Now that school’s almost out, parents and kids might have very different ideas about how to spend the stretch of summer months ahead. Parents probably have a few household projects in mind, while kids are planning long, lazy days.

Local cleaning expert Bob Cunningham with Merry Maids of Beaufort has some great ideas for helping families find a happy medium, including:

<b>• Setting a timer:</b> It can be daunting to think about cleaning a whole room, but anyone can clean for a few minutes. Determine an amount of time that is mutually acceptable to spend cleaning (for smaller children, this might be 10 or 15 minutes, for teens up to a half hour) and set an alarm to notify parent and child when time’s up.

<b>• Developing a schedule:</b> By reviewing their family’s summer calendar now, parents can assign regular chores that make sense around everyone’s activities.

<b>• Planning a purge a month:</b> Growing children tend to be magnets for too much stuff. If parents ask kids for their help in downsizing a little each summer month, the kids will have an easier time letting go of last year’s school projects, forgotten toys and outgrown clothes.

<b>• Making time for fun:</b> Most parents have a list of great summer activities that they want to enjoy with their family. If they keep reminding the kids that when everyone does their part there is more time for fun, chores will start to seem like just another part of the daily routine.