It’s not uncommon for many parents with small children to give up regular housekeeping and just accept that their homes will look like bombs hit them several times over for the next few years. This doesn’t have to be the case! There’s numerous tips and tricks for maintaining a clean, neat home no matter how many little ‘uns you have, all of which allow you to welcome friends and family to your residence without feeling humiliated. Check it out:
Making Beds, Picking Up Clothes
Help yourself keep the kids’ rooms tidy by having them make their beds every morning. If they have trouble with this task, purchase sheets that make it easier for them, such as those that zip. Use the morning to also have them pick up any clothes strewn about their bedroom floors, and explain that that’s what hampers are for. Make a game of it if desired by awarding stickers to those who make their beds and pick up after themselves in the shortest amount of time.
Laundry System
Come up with a laundry system that doesn’t make you crazy to maintain a cleaner house. Do a load every day if it’s easier, or make it a once or twice-a-week thing. Whatever you decide, instruct family members that dirty clothes go in their hampers instead of in various piles around the house, and if they want their laundry done on a certain day, they must bring their clothes to the laundry room. After all, you’re the mom, not the maid.
Timed Fun
Make timed cleaning a regular thing in your household if you find it works well with the kids and their bedrooms. Put on some music, set a timer, and have fun cleaning as many rooms in the house as you can over a 20-minute, 30-minute, etc. period. Assign different rooms to family members, such as one child cleaning the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms, another ensuring the family den is dusted and vacuumed, and so on. Make sure your husband gets in on the cleaning action as well, such as helping you clean the kitchen or dealing with that pile of junk slowly taking over the garage.
Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to keep a tidy home, simply find one or a few routines that work for you go from there. Friends and family will be very impressed you’ve managed to maintain a clean house with little children running around!