Keeping your house clean with the children constantly running around may be quite a task. While you are trying to put everything in order, their mission is to inspect and sometimes even hide every amusing object. Kids are curious and naughty. They are not aware of the fact that you don’t find it nice to come home to a messy house. However, with patience and persistence, you can turn the situation around and even teach your kids that maintaining a tidy living space is a common responsibility. This has numerous benefits but there is nothing to equal the pleasant feeling of having a clean and organised home.
Here are a few tips for those of you, who refuse to accept that having kids equals constant chaos.
Reconsider your definition of a clean house
All parents should start with this. Keeping a clean environment is imperative for every mother and seeing that the things go out of control can make her go to nuts. Is that necessary? We can’t blame kids that they don’t understand the importance of being clean and we can’t expect them to know how to behave. Accept that your house won’t be always as clean as it was when you were in charge. Yet, it is again up to you to implement some routines that will minimise the chance for messes.
Reduce clutter reduce stress
Unnecessary objects can be found in every home and yours is not an exception. Sometimes the house looks dirty only because it is cluttered with all types of useless things. Decluttering regularly should be your first rule for a clean home. Don’t allow any empty packing boxes, bottles or broken objects to contribute to a messy house, taking up a lot of space. Toss out everything that no longer serves you any purpose right away and once per week inspect your home for any clutter.
Put everything back in its rightful place
Once you are ready with decluttering, it is time to find place for all toys, gadgets and other items you are just moving from one shelf to another. This will help you keep your home organised, plus, you will always know where to find what you need. The biggest benefit, however, is that if the souvenirs, cosmetic products, etc are above arms reach, your kids won’t be able to scatter them around the house.
Involve your kids in home maintenance
Every child is able to perform some simple domestic chores. Depending on the age of your kids, choose an appropriate moment and kindly involve them in the cleaning process. For example, when playtime is over, encourage your toddler to put all the toys in the basket. If there are any empty packings on the table let them put it in the garbage bin. Even if your child is older, it is never too late to teach them that keeping the house clean is a common responsibility.
Organise when the children are in bed
Once your children are in dreamland, you have all the time to bring your home in order. Of course, you don’t need to make an overall cleaning every evening, we are speaking about removing any used glasses and other objects from the living room, washing dishes, sweeping, loading the washing machine, etc. When you wake up on the next day, you don’t need to do any cleaning but directly start with your daily duties.
Every parent should be concerned about the condition of their home, still, this doesn’t need to become an obsession. If you have children, you need to accept that sometimes your house will look perfect and sometimes awful. With these steps, you will be able to worry less about cleaning and enjoy your time with the kids.
I live in a small Georgia town that you most likely have never heard of and I LOVE it! My house is more than full as I am a single mother of four & caregiver to my aging mother and uncle. Lover of all things Outlander. Goes to the beat of her own drum woman.
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thanks for the tips I will pass it on to my daughter with all her children.
I love this, especially your first tip of redefining your definition of clean. Clean used to mean everything was spick and span and perfect, now it means only the toys they are currently playing with are out (and everywhere) and no old food or milk is rotting away somewhere. Now that I’ve learned to embrace this stage and the messy house it brings, my life has become much less stressful.
I would add one tip: if you can afford it, hiring help is always nice. You don’t have to go all out and hire a maid to come every week, even just hiring someone to clean the carpet can be a huge time-saver and make your home feel much cleaner!
Thanks for the tips on keeping your house clean when you have kids. My son is grown now, but he had the responsibility of keeping his room clean and folding towels and some of his laundry when he was a child. I think he was neater then. He is 28 now and recently moved back home to help me when I fell and broke my leg and hip. I do think you are right about keeping clutter under control being very important.
Great tips! Thank you!
I think I really needed to read that. my husband is OCD and he considers the house a mess and is embarrassed. Yet, it looks lived in. The kids have too much stuff and I want to get rid of stuff but I need his help. Sorry, this is turning into a poor me post. i need to stop. Thank you though for writing this.