From the FIORASPHERETHE FIORA® ‘TEACH YOUR TEEN TO CLEAN’ CHECKLIST

TEEN CLEANING CHECKLIST

Tidy the Living Room

It’s a shared space and a smart place to get your teen involved. Once per week, make it their job to deliver all left-behind belongings to their rightful owners, straighten the pillows, and wipe down all surfaces. Use a dampened paper towel with a mild all-purpose cleaner for coffee tables and shelves (or wood cleaner, if you prefer), and a dry paper towel as a dust cloth for the books, pictures, and lamps.

Wipe Down the Stove Top

With all the cooking come splashes and stains. A great trick for easier cleaning? Place a wet paper towel over caked-on stovetop spills, and leave it for a while. When you come back, the stain should be soft enough to wipe right off.

Empty the Dishwasher or Dish Rack

This helpful chore has a clear beginning and end, which teens tend to like, and the process teaches them where everything goes (some, honestly, do not know). Tip: do your freshly cleaned glasses have water stains? A simple polish with a dry paper towel can erase those spots within seconds.

Bathroom Maintenance

Bathrooms, in many households, are where teens tend to leave their mark. Wet towels on the floor? Check. Toothpaste in the sink? You get the point. Teach your teen the daily habit of leaving no mess behind. Stash a roll of paper towels in the cupboard and ask that they wipe down the sink and countertop when they’re done with their morning routine.

Hard Floors

Your teen may not realize how much dirt he tracks in until he has to clean it himself. Ran out of towelettes for your flat mop head? Wet a paper towel with your favorite floor cleaner and you’re good to go. If you like oil-based cleaner to polish your hardwood floors, use a dry FIORA® paper towel to soak up any residual oil and help avoid any slippery feet.

Kitchen Sink and Counters

You see what the teens don’t: the small corners and crevices around the kitchen sink and counters that collect moisture, stains, and crumbs. Ask your teen to wipe countertops and sinks with a multi-surface cleaner, then wrap a folded damp FIORA® paper towel around the end of a butter knife to get into those hard to reach places.

House plants

Caring for houseplants means caring for living things. What teen couldn’t benefit from that? Aside from getting a weekly watering, your plants will also appreciate a gentle dusting using a slightly damp paper towel on the leaves. (Pro tip: this works great on plastic plants, too.)

Vacuum (and Spot Clean) Carpets

Vacuuming is a satisfying chore: the results are instant and visible. But what about those little stains from shoes, food, or colored drinks? Teach your teen to use a damp paper towel with warm water, white vinegar, and dish soap, and then to gently blot.

Baseboards

All that teen zombie-like shuffling about the house can lead to scuffed baseboards. Start with dusting the small crevices with a dry folded paper towel. Then, dampen that same paper towel with water or your favorite household cleaner to do a quick wipe down.

Computers & Tablets

Many households have one or more of these in heavy use–often by a number of family members. The result? Fingerprints, grime, crumbs, and oil. Your teen probably knows these devices best, and should be taught how to clean them up without damaging the electronics. Use a mild glass cleaner on a damp FIORA® paper towel to gently get the grease off screens and keyboards, and even in-between the keys, without excess water getting through.

And Mom, Dad, remember: it’s a process.

At first, they won’t love it. Cleaning skills (and good habits) are learned, so have patience! Your teen may go through an extra roll (or two) of paper towels as they learn, but soon they’ll build up skills, and see how half-sheets can often get the job done, reducing waste, as well. Either way, you’ll want to stock up on affordable FIORA®. It’s also the absorbent, dependable, and earth-friendly choice.