Garage Cleaning with Kids
Garage Cleaning: At least once a year, set aside a Saturday to tackle this breezy byway.Actually, you should do it twice a year; when you get out the summer stuff, and again when you get out the winter stuff. This cleaning day is the ideal time to ooh and ahh over all you old treasures and reevaluate whether to keep them. Is the patio umbrella dirty? Clean it. Is the artificial Christmas tree bent? Repair it or toss it. (You rarely need a backup Christmas tree.) Try to send the little ones away for this occasion. Ages 8 and up will be of help. Anyone younger will be of hindrance. Have big plastic bags everywhere: for charity, for trash, for sale, and for resituating. At the end of the day, cart away the bags for trash and charity. (Do it today or you'll leave them cluttering the garage for another five months.) Set aside stuff for a street sale. Let the children benefit from their hard work. Be sure to clean the garage while it's empty. Sweep it out, get rid of oil stains, brush away cobwebs - you get the picture. If you have oil stains on the floor, here's how to get rid of them. Scrape up any accumulation. Absorb oil with a noncombustible material such as automatic dishwasher detergent or cat litter. Grind it into the oil a bit. Leave it on for several minutes, and then pour boiling water on the stained areas. Scrub the floor with a stiff brush or push broom, and then rinse it with water. Sprinkle baking soda over the cleaned area to neutralize the solution that you've used. Never clean with gasoline. And get that leaky car fixed! Treat other garage floor stains with Spray 'n Wash, let them rest, and then scrub them away with automatic dishwasher detergent. If you see any evidence of rodent droppings, send the kids away. Put on a mask. Wet the area first. Then wipe the droppings up. You do not want to accidentally inhale any of the rodent droppings because they harbor viruses and/or bacteria. It's a good idea to wet all dusty areas before sweeping or wiping. This keeps the dust from swirling around and giving you an allergy or asthma attack. Or use a sweeping compound. This mixture of oil, sand, and sawdust catches and holds dirt instead of throwing it up in the air when you sweep. You'll find this at home and hardware stores. Once the garage floor is clean, apply a cement sealer to seal the concrete floor and protect it from spills. Cement sealers are a great primer if you want to really get fancy and pain the floor. To limit the amount of dust and dirt that your family tracks into the house, place a small indoor/outdoor carpet or large doormat in front of the entry door.  Custom Search Chores for Kids
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Garage Cleaning
With Kids
Here are
garage cleaning chores
you can reasonably expect a child to help you with depending on his or her age.
Garage No-Nos
A garage is a great storage spot. But there are several things you definitely
shouldn't store
here.
Family Road Trip:
10 Rules for the Road
Planning a road trip with the kids? These
10 rules of the road
can help make it a smooth ride for everyone.
Car Chores for Kids
What chores can kids help with to keep the family car clean? This simple guide to chores by age can help you decide.