Mixing vinegar and baking soda can be messy, so you’ll want to take these activities outside as much as possible or do them in the sink.

Magically inflate a balloon. Put some vinegar in a plastic water bottle and some baking soda into an uninflated balloon. Stretch the neck of the balloon over the mouth of the bottle without letting the baking soda fall into the bottle. Then, tip the balloon up over the bottle, let the baking soda fall into the vinegar, and watch the balloon inflate with carbon dioxide! Experiment with different amounts of baking soda and vinegar for maximum inflation. For a zany variation, try using a rubber glove instead of a balloon (you might need rubber bands to secure the glove to the bottle).

Clean the sink. “Cleaning? Yuck! That’s boring!” How often have you heard that at your house? Well, wait until the kids see this method of cleaning out the bathroom drain! Just pour half a cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by half a cup of vinegar. Give the mixture some time to clear out the drain (and allow for exclamations of “Woah! Cool!”), and then flush some hot water down the sink.

Make a film canister rocket. You’ll definitely want to do this one outside, and make sure that you and your child are wearing safety glasses to protect your eyes! Make a thick paste of baking soda and water, and then stick some to the lid of an old-fashioned film canister or other container with a snap-on top. Put a little vinegar in the canister. Carefully put the lid on the canister, without letting the baking soda fall into the vinegar. Set the film canister upside down and then quickly stand back. The chemical reaction will rapidly create carbon dioxide, blowing the lid off the canister and propelling it into the air!

Of course, there’s always a lot of potential for fun when you have vinegar and baking soda in the same room. What are your favorite vinegar and baking soda activities?

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Here are a couple tips for getting your child involved in tidying up:

Set a Good Example
If you’re clean, you’ll be in a much better position to raise clean kids. You want to make sure they don’t grow up with clutter and get used to it. Try to limit the “Kitch” – items with limited sentimental value that clutter your shelves (little statues from drug stores, picture frames that you’ve never gotten around to putting pictures in, boxes that are too small to put anything in, etc.) Flylady.net is an excellent resource for getting your own cleaning habits on track.

Start ‘em Young
Even toddlers can start cleaning up their mess and helping around the house. Find tasks that are simple enough for them to accomplish without frustration, and then be sure to give them praise for a job well done. I still remember feeling so proud whenever Mom was folding laundry, and I got to fold all the towels.

Make it a Game
Cleaning time can be fun. You can hold a race to see who can put away the most toys the fastest. Or you could try setting up a fun story scenario: Maybe your child is on a pirate ship and has to “batten down the hatches” before a big storm comes, or maybe they’re Cinderella, and they have to take care of the chores before the ball. Just be sure to keep them on track, as they might very well get swept up in the story and want to flit off to play pretend rather than finishing the task at hand!

Rewards System
Rewards systems are a great way to get your kids excited about cleaning. A point system, where kids earn points for different chores, can be a great motivation. You can come up with fun and appropriate prizes for when they get to a certain number of points, like a trip to the movies, a theme park, or an ice cream cone. Be careful not to make the prizes too easy to get. You (and your wallet) will run into trouble if they get a Disneyland trip every time they do the dishes. Set different levels of prizes so that your kids get fairly regular smaller rewards, and can work toward bigger ones.

Limit Cleaning Time
Instead of sending your children to clean their room (where they will proceed to empty every drawer in order to “sort” it, and then promptly lose interest when they discover those old dinosaur toys they didn’t remember they had, and you come in half an hour later to find them sitting on a fresh pile of clutter making T-Rex and Triceratops fight to the death) try cutting the project down into bite-sized pieces. You can set a timer for 15, 10, or even 5 minutes of cleaning time, or pick one small area to get clean per day. You may well discover that more gets done and stays done when your child is cleaning a little bit every day, rather than a lot once in a while.

Be Firm and Consistent
Consistency is key in establishing good cleaning habits. Whenever your children eat a meal or have a drink, they should wash their dishes and throw away their trash. When they have dirty laundry, it should go straight in the hamper. When they come home from school, their backpack should be hung it its place and their shoes should go in the closet. It can be tough. Be patient but firm, and don’t let them get away with doing it “later”, because you’ve got a good bet that when they say “I’ll do it later, Mom” it means “I’ll put it off until you get so fed up that you do it yourself.”

Be Willing to Provide Supervision
Kids seem to have a much higher tolerance for mess than most adults. I can still remember numerous fights with my own mother, where she was telling me the bathroom counter was not clean, and I couldn’t see what on earth she was talking about. After all, I had pushed all the bottles back against the mirror so there were a few square inches of counter space! Understand that your kids may not see it the way you do, and you may need to work with them for a while until they fully realize what you’re looking for.

The overall goal is to establish habits. Cleaning should eventually be just a part of life, something that your whole family does on auto-pilot. “MY family?” you scoff, “Clean?” Yes, with some of the strategies above, you’ll be well on your way to having a cleaner home and a tidier family. Good luck!

Don’t let your shiny new year get tarnished and cluttered up just yet! Try out these handy tips from JumpStart to spruce up your child’s organization and homework skills in no time.

Child’s Room or Play Area

Let’s begin in your child’s room or play area with a handy activity that will have your child learning and cleaning at the same time! To get started, purchase 3-5 large plastic storage bins, preferably in a fun color. With your child’s help, lay out all the items you would like to organize and discuss ways to categorize the objects. Categories can be by color, shape, size, or even type of toy.

Next, grab some paper and create custom labels for the boxes. Remember, labeling objects can be a great way for children to learn that letters make words and words stand for objects and ideas. If your child is too young to write, write the words for him or her before handing over the crayons for some crazy decorations. You could also take a photograph of the items in the bin and post it as a label on the front of the bin so that your child never forgets which toys belong in what bin.

Together, fill the boxes with the appropriate items and store in an easy-to-reach location (possibly on the floor along a wall). Encourage your child to place toys back in the correct bins at the end of every day or play date. For added fun, have your child close his or her eyes and place one item in an incorrect bin – can your child figure out what got moved?

Child’s Study Area and Materials

If you have a school-aged kid, you know that organization is key for homework to be completed and safely returned to the teacher on time.

With your child, select a color to represent each school subject. For example, reading = blue, math = green and science = red. Purchase a notebook and folder in each color, adding in an extra colored folder for any materials that need to come home to you. Depending on what the teacher will allow, you might also consider covering your child’s text books in wrapping paper (cover with clear contact paper for durability) of the assigned colors. Now, your child will be able to grab the correct folder in seconds. Plus, you’ll be able to do a quick backpack check to make sure all colors are accounted for before your little one heads out the door!

Next, make sure you have a designated spot for your child to complete his or her homework each evening. This may be the kitchen table, a bedroom or the family room – but try to find a spot with as few distractions as possible. Decorate the study area with a set of monthly calendar pages pinned side by side. Work with your child to highlight any important due dates, projects or tests on the calendars. If you cross off each passing day before bedtime, you’ll be able to watch those deadlines approach easily!

Finally, help your child design a typical daily schedule. Be sure to include wake-up time, school hours, afterschool activities, homework, dinner, play time and bedtime. Post this schedule near the calendars. If your child understands what is expected each day, he or she is more likely to focus on homework during homework time in anticipation of later activities!

Now just sit back, relax and enjoy your brand new year in peace!