15 Ways to Help Your Busy Mother Out around the House

Co-authored by Wits End Parenting and Hannah Madden

Last Updated: December 4, 2022 References Approved

Does your mom seem super busy all the time? Your mom works hard to keep your home running for you and your family. You can show her how much you appreciate her by helping out with chores around the house. Not only will it make your mom happy, but it will build up your skills and teach you responsibility, too.^{[1]
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Wits End Parenting
Parenting Specialists
Expert Interview. 5 March 2020.} Read through this article for some simple chores you can get started on today to help your mom out.

Things You Should Know

Clean up after yourself to make your mom smile. If you've left a mess on your desk, on your bed, or in your room, tidy up.
Help with household chores that your mom normally handles. For instance, set the table or take out the trash.
Ask your mom what you can do to help her if you're not sure. She'll probably really appreciate your thoughtfulness!

1

Tidy up clutter in your room.

Help your mom by cleaning up any objects on the floor. Take a look around your room: are there books, toys, and blankets on the ground? Pick them up and put them in their spots.^{[2]
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- If you have a playroom or a family room that’s looking cluttered, do the same thing there as well.
- Are there any dishes or cups in your room? Help your mom out by taking them to the kitchen to be washed.

2

Organize your school work.

Choose a specific area for your papers and backpack. If you normally sprawl your homework papers and textbooks all over your room, make one particular spot where you'll store your homework. This could be a desk, or just a corner of the room to stack your textbooks and put your backpack.^{[3]
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- Having a homework spot doesn't just make your room look cleaner, it makes it easier to find what you need to get ready for school in the morning.

3

Make your bed.

Keep your room looking great by making your bed look nice. After you wake up in the morning, take a few minutes to straighten out your blankets and pillows. Make your bed as neatly as you can to get it ready for you to doze off to sleep in.^{[4]
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- If you know your mom is doing laundry later, help her out by taking the sheets off your bed and putting them in the laundry pile. Try to wash your sheets at least once a week to keep them looking and smelling fresh.

4

Set the table for dinner.

Grab plates, silverware, and napkins before you sit down to eat. Your mom probably worked hard making dinner for you and your family. Help her out by setting the table and making sure everyone has what they need for the meal.^{[5]
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- You can also pour cups of water for everyone at the table.

5

Feed and walk the pets.

Help care for your animals so your mom doesn’t have to. Does your family have a dog, a cat, a bird, a fish, or any animal that eats? When it’s time to feed them, grab their food and give them the right amount (if you aren’t sure how much, ask your mom).^{[6]
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Research source} Make sure they all have water in their dish, and take them on a walk if that’s what they need!
- You could also play fetch or play with toys inside the house.

6

Water the plants.

Grab a watering can and give your thirsty plants a drink. If you have any indoor plants, carefully pour some water into the dirt around the base of the plant. If you have outdoor plants or a garden, you can use a hose to spray water directly into the dirt near the plants’ roots.^{[7]
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- Outdoor plants usually only need to be watered during the spring and summer. If it’s raining, your plants are being watered for you!
- Some plants only need a little bit of water. If you aren’t sure whether or not yours need some, ask your mom.

7

Take out the trash.

When the trash can is full, bring the bag outside. You might notice that your kitchen or bathroom trash is overflowing with garbage. If that’s the case, pull the sides of the bag up and tie the bag tightly so no trash falls out. Bring the bag outside to the trash bins, then replace the bag with a fresh one.^{[8]
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- If you’re old enough to push the large trash bins out to the street, ask your mom when trash day is. Then, the night before, bring the bins out to the street for the garbage trucks to pick up in the morning.

8

Do a load of laundry.

Wash, dry, and fold the clothes to help your mom out. Ask your mom which clothes are dirty and if she wants to sort them first. Then, grab a pile and put the clothes into the washer, followed by some laundry detergent. Turn the washer on to start the load, and plan on transferring it to the dryer when it’s done.^{[9]
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American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Nonprofit organization dedicated to providing and improving psychiatric care for children and adolescents.
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- Some clothes are delicate and need to be washed on a special cycle. Ask your mom beforehand if there’s anything you should set aside before putting in the laundry.
- When the clothes are dry, fold them and sort them into piles based on where they go.

9

Vacuum or sweep the floors.

Clean the floors in your home to leave them looking spotless. Check out the floors in your house: are they dirty, hairy, or dusty? If you have carpet, grab the vacuum and vacuum the floors to clean them up. If you have hardwood, tile, or laminate floors, use a broom to sweep up dirt and hair.^{[10]
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- If your floors are really dirty, you could even mop them for your mom. Ask her where the mop and bucket are, then fill up the bucket with water and whatever cleaning solution your mom usually uses.

10

Make your own breakfast or lunch.

Prepare an easy meal for yourself that you can eat on your own. Your parents might cook dinner, but you can take charge of making your own breakfast and lunch every day. It doesn't need to be fancy. If you're not allowed to use the stove, you can use the microwave to make oatmeal, or just eat cold cereal or yogurt. Pack your own lunch by making a sandwich and bringing along some yummy fruit.^{[11]
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- Packing your lunch the night before makes the mornings of school easier.
- If you have siblings, you can trade off whose turn it is to pack lunch or make breakfast for everybody.

11

Help make dinner.

Ask your parents what you can do to help make a meal. Find things that you can do to help with dinner preparation, like washing fruit, making pasta, slicing vegetables, making a salad, or pouring glasses of water for everybody.^{[12]
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Expert Source

Wits End Parenting
Parenting Specialists
Expert Interview. 5 March 2020.} If you have siblings, get them in on it by encouraging them to set the table or grab a drink for everyone.

12

Wash the dishes.

Clean up after a big meal to help your mom in the kitchen. After you and your family are done eating, offer to wash the dishes. You can either load them in the dishwasher or wash them by hand. Then, put the clean dishes away in the cupboards to use later on.^{[13]
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- If you aren’t old enough to do the dishes yet, focus on taking your dinner plate to the kitchen and scraping any food into the garbage or compost.

13

Dust around the house.

Wipe off surfaces if they look dingy or dusty. Grab a duster or just a wet rag and go over any flat surfaces in your home, like shelves, tables, or bookcases. Focus on areas that aren’t touched a lot, since those tend to accumulate the most dust.^{[14]
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- Be extra careful if you choose to dust electronics, like the TV or your computer. Always use a clean microfiber towel, and go gently over the screen so you don’t damage it.

14

Do some yard work.

Mow the grass or weed the garden outside on a nice day. During the summer, you can help out your mom and get some fresh air at the same time. Use a lawnmower to mow the grass, or put on some gardening gloves and pull out weeds by hand. If you aren’t sure which plants are supposed to be there and which ones are weeds, ask your mom before you start.^{[15]
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Trustworthy Source
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Nonprofit organization dedicated to providing and improving psychiatric care for children and adolescents.
Go to source}

15

Ask your mom what to do if you’re not sure.

Your mom probably has plenty of chores in mind for you to do. If you’re super stumped about what might be helpful, just ask! Your mom can tell you exactly what to do and how to do it, and you can ask her any questions if you’re confused. ^{[16]
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Expert Source

Wits End Parenting
Parenting Specialists
Expert Interview. 5 March 2020.}
- Your mom will probably really appreciate you wanting to help. Even if she doesn’t have a chore for you right that second, she’ll love knowing that you’re willing to clean up around the house and lighten her load a bit.

Expert Q&A
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Question

How can I encourage my family to help out around the house?

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Wits End Parenting is a parent-coaching practice based in Berkeley, California specializing in strong-willed, “spirited” children with impulsivity, emotional volatility, difficulty “listening,” defiance, and aggression. Wits End Parenting's counselors incorporate positive discipline that is tailored to each child’s temperament while also providing long-term results, freeing parents from the need to continually re-invent their discipline strategies.

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Expert Answer

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Try normalizing household tasks as activities that are as expected as waking up in the morning. One main way to do this is to do part of the housework together as a family. For example, everyone contributes to dinner prep, or the family might clean an entire room together on a Saturday. This not only gets the work done, it also does a better job of positioning chores as expected and a normal part of living in a household.