I’m a mom of two kids, and I have to admit that having a clean house isn’t always easy. Between the messes that my kids make, the toys they leave behind, and the crumbs left by my husband and me, it’s not uncommon for our home to look like a disaster zone at any given moment. But don’t worry! There are ways to keep your house clean despite having little ones running around all day long — I swear! With these tips from friends and family who have successfully kept their houses tidy while raising young children, you can keep your home neat and tidy no matter how busy life gets with your little ones around:
Set up a routine
A routine is the backbone of your home. It’s the schedule you follow each day, week, and month that helps keep things running smoothly. When everyone knows what they’re doing and when they’re supposed to do it, there’s far less stress in your household!
Routines are especially important for children because they help kids learn how their days should go–and what kind of behavior is expected from them at different times of day (or night). They also provide structure for parents who may feel like their lives are out of control sometimes when it comes down to keeping up with housework and child care duties.
Keep things where they belong
It’s important to teach children the value of keeping things where they belong. This is a good habit to develop, because it helps you save time and energy, not to mention stress!
It’s also wise for kids’ safety: if toys are left lying around, your child could trip over them or get hurt by something sharp. It’s best to keep everything tidy so that nothing dangerous is lying around–and even better if the toys can be stowed away in an accessible place where they won’t get dirty (or eaten).
Keep toys neutral
- Make sure you and the kids have a neutral color scheme. Neutral colors are easier to match with clothes, so if you have a lot of toys in your house, it can help keep things more organized.
- Toys can be used for more than one activity or by more than one person. For example, my daughter’s dollhouse has been used as an airplane hangar by her brother and then as a fort for stuffed animals after he was done playing with it! This means that we only need one toy instead of two or three different ones that would each require storage space in our house.
- Toys can also easily be moved between rooms without having them look out of place when they’re placed somewhere else than where they were intended originally (e.g., moving a play kitchen from the kitchen into another room).
Get some help from others
When you’re trying to keep your house clean with kids, it can be hard to find the time and energy to get everything done. You might feel like there’s no way that you’ll ever be able to keep up with all of the tasks necessary for keeping your home in good shape.
But don’t worry! There are plenty of ways that you can get some help from others–and they won’t even cost any money at all! Here are some ideas:
- Ask other parents whose kids are similar ages as yours (or slightly older) if they’d mind coming over once or twice a week while their children play together outside in your backyard or neighborhood park. This will give both parties something fun and free-spirited to look forward too while also giving each family member some much needed time away from one another every now and again.
- Ask friends who have older kids if they’d like any babysitting services during their busy work days so that both parties benefit from each other without having any extra costs involved since these folks already know each other anyway.
- If all else fails, call professional Simply Spotless Cleaning. Your house will be sparkling clean, and friends who “didn’t have time” will admire your organization.
Make cleaning fun
Cleaning can be a drag, but if you make it into a game or have some music playing while you work, it will go by faster and be less of a chore. If you have young kids who are interested in helping out around the house, get them involved with cleaning! This can be especially helpful when it comes to doing dishes or tidying up toys; having an extra pair of hands (and eyes) will save both time and energy for both parents.
Take 15 minutes a day to pick up
If you can’t clean the whole house in one go, don’t worry about it. Just take 15 minutes a day to pick up. Pick up a small area and see how you feel about it–if there are still things that need tidying, keep going!
This is a big topic and we’re not going to pretend that it’s easy. But it is possible! As long as you set up a routine, keep things where they belong, make cleaning fun for the whole family and get some help from others, then you should be able to keep your house clean with kids in tow.
