageable steps. That’s the kind of structure kids need when cleaning, too, so I decided to come up with a printable cleaning checklist for kids rooms to make things easier for everyone involved.
Work Together the First Time
Here’s the deal: you can’t just hand your child a cleaning checklist and expect them to get it right the first time. Guess how I know?
Yep, our first attempt at using a cleaning checklist for kids rooms led to more frustration.
Then I listened to what my kids were saying. They were willing to clean their rooms (especially if that kept me out of their space) but they didn’t understand what was involved.
So, my advice is to go over the instructions below with your child step-by-step, then tackle the task together the first time as we did. After that, depending on your kids’ ages, they can use the checklist to clean their rooms independently while you do something else — or even nothing at all.
Start Here
Equipment needed:
Two bags or boxes
Cleaning cloths
Furniture polish (here’s a homemade one)
Glass cleaner (here’s a homemade one)
Fresh bed sheets and pillowcases
Vacuum cleaner with attachments
Steps:
1. Prepare to sort stuff: Mark one box/bag “Trash” and the other “Return.”
2. Pick up all trash: Start at the door and work to your right. Pick up all trash and put it in the “Trash” bag/box. Open drawers as you work and look for trash that should be thrown away. Close each drawer afterward. Once you’ve worked your way around the room, look under your bed and gather all trash. Look in your closet for trash, too. Now, set the full bag outside your bedroom door.
3. Find everything that belongs in another room. Do this just as you did with the trash, starting at the door and working toward the right, then under your bed and in your closet. Things that belong elsewhere include dishes, water glasses, and towels. Put these in the bag marked “Return.” When you’re finished gathering these things, put this bag outside your bedroom door, too.
4. Put away things that are on the floor. Toys left on the floor look messy. Put them in the toy box, on shelves, or wherever they are supposed to be stored. Pick up dirty clothes from the floor and put them in the hamper. Clean clothes should be hung up or folded and put away in the dresser. Shoes should be neatly placed on the closet floor.
5. Put away the things on your desk, dresser and nightstand. Put away toys left on the dresser. If you like to keep homework or books out where you can find them, arrange them in stacks. Things look much cleaner when stacked nicely instead of sprawled all over. Continue working until all of the flat surfaces in your room are neat and tidy.
6. Start dusting. Get one cleaning cloth very lightly wet. It should not be dripping water everywhere! Use this cloth to clean up dust. Start at the room’s door room and work to the right wiping off the top of each piece of furniture (desk, dresser, shelves, nightstand, etc.). Pick things up as you work and wipe the surface underneath them. Wipe the windowsills, too!
7. Clean the glass. Spray the mirror with a little of the glass cleaner. Use a dry, fresh cleaning cloth to wipe the mirror from top to bottom until all smudges and streaks are gone.
8. Change the sheets. Pull the bedspread and sheets off of your bed. Don’t pull off the mattress pad! Take the pillowcase off the pillow. Now, put the new sheets and pillowcase on and make your bed. Smooth the bedspread with your hands so it’s not bunched up and messy. Put the dirty sheets outside your bedroom door.
9. Start vacuuming. By now there should be nothing on the floor that doesn’t belong there, so it’s time to vacuum. Remember: never use the vacuum to pick up coins, puzzle pieces, Lego or other objects. It’s only for dirt, dust and pet hair. Begin vacuuming at the door and work your way around your room from right to left.
10. Time to finish up! Wrap the vacuum’s electric cord back on the prongs neatly. Put it outside of the door. Take dirty sheets to the laundry room. Take the Trash bag to the garbage can. Go through the bag marked “Return” and take each item to the place where it ought to go. Don’t just toss the thing in there — put it where it belongs!
The first time may seem like a lot of work, but things will go much faster every time you clean. Use the checklist below once a week to stay on track and enjoy that tidy room!
Printable Cleaning Checklist for Kids’ Rooms
Click to open .pdf for printing
More How-Tos:
How to Organize Toys: 6 Great Ideas
Daily Cleaning Routine Checklist
Pin this Cleaning Checklist for Kids’ Rooms
Leah Michelle Humerickhouse says
Is there any way to edit these checklist to personalize to my kids? Love these checklists
Katie Berry says
Hi Leah,
Sorry, but I don’t have that kind of setup. 🙂
Nicole says
This was perfect!!!!! Even I use this and it’s so helpful!!
Katie Berry says
I’m glad you like it!
Nicole Roy says
From what age should a child be able to do this? I have 6 year old twins and a 4 year old (and a new baby on the way). One of the twins is very messy and the other very organised. They share a room….if I asked them to do this one would contribute a lot more than the other!?! Is 6 too young? At the moment they are responsible for tidying up their clothes/toys, packing away folded washing and occasionally they make their beds in the morning!!
Katie Berry says
First off, wow, being a mom of twins has got to be hard! I’m not a twin mom — I had a few years between kids — so I can’t honestly give you advice on the whole twinning thing. But I have had two six-year-olds (even if there was a gap between them) and mine were completely different in temperaments and cleanliness. I initially created this checklist for my oldest when she was 8, and she was the tidy one. My youngest didn’t start following it without supervision until he was 10.
That said, you might want just to spend some time working together with BOTH of them to go through this. Weekly? Maybe not. That’s asking a lot out of a mom who’s already doing so much just managing twins. Monthly seems fair — but let THEM choose who does vacuuming, who does dusting, etc.
But, as the Mom, make sure they’re doing an equal number of steps. That way neither twin winds up doing the other’s work and both benefit from having a clean room. (And, after all that work, I bet the Tidy One will know how to nag the Messy One into doing his/her share. Twins are the first form of peer pressure, after all.)
Good luck to you, Nicole, and please check back in with future questions or to update us on your progress!
Jane says
We are lucky because my kids have fairly small rooms and after decluttering, a lot less stuff. But I do have to get onto teaching them how to dust, change sheets and vacuum though. This checklist is a great way to do that!
Katie Berry says
Thanks, Jane!
Liz says
This really helped.Do you have any for a bathroom or living room.
Katie Berry says
I have an entire page of cleaning checklists!
Richa Choudhary says
This is a great post.i loved the steps mentioned but havent tried it. Will definitely come back once i try and succeed. But Thanks for sharing 🙂 I am following you from Pinterest, please do check my profile 🙂
https://in.pinterest.com/allthatsmomblog/
AllThatsMom
Katie Berry says
Thank you!
Kimberly Rudder says
I think cleaning the kids room is the most stressful. I start feeling sorry for them so I go to help and….. well….. I started to noticing that I would be all alone cleaning while they either sat in one corner playing or day dreaming. My 8 year old likes to pick up a tiny piece of paper and take 10 min to carry it to the trash can and that’s with me having a trash bag in there. They start taking advantage of me. To the point of being very disrespectful, see me sweeping drop crumbs on the floor or throw trash down and say here’s some more. Mopping walk all over the wet Floor and “accidentally” spill something. Just the other day I had cleaned their room while they were in school I mean really good. Thought I’d surprise them. Folded clothes put ones that gang up on hanger pj’s folded in a pile underwear socks in a pile you know made piles of where each drawer they went into no confusion no Hassel, open pj drawer put the stack in move to next stack etc. Later that night I open closet door the 8 yr old had took all the clothes and threw them into the closet!?. I was infuriated because when asked why he would do that he says you cleaned everything else you should’ve finished it. I wanted to do what I wanted to do. Besides cleaning is your job. At that point I emptied every drawer in the floor as well as every toy box and said it will be waiting on you when you get home t9morrow from school. So I’m going to try this routine out. I get overwhelmed with 3 kids and having to do all the house duties. 8, 5, and 2 so it’s mess after mess. Never ends I’m always behind.
Katie Berry says
Cleaning kids’ rooms is definitely stressful for the parents. Add to that the way your son treated you and, yes, I completely sympathize with your frustration. And you DO sound frustrated! I’m reluctant to give parenting advice when someone didn’t ask for it, but maybe it’s time to take a break from trying to surprise your son since he’s not grateful for or appreciative of your efforts? Hand him a checklist, tell him that cleaning his room is his responsibility now, but you expect it to be done and done correctly. You should decide what consequences you want to attach to a room that’s not cleaned properly and be prepared to stick to your guns. Kids test limits — that’s kind of their job. Once they understand the limits are firm and consistent, they tend to fall in line. Best of luck and many hugs to you, Mama.
Nadine says
What a great idea!!! I’m going to print this off and laminate it. We do the inbox as well. My 8 year old gets overwhelmed and he always asks for help cleaning his room – but what he’s really looking for is direction and this just may be the key!!! I’ll let you know how it goes 🙂
Katie Berry says
Thank you, Nadine! I think you’re absolutely right — kids just need a bit of direction, and it always seems to help when we can hand them something like a checklist which they can read and follow step by step. Please let me know how it goes!
A. says
Okay so im a tween who cleans my own room the only problem is im lazy when it comes to thing like that. Do you have any tips for lazy tweens-teens or lazy people in general when it comes to cleaning?
Katie Berry says
My best advice is to listen to your mother.
Jennifer Staples says
This checklist for cleaning a kids room is absolutely wonderful! I give it to my daughter every week and her room gets cleaned with no arguments! She even asks for me to print it off if I forget. BTW, she asked me to tell you that the new version is even better than before. Thanks for making my life a little easier!
Michelle says
What a great checklist! We are always struggling to keep my 9 year old’s room clean! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Katie Berry says
Getting it clean seems to be easier than keeping it clean. LOL
Jessica Ryles says
We do the same thing in our house. The kids love knowing exactly what is expected, and it makes everything so much easier!
Katie Berry says
It really does make the whole “clean your room” process less painful for everyone, doesn’t it?
Chantelle @ Tale of a Mompreneur says
This is a wonderful method, I’m going to have to give it a try with my four little ones! Thanks for the free printable as well!
Katie Berry says
You’re welcome!
Keri says
This might help us! My kids definitely struggle with figuring out where to start and then getting overwhelmed by too much. Saving this for sure!
Katie Berry says
Using a checklist really does help them stay on track, and they feel so proud of themselves when they’re done!
Katie Berry says
Thanks for hosting!
Olivia says
Thank you for sharing your wonderful parenting and cleaning tips for kids with us at Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
Olivia, co-hostess
Reinvented Collection
Katie Berry says
Thank you for hosting!
Susan says
This is beautiful.
Katie Berry says
I’m glad you like it, Susan!
Mini Clean says
This is a good thing. Kids should really be train to do some cleaning. If they do this tips and make it a habit they will eventually bring that until they grow old. Thanks for posting.
Katie B of HousewifeHowTos.com says
I agree. Kids tend to be the main source of mess, and it’s good for them to learn how to clean after themselves rather than take for granted that it’s Mom’s job to do it.
Mini Clean says
I totally agree with you.
Lois says
Thank you so much! My children’s idea of cleaning their rooms involves pulling OUT the Lego’s. Talk about AAAACK factor. I needed something to help.
H says
This helped
Katie B. says
Checklists really are great for kids, aren’t they?
susan says
Hmm… I’ve never tried this. As a kid I remember being told “go clean your room” and then being unsure what my mom expected. I’ve been using the same approach with my boys and not been happy with the results. I think your approach might be worth considering. Thanks.
Katie B. says
You’re welcome! I had to come up with *something* since my son’s version of cleaning his room and my version are so drastically different. Hint: his involves shoving everything under the bed. Aaaack!
Teresa says
Another tip I read somewhere (I wish I could remember where, because the guy should be given full credit!) anyhow, for kids who become easily overwhelmed when presented with a room that is in disarray and needs to be cleaned… Most of the time, it’s the overwhelming “stuff” that puts kids (and adults) into full on “I can’t do this” mode. Once the stuff is put away, the rest of the cleaning is easier.
Take a basket and put it in the middle of the floor. This is the “inbox” go around the room and put everything that needs to be picked up into the basket (no matter what it is – no decision is made at this point – everything goes into the basket). If the basket gets full, put the overflow around the outside of the basket.
Once everything has been picked up, then and only then you start to put away. Remember everything should be in this pile!
Next: This is very important: Take one thing at a time (only one!) and put it away in its place, put it in the trash, or put it in a box to be taken to another room.
This requires less by way of decision making so it’s not such a huge mountain to climb for them. It’s much easier to decide what to do with only one thing than it is to look at a room and say “OMG I have to put ALL this away… I can’t do it!
This can be translated to any person in the house who has problems starting a clean up. It might work. It might not. Worth trying it. 🙂
Katie B. says
My mother did something very similar when I was little. Basically, she’d wait until I was at school then dump every drawer in the middle of my room. On top of this, she’d throw everything that was on the floor of my closet or on top of my desk, dresser or nightstand. Then she’d tell me to put things away properly, one at a time.
You can imagine my attitude toward cleaning when I was a kid as a result, LOL!
Teresa says
Um – I think this proves, it’s all in how the project is presented… 😉
Katie B. says
Most definitely! LOL
Lori says
I actually did this when I was a kid, when I rearranged my room, everything went on the bed. Then I put stuff away where I wanted it to go.
Katie Berry says
That’s still one of my favorite ways to completely declutter and organize a room. If I can’t think of a place for something, I probably don’t need it so out it goes!
Sophie says
This is such a good idea my 7yr old gets overwhelmed easily thanks
Katie Berry says
You’re welcome!