Diwali is the most highly anticipated festival across India. I remember Diwali ki safai (cleaning the house for Diwali), as a kid we were very excited to clean our own rooms and do light cleaning tasks around the house. During Diwali we have seen our parents cleaning the house and encouraging us to clean, it’s that time of the year when families come together from far and wide to enjoy. It’s Hindu belief, cleanliness and positivity attracts Goddess Laxmi. Therefore, many households start cleaning the house for Diwali weeks before so that any negative energies accumulated over the year is removed.
It’s easy for kids to get excited for the food, fireworks and presents, but to excite them about cleaning is a whole other ballgame. The advantage of getting your children involved in Diwali preparations makes them aware of its cultural significance. Further provides perfect opportunity to tell our children what’s the significance of Diwali.
Kids like being given responsibilities and try to do every task to the best of their ability. And, once they have finished, don’t forget to praise them for the effort they have put in. Here are few things that I generally do to get my kid involved before I get to start cleaning the house for Diwali.
- Make a checklist of appropriate tasks that need to get done before Diwali.
- Create a reward system (like points on the whiteboard) and check off every time a task has been completed.
- Get them involved with sorting. Make it fun with timed games and the race to finish
We ( my wife and I ) started our ‘Diwali Ki Safai’ with tough grease stain removal in the kitchen :
- Emptied our entire kitchen cabinet
- Using a damp cloth wipe our kitchen cabinet with warm water.
- Clean gas stove / stove burners
- Thorough clean of the oven and Microwave
- Did the cleaning of our refrigerator as well.
#Don’tJustCleanIt,CifIt – Apply to surface ( cabinet or remove gas stove burners ) using a damp cloth, then simply wipe over and gently rinse away with water to clean stove burners
- Hobs and hotplates – Easily remove splashes, grease stains and even burnt-on food from gas and electric cookers
- Door handles – Metal and synthetic door handles go back to looking like new with a little Cif Cream on a damp cloth. Fingerprints and sticky bits? Not anymore.
My daughter was very excited to clean her room, toys, and study table. As a parents, it is our responsibility to live up to their expectations & make sure that we can make Diwali Ki safai & celebrations as fun-filled, interesting, and educating as possible. In the end my daughter ended up scoring more points on the white board.
Kids enjoy and love to do the decorations. Get your little one engaged in making decorative items beforehand and involving them in the Diwali mandir decorations. Decorate your home with streamers, ‘Happy Diwali’ banners, candles, lanterns, rangoli and diyas. Do Not allow kids to use candles or matches for lighting diyas, instead take their help for putting diyas in different corners of the house, in the balcony and at other places.
I strongly believe that Positivity and cleanliness attract good luck and prosperity thereby increasing Happiness of family members. Involving kids in your ‘Diwali Ki Safai’ not only helps to do the clean-up of the entire house but also helps in family bonding, cherishing what’s gone, and getting ready for what’d come.
