Laundry Baskets

Every parent is lacking on time. It’s rare that you have a lot of extra time to do chores around the house, and even when you do you likely don’t want to be doing them with your free time. Cleaning the house isn’t usually on the top of your fun list, and using your free time to complete the chores doesn’t really sound fun.

As such, you’re likely looking for useful ways to keep your kids occupied while you do chores. Of course, you can always get your kids to help with the chores. This is certainly the most ideal option for parents. If you can convince your kids to help with doing chores, then you’ll not only have less work to complete, but your kids will also learn how to take on responsibilities that need to be completed.

If your kids can’t help with whatever chores need to be completed, you could always hand them a tablet or let them watch something on TV. While this will generally be an effective way to keep them distracted, some parents prefer not to park their kids in front of electronic devices for a long period of time. Understandable too as these devices will often lead to your kids being frustrated when they are turned off.

One idea which we recently tried, and was quite effective was to buy a couple of laundry baskets that our kids could use while we complete chores around the house. This has worked out really well as it allows us to have our kids help as well as allow them to play while we complete the chores that need to be done.

The beauty of using laundry baskets is that kids are generally small enough to both get inside of them as well as to carry them around. Depending on how big your kids are, and how much they like to play using their imagination, you can have several games that the kids can play.

• Basketball. Get a ball, set the basket up and have them throw the balls into it. Set it up so that they move further back as they make more shots. If you have more than one kid, then you can have them challenge each other.
• Soccer/Golf. Lay the laundry basket down and have your kids either kick or roll the ball into it. Once again, have the kids move further back as they continue to make it in the basket.
• Hide and seek. Flip the basket over and have your child hide inside of it. Pretend like you can’t find them. Depending on how old they are, pretend like you can’t find them for a very long time :).
• Basket in basket. This is kind of like basketball, except you’re throwing one basket into the other basket. The goal is to get it to land into the basket so it falls down cleanly. This will be tough for most kids, but older kids may find the challenge fun.
• Gather items into the basket. Have your kids help you with the chores by collecting whatever you’re cleaning up into the basket. Have them clean their room by filling the basket. If you have multiple kids, then whoever fills their basket up first wins.
• Walk with baskets on heads. Be careful with this, keep kids away from stairs and other items that can cause injuries. This can be funny to watch, but make sure you’re watching them closely when they’re doing this.

Laundry baskets can keep your kids busy for quite a while, and give you some time to complete tasks that you need to do around the house. They will also encourage your kids to help you with the tasks that need to be done as well. Grab some laundry baskets and get yourself some much needed time to clean the house.