When it comes to fulfilling all of your needs in a typical day, it’s easy to fall short somewhere or other. For instance, even though adults need seven to nine hours of sleep every night, parenting sometimes means sacrificing an hour or two of sleep for a bit more time to get some exercise or prepare for the next day. But the one thing you shouldn’t be sacrificing is your family’s activity level.
Fortunately, there are a few simple things you can do to get everyone a little more active without ever leaving the house. Let’s get into it!
Chore Chart
While chores might not be the most fun thing in the world, a chore chart can certainly help make the experience a little bit more fun. And if you’re still struggling to incentivize everyone to get behind the chore chart, it’s never a bad idea to offer prizes for whoever completes all of their chores at the end of the week. Even parents can get in on the prizes! If the whole family gets all of their chores done by the end of the week, a trip out to get ice cream or ordering pizza is a great way to celebrate a clean and tidy house. Not sure what chores to include on your chore chart? Here are a few to get you started.
- Doing the dishes.
- Sweeping the floors.
- Organizing books or movies.
- Wiping down the kitchen countertops.
- Dusting bookshelves and other furniture.
- Cleaning the bathroom.
- Vacuuming the carpet.
- Brushing the dog or cat.
When it comes to chores, getting everyone to pitch in is an excellent way to get the whole family active and take a little bit of the burden off of your shoulders. Say hello to a little bit more sleep every night!
Home Improvement Projects
Did you know that almost 85% of homes in the U.S. were built before 1980 and are in need of some home improvement? Sometimes these projects can be pretty labor-intensive, but there are always smaller projects that the whole family can help out with. Sometimes all a room needs is a fresh coat of paint, some new furniture, and a few new light fixtures. Or maybe you’re refinishing your kitchen cabinets instead of replacing them entirely. Painting and sanding are two activities that, while simple enough for younger kids to help out with, are still pretty exhaustive if you do them for long enough. This is a great way to get the whole family involved in beautifying your home and get a little bit of physical activity in while you’re at it.
Cleaning Up the Yard
Whether it’s winter, spring, summer, or fall, it seems like the yard is always in need of a good cleaning. During the fall and spring, it’s all about raking up leaves and cleaning up debris from the surrounding trees. Summer and winter are more about checking up on maintenance tasks every now and again, but the fact remains that yard work is a year-round occupation. So while you might not be using shaved bats to play ball when it’s colder than 65 degrees outside, putting everyone to the task of prepping the yard for the upcoming season can be an excellent physical family activity. Teaching the kids how to mow the lawn, pull up weeds, rake leaves, and prepare shrubs and other plants for winter can get everyone outside for a little while and learning some pretty useful knowledge. Not to mention that your yard will look stunning by the time you’re all done!
Getting the whole family more active without spending a ton of money isn’t too tough. With these projects around the house, your whole crew will be happy and healthy all year round.