Making Cleaning Safe & FUN!

I had an idea last night. I wish I had had this idea years ago, when my kids were younger. Kids and cleaning chemicals are not the best combination, right? Young kids (I think under 3) should not be able to get at cleaning chemicals at all. But, I'd say by the time they're 3-4 years old, they are old enough to understand not to drink chemicals (in most instances, obviously every parent should be the judge on that, depending on what the child is like).

It's around this age that kids really want to mimic Mommy, and cleaning is still fun for them. While cleaning chemicals can look pretty in their bright yellows, blues, greens, and even purples, they aren't exactly something kids should be playing with just yet, either.

So, here's my idea- make a safe cleaning kit for kids, so that when it's time to clean, they can use their own "products", while Mommy uses hers (Or Daddy!).

What You'll Need:
1 Clean Spray Bottle (to avoid confusion, I do NOT recommend reusing a cleaning chemical bottle)
Stickers
Permanent Marker
Size Small reusable rubber cleaning gloves
Vinegar
Water
Colorful Scrub Brush
Micro Fiber Cloth
Bucket or Tub

Decorate the bottle & tub or bucket with stickers, and write your child's name on each item in big bright letters. Fill the bottle 3/4ths with water, and 1/4th with vinegar. The vinegar won't be harmful, if accidently ingested, and will give the water cleaning properties, and make it more of a deodorizer.

Make yourself a kit, while you are at it, and explain to the child(ren) that Mommy's kit (or Daddy's) is just for the grown up's, and the child kit is just for the kids. Put them away side by side, and when it's time to clean, everyone can help out!

The dollar store sells all of the supplies listed above in fun, bright colors. The spray bottles are opaque white, but have bright colored spray nozzles.