8 Easy Family Home Improvement Ideas

Your home is for the entire family. It only makes sense that the entire family should help with the upkeep. Even starting at a young age, kids can help with some family home improvement projects.

Not only will your home be taken care of and look better after the projects are done but also your child will have learned some important life skills in the process. Not sure where to start? Keep reading to see our list of eight family home improvement ideas to do with kids of all ages.

By involving your kids in these family home improvement ideas, you can help your child build awareness, appreciation, and handyman skills. Our list builds on itself for your child’s ultimate benefit.

1. Organize your child’s room so they can do things.

   Even a very young child can put their clothes and toys away if their room is set up correctly. If you have a toddler or younger, have your child help you put away their clothes.

   It may take longer, but you’ll be helping your child develop a sense of ownership for their things and pride in caring for their things. The same goes with toys. If your child is old enough to pull them out, they are old enough to put them away before moving onto the next thing.

   If they’ve been pulling out all of their toys and you’ve been putting them away at the end of the day, it may take some time for your child to learn the new rules. Don’t give up, though. Be patient and firm.

   Your child will learn that the new expectation is that putting toys away at the end is part of every playtime experience. This will help them learn how to organize and keep order.

2. Taking care of furniture, floors, and household items.

   When your child is in preschool or kindergarten, they can help with some of the cleaning. You know your child best, so use your judgment to decide what they can and cannot do.

   Wiping down the tables and dusting is a great first project for kids this age. So is sweeping and mopping. Show your child where you keep the cleaning supplies they’ll need and explain to them why you keep them out of reach of younger siblings, if applicable.

   Kids love to help at this age. They won’t get everything perfect, but that’s okay. They’ll get better. Let them know what you consider “clean” and keep encouraging them until they get close.

3. Gardening, spring cleaning, and building.

   Once your child enters elementary school, they are ready to help with some seasonal projects. Family home improvement ideas for this age include gardening, spring-cleaning projects, and some building projects (like bookshelves). Walk them through the process and let them know what you are doing and why.

4. Repair and tool helper.

   As your child enters the tween years, they can help you fix things. You should never use a child’s small hands to reach into sharp or small places. Your child is old enough to understand, though, that when something starts leaking (the sink, for example) you don’t need to get a new one.

   Explain how you’re going to fix it and have your child help by holding the flashlight and handing you the correct tools you need. This is a great opportunity to explain what tools are called and what they are used for.

   If you aren’t sure how to fix the problem, let them be a part of the process of figuring it out and deciding when or if the project is beyond what you are comfortable doing. Some things require a professional, and that’s okay.

5. Picture hanger.

   A tween is more than ready to learn how to hammer nails if they haven’t already. If they haven’t had an opportunity to nail things yet, grab some nails, a hammer, and a stump or spare piece of wood.

   Then show them how to hold the hammer and have them practice hammering some nails into the spare piece of wood. Once they are proficient, show them how to use a level to hang pictures and let them get hanging.

6. Painting.

   A child nearing their teen years is capable of taking on some family household improvement projects on their own. Painting is an excellent one for them to take charge of. Give them some painter’s tape and explain how they should tape things off. Then let them know what the different types of rollers and brushes are used for and let them get to work.

7. Lawn care.

   A young teenager can take on a regular family household improvement task like mowing the lawn and weed eating. If your child hasn’t done this task with you at an earlier age, then you’ll need to take some time to show them how and make sure they know how to use the lawn mower and weed eater properly. Show them how to properly care for the tools and ask them to let you know when they need more supplies.

8. Changing household filters.

   A teenager is ready to start learning about caring for the “hidden systems” in your household. Show them the different systems that use filters, like your water heater, heating and air-conditioning system, water filtration system, and stove ventilation filter, and how you change them.Take them to the hardware store the next time you need to buy filters. Have them help you select the appropriate sizes. Then have them change the filters when you get home.

Once your child has graduated each family home improvement idea and feels comfortable around tools and helping out, it’s time to get your child their own small tool set that includes a socket set, set of screwdrivers, channel locks, crescent wrench, wire cutters, Allen wrenches, and box cutter. This is a great set.

As new family home improvement projects come up, make sure to involve your kids. Then when they move out on their own, they’ll be more than prepared to handle not only home maintenance but their own home improvement projects.