Cleanup Song and Dance Routine

Toys to clean up (you probably already have plenty of those scattered around)

Storage bins or shelves where toys belong

When it's time to clean up, announce with excitement: "It's cleanup concert time!"

Start singing a simple cleanup song. Make up your own tune or use the classic: "Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere. Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share."

Pick up toys in rhythm with the song — one toy placed away per beat. Model this clearly.

Challenge your child: "Can you put all the blocks away before the song ends?" A time element adds motivation.

Sing faster to make the cleaning feel exciting and urgent. Speed up gradually.

Add silly dance moves between toy pickups — spin in a circle, then grab a toy. Shimmy, then grab another one.

End the song with a big dramatic finish and celebrate the clean room together. "We did it! The room is clean!"

Consistency is everything here. If you sing the same cleanup song every single time, your child will eventually start cleaning automatically when they hear it.

The classic Barney cleanup song works, but a personalized song your family invents is even more powerful and fun.

Make it a race against the music, not against each other. "Can we beat the song?" feels cooperative, not competitive.

This transforms one of the hardest parts of parenting a toddler — transitions and cleanup — into something they actually look forward to.

Keep singing even when they resist. Over time, the association between song and action becomes almost reflexive.