Care Leavers Independence · Workbook chapter 06 of 21

Cleaning & Home Maintenance

Build manageable cleaning and laundry routines without dangerous repairs.

Watch: Cleaning & Home Maintenance

A practical independent living skills lesson. Use the activities below to discuss and practise afterwards.

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Read the video transcript

Keeping a home comfortable doesn't mean doing everything at once. Pick one manageable cleaning or laundry task. Make a simple routine, then decide what help or equipment makes it easier.

Start here: three practical activities

These examples come from the Nexsteps Independent Living Skills Workbook. Choose an appropriate activity rather than treating this as a test.

  1. ACTIVITY 1Complete a safe cleaning task

    Choose a suitable product and safely complete one task.

  2. ACTIVITY 2Do a laundry cycle

    Follow clothing labels to choose a cycle and dry safely.

  3. ACTIVITY 3Make a weekly routine

    Test a short routine and review helpful support.

TRY SOMETHING INTERACTIVE

Make a choice. See what happens.

This is a fictional situation. Choose the response that feels most helpful and explore the feedback. It is not a test, and your choices are not recorded.

MORE WAYS TO LEARN

Three more real-life challenges

Choose the challenges that matter to you. Try them in a safe, supported way where needed. Ticking a box is only for your own use and is not stored.

EXTRA ACTIVITY 4

Cleaning kit match-up

Match everyday cleaning tasks to appropriate products by reading labels with support.

EXTRA ACTIVITY 5

Laundry label hunt

Choose two garments and identify what their care labels say before washing.

EXTRA ACTIVITY 6

Ten-minute tidy plan

Make a short routine for one space, choose any helpful prompts and review how it went.

For practitioners · optional demonstration

Talk through this activity with Dawn

Try an AI voice demonstration about this skill using made-up examples. This is a restricted adult or staff-supervised pilot, not an unsupervised service for young people. You do not need AI to complete the activities.

Learn about the Dawn AI pilot →

Review and save my own goal in My Nexsteps →

The voice guide does not save or mark this activity as completed. Do not enter personal case details.

My progress, my choices

Choose an activity and work at your own pace. When you try it, tick the box and reflect on what went well. There is no test to pass, and using support is an achievement too.

This activity is private to this browser page. Your answers are not sent to Nexsteps or saved. Do not include private personal details.

Create a Life Map mission

Make this part of your own journey

Choose an activity linked to a goal that matters to you. Try it with the support you prefer, reflect on what worked and add your achievement to your personal progress record.

Plan a goal and review progress → Explore My Life. My Future. My Way. →

Who is this for?

Young people aged 16–18 preparing for adulthood, including young people looked after or in supported accommodation. Key workers, personal advisers and other trusted adults can support each activity. Some activities also suit care-experienced young adults.

Learn · Try · Practise · Evidence · Review · Progress

Agree the young person’s goal, the support and any safety arrangements. Use fictional examples for sensitive topics and follow safeguarding procedures. Record only necessary evidence; never put private disclosures or identifying details into public website forms.

Want the full workbook?

The complete Nexsteps workbook includes guided worksheets, fictional scenarios and progress reviews for practitioners and young people.

Enquire about the workbook