Top 5 ways to gets your boarders to clean up after themselves
Without Nagging
Have your boarders turned you into some sort of a nagging, neat freak?
Nobody wants to be chasing after other people (especially grown adults) reminding them to pick up their Own stuff or clean up the mess They made. Straightening up the spaces you used should be common sense, right? But somehow in our distraction-filled world, common sense is not always common practice. So before your boarders turn you into some sort of crazed version of your mother put these tips to use and get your boarders to come around to keeping the place tidy all on their own.
1. Hold yourself to high standards
You can’t expect others to keep your place cleaner than you do. Generally, people will follow the example of those around them so if they see you’re organized, clean, and conscientious around to stable they are much more likely to do the same thing.
2. Make it convenient
Be strategic about where you place your garbage cans, muck buckets, apple forks, and brooms. If you are finding that certain areas are always left dirty hang extra clean up tools there to make clean up handy. For example, if your boarders constantly forget to sweep the aisle coming from the arena hanging a broom by the arena door will remind them to sweep up behind their horse after they ride.
3. Keep the routine consistent
With boarders coming and going at different times it can be hard for them to catch onto what is expected of them when it comes to cleaning up after their horse. By keeping your chore routine consistent you can show them your standard of cleanliness. One example would be, if the barn is swept every morning by ten am after stalls are done then when boarders come to ride they can see it’s been cleaned and leave the space as tidy as it was when they started.
4. A little appreciation goes a long way
Noticing when people clean up and thanking them right away for doing it will set them on the right track to being habitually tidy. Soon you won’t have to keep busting out the gold stickers everytime someone picks up their horse’s poop, it will just be second nature.
5. Show them how
While you may have mastered the art of picking up a pile of horse poop in one fell swoop, your novice boards have likely not had the same amount of “practice” herding stray apples as you have. Taking the time to teach them some of the tricks that make cleanup less effort and showing them where things go can be a great way to make them feel more comfortable about pitching in. It’s also good to remember you don’t get better at it by doing less of it. As annoying as it can be to watch someone fumble through clean up it’s best to step back take a breathe and let them learn, especially for the young riders. Remember at one point you too were awkwardly spilling forks full of apples all over the aisle on your way to the muck bucket and someone patiently stepped back so you could learn by doing.
Another excellent post Becky!! Your suggestions can also transfer over to household chores with family members, and in our case could work with helping employees at our business.
Thanks, it’s especially handy with employees. They feel more appreciated and you don’t have to feel like you’re constantly over their shoulder.