Empty the wastebasket

#wastebasket#trash#empty#tidy up#chore

The smell, the sticky bottom and the risk of something falling out on the way turn the wastebasket into a job children keep postponing. The pictures below break it into a few short moments, so the reluctance has something concrete to measure itself against.

Wastebasket being emptied

A blue wastebasket lies tipped over with paper falling out of it.

About this visual support

Resistance to the wastebasket starts before a hand is anywhere near it. It is the smell, the sticky layer at the bottom and the thought of something dropping out on the way to the bin that make the job unpleasant, not any real difficulty. In practice it takes about a minute, but that minute feels considerably longer when the body is objecting the entire way.

This is exactly where visual support earns its place: it makes a short job visibly short. Once your child sees that the task is four pictures rather than an undefined lump of disgust, starting at all becomes easier. Practically, you can lower the bar further by dropping a fresh bag into the bottom before the full one is lifted out, so nobody stands there holding rubbish while hunting for a replacement. Let your child tie the bag themselves, since then their hands never touch anything directly.

If you want the job to come back the same way every week, you can add it to the household chores in the Routined app. A fourteen-day trial is included.