Daily household chores for kids have so many benefits, no matter how old they are.
But encouraging your teenager to help out around the house is especially beneficial.
On top of giving you a hand with your daily to-do list, chores also teach your teen some valuable life skills at the same time.
And since there are a variety of household chores for your teen to choose from, you’ll have your pick of jobs to add to your teen’s to-do list.
With the help of this handy chores list for teens, you can come up with some great jobs for your teenager to do at home each day.
Household Chores List for Teenagers
One of the best ways to get your teen doing chores is to have them help out around the house.
And while that may seem like an easy enough task, we all know that getting teens to do chores isn’t as simple as it sounds.
The key is to talk to your teen about your expectations and allow them to give input about the tasks they’ll be expected to do for chores. Keep reading below to find out more ways to motivate your teenager to get their chores done.
Once you’ve talked with them and received their input, then you can then add your expectations to the list.
These household chores are perfect for teenagers:
- Keep their room clean and organized, including making the bed each morning, dusting, vacuuming, and mopping when needed
- Sort, wash, and dry laundry and put everything away
- Wash and replace bedding each week
- Assist in keeping the common living areas of the house clean and organized, including picking up stray items, dusting, vacuuming, and mopping the floors
- Clean the bathrooms, including wiping down the counters, cleaning the toilets, cleaning the bathtub/shower, sweeping and mopping the floor, and wiping down the mirrors
- Clean the kitchen, including wiping the counters and appliances, sweeping and mopping the floor, and wiping down the cabinets
- Assist with meal preparation and clean-up
- Do the dishes, including loading and unloading the dishwasher and putting dishes away or washing and drying the dishes in the sink
- Clean high-traffic areas, like wiping doorknobs and light switches and keeping the entryway clean
- Feed and walk the pets
- Bathe the pets, as needed
- Take out the trash/recycling and take the trash cans to the curb on garbage day
- Bring in and sort through the mail
- Assist with meal planning and grocery shopping
- Babysit younger siblings
- Take and pick up younger siblings from afterschool activities
Deep Cleaning Chores List for Teens
While keeping up with daily household tasks is a great way to encourage your teenager to pitch in every day, there are always additional chores they should be doing.
Parents often experience burnout when they feel like they don’t have enough help around the house. Don’t let that be you. Teenagers are more than capable of doing daily light chores and deep cleaning ever so often.
Extra chores like these are a great way for your teenager to earn some extra allowance money or pitch in during spring cleaning.
These deep cleaning chores are perfect for teenagers:
- Wash the windows
- Dust and wash the blinds
- Clean light fixtures
- Wipe the baseboards
- Clean out the kitchen cabinets
- Clean out the refrigerator
- Clean the stovetop and oven
- Clean the microwave
- Clean out the basement
- Clean out the garage
- Clean out and organize closets
- Clean out and organize pantry
- Shampoo the carpets and rugs
- Vacuum the furniture
- Declutter and organize living areas, bathrooms, and kitchen
Outdoor Chores for Teenagers
Helping out around the house is a great way to keep your teen busy and show them what it takes to keep a house.
Adding outdoor chores will make them well-rounded when it’s time for them to keep their own house.
These outdoor chores are perfect for teenagers:
- Mow the grass
- Trim the hedges
- Water the garden and flowers
- Weed the garden and flower beds
- Spread mulch
- Sweep the porch, sidewalk, deck, and driveway
- Clean and maintain the pool
- Clean out the gutters
- Pressure wash the siding
- Repaint exterior walls, trim, and fences
- Clean outdoor light fixtures
- Make basic household repairs with adult supervision
- Clean outdoor furniture
- Hang holiday decorations
- Wash and vacuum the cars
- Wash and clean out other outdoor vehicles, like ATVs, boats, campers, etc.
- Rake leaves in the fall
- Shovel snow in the winter
Personal Chores for Teens
In addition to helping out around the house and the yard, a chores list for teens should also provide them with the opportunity to show more responsibility for themselves and their things.
These personal chores are a good way to encourage your teenager to demonstrate their independence (something that most teens can’t wait to have) and their ability to take care of themselves:
- Keep their backpack and school supplies organized
- Clean and store their sports equipment
- Prepare their own breakfast, lunch, and snacks
- Finish their homework
- Practice instruments and/or sports
- Handle all personal finances
- Keep their car clean and maintained, including regular oil changes
- Assist with tech maintenance, including computer updates
How Do You Motivate a Teenager to Do Chores?
Now that you have some ideas for chores to give your teenager, you’re probably wondering how to get them to actually do those chores.
Finding simple ways to motivate your teen to do chores is the second step to getting them to help out around the house.
These tips and tricks will help you get your teen on board:
Make your expectations clear
The first step to getting your teen to do their chores is to make sure they know exactly what they’re supposed to do.
Create a to-do list for them to follow and place it in a prominent location. Or use a chore app, like Cozi Family Organizer, to keep a list of ongoing chores your teen needs to complete.
Show them how
If your teen is new to doing chores, they’ll probably need a little bit of guidance at the beginning. Even though they’ve seen you load and unload the dishwasher 100 times, they probably don’t know how to do it on their own.
After you assign them their chores, take a minute to demonstrate each task for them. And make sure you’re around to answer questions or provide tips the first few times your teen does the task on their own.
Start small
It’s also a good idea to start small and work your way up.
While it may be tempting to create a long chores list for teens to do each day, writing down a mile-long to-do list for a kid who hasn’t done chores before will probably lead to disaster.
Start by giving your teen a few simple tasks to complete, then you can add to the list once the original chores have become part of their routine.
Keep other obligations in mind
Nothing is more deflating than having someone hound you about getting work done when you can barely juggle all the tasks you already have on your to-do list.
Having a chores list for teens means having realistic expectations of what they can reasonably accomplish with all their other activities and obligations.
Remember, there’s homework, extracurricular activities and sometimes jobs that they will be doing in addition to their household chores, so make sure your expectations are reasonable if you want them to stay motivated.
Make chores a family affair
Taking on a daily to-do list doesn’t seem very fair if it seems like your teen is the only one working around the house. Make sure everyone in the house pitches in and shares the workload so it’s fair.
Give them an allowance
Tying chores to money is another great way to motivate your teen to get their household work done. You can pay them a weekly allowance for completing all their chores or pay per chore.
Start by determining how much you’ll pay them and when they’ll receive their payment, then outline the rules to your teen so the know exactly what they’ll earn when their chore list is complete.
Set reasonable consequences
Rewards are a great motivator, but sometimes teenagers need a little extra push. In addition to providing a reward for a job well done, it’s also important to let your teen know that there will be consequences if the chores aren’t complete.
Simple consequences, like an earlier curfew or taking their phone away for a day, can be a good reminder that chores are something that shouldn’t be overlooked.
