Summer Maintenance Tasks So Easy, Your Kids Can Do 'Em

By Erin Wallace

July 17, 2024

Chores and summer maintenance tasks are great ways to teach kids responsibility and how to take care of themselves and their families. If your kids are out of school for the summer, this season is a great time to have them help with summer maintenance tasks around the house.

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Easy Home Maintenance Tasks Your Kids Can Help Out With

Indoor Chores

Laundry Tasks

In any household, laundry can seem like a never-ending chore, but it can be made easier when kids pitch in. Younger kids can help match socks or put away folded clothes in drawers, and older kids can start loads in the washer and transfer them to the dryer with instructions and/or supervision.

If having kids do all their own laundry feels like too big of a summer maintenance task, start small and have them wash their own sports uniforms, for example, so they learn that they need to be clean before their next game.

Picking Up Bedrooms

As long as toys and books have a place to go, any kid can keep their room tidy with some instruction and help. To prevent having to nag kids to clean up, set a designated time in the early evening for tidying up.

Creating a Packing List for Trips

Whether you're heading out for a day trip to the museum or a multiday getaway, have kids participate in the packing process by making a list of things they think they'll need and then packing them in their own bags. Depending on how old your kids are, you might have to closely supervise and make sure they take enough clothes, for instance, and remind them not every toy can fit in the car.

Simple Meal Preparation and Planning

Kids can help with meal prep for lunch or dinner by preparing a simple side or salad. Kid-friendly knives make it easy for them to chop vegetables, and a salad spinner can make washing greens easy and fun.

For breakfast, encourage kids to help themselves to simple things like cereal and milk. They might need your help with pouring, but they'll develop a sense of responsibility and satisfaction from preparing their own breakfast.

When you're meal planning for the week, older kids can help with this summer maintenance task, too. Have them come up with one suggestion each for dinner that week.

Unloading the Dishwasher

Encourage your kids to help with unloading the dishwasher and putting things away. Silverware is a good task to give them because these items are usually put away in a drawer kids can reach. Even if plates and cups are stored in a high cabinet, children can help stack items carefully.

Pet Care

If you have cats or dogs, caring for pets may already be a part of your kid's routine, but you can involve them more in pet care if they're home more often during the summer. Filling water and food dishes and playing outside in the yard are just a few ways kids can pitch in with pet care.

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Outdoor Chores

Washing the Car

Kids are usually enthusiastic about things involving water, and washing the car is no exception. Fill a bucket with soapy water, give them large sponges and let them wash your car. If you're concerned about clothes getting too wet, opt for bathing suits instead.

Mowing the Lawn

This chore is primarily for teenagers because it involves operating yard equipment, but mowing the lawn is a weekly summer maintenance task your kids can handle. They'll likely need to be taught how to operate the mower and good techniques for cutting grass, but after a little bit of instruction, it's a great way for teenagers to help keep the yard looking neat and trim.

Watering Gardens

If you grow flowers or vegetables, a great summer maintenance task kids can help with is watering plants. Teach them how to use the hose, and develop a watering schedule with them. You may need to supervise the first few times to make sure they don't overwater, but it's definitely a simple task they can eventually do independently.

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