Keeping your house clean and tidy when you have children can seem like an impossible task. Every time you clean something up, other things seem to pop up, things from the unhonoured world of chores. However, you'll probably know the issue behind not cleaning up, too. It will just mount up and up until you have hours of work on your hand. We live by the rule of prevention before solution with cleaning, keeping on top of absolutely everything. We respect that it’s a lot easier said than done. How do you do this when you have 300 other things to do every single day? Here are our top tips. Assign a cleaning time The best way to keep your house clean with children is to get them involved. Assigning a cleaning time every day would benefit everybody greatly. The best time to do this is before bedtime. Make sure they clean up their toys, tidy up any mess they make and just get your house looking like it did before they decided to start their own adventure. “Not only will this help teach your children how to clean up after themselves, but they will also help a great deal with some of the most tedious jobs of cleaning up.” — Amanda Rogers, Senior Writer at TopWritersReview. Storage solutions Kids acquire a lot of things. From their different hobbies, toys that you beg them for, or the random objects they just seem to come home with. Not to mention, family homes need a lot of items. Having storage solutions, that not only look great but do a wonderfully practical job will help you massively. These storage solutions can be put anywhere - your children's room, your kitchen, and your hallway. They can even be super smart and disguise themselves; basically, they don't just have to look like big boxes. This way your house looks impeccable and everything is nicely tucked away and out of sight. Out with the old When you have children, everything can feel quite sentimental. It's important not to get too attached to things; otherwise, your house will just increase in clutter. It doesn't matter how clean your house is, if there's too much stuff lying around, it will look messy. There's no doubt about that. Yes, storage solutions help, but the best way to keep on top of things is to throw things away. This accounts for everything including broken toys, old clothes, and items which have totally lost their use or novelty. Make your bed every morning Of course, this makes your entire room look much better. That's entirely true. However, making your bed in the morning will set you up for the rest of the day. The psychology behind making your bed every morning is fascinating. Studies have shown that it increases your productivity and happiness. This will set you up for the rest of the day, making you more likely to clean up, do your work, and not feel unambitious. It's a straightforward action that you can do every morning, so why wouldn't you? Clean up after everything, one step at a time Keeping on top of everything will make everything a lot easier. Once you've eaten off the plate, wash it. Pack away everything that you use as soon as you've finished. Nobody is perfect, sometimes we let mess mount up, and that's fine. For the most part, you should try and keep on top of everything, though. This will basically stop you from having hours and hours of tidying up to do one night. You'll be surprised at how easily used cups can mount up. Laundry days Ah, Laundry. Quite possibly one of the worst chores to do. It just never seems to end, especially when you have a family. We've learned from experience that the best thing to do is to set laundry days. For example, on a Sunday night, you tackle through all the dirty clothes, drying, and ironing. Yes, you can always do a little bit of laundry whenever you need to, but it's always quite satisfying to get it all done in one blow. This stops you worrying about doing it on random days of the week, and ensures everybody has clean, wrinkle-free clothes. Practice what you preach You'll more than likely be telling your kids to wash up after they've eaten, clean up any spills, and tidy up when they've finished. The real question is, do you do the same? The best way to show teach your kids, and keep your house clean is to practice everything you teach them. This way, your children will automatically do it, without any retaliation, and your home remains clean. Sometimes, we spend so much of our time monitoring whether or not our children are following the house rules, that we neglect to check if we are too. This is a mutually beneficial tip – your children will mirror you, and your house stays clean. Chore time fun We wish we could make tidying bedrooms as fun as that Mary Poppins scene, unfortunately, we're not so lucky. You can make doing chores a little bit more fun, though. You might already have a cleaning schedule or chore list for your children. This is a great way to make them learn how to take responsibility, and how to clean up after themselves effectively. You can make it a bit more fun, though. Chore time competitions or rewards will make your children actually want to hoover the living room or empty the dishwasher. What a dream. So, you can give them pocket money or something, or start an exciting competition. Just a little hint, never redo the cleaning after your children have. This will completely deter them from wanting to help in the future. Clean the sinks It's a very often forgotten task, cleaning the sinks. They become quite dirty, quite quickly. Whether it's with toothpaste, dirt or food. Not washing your sink can lead to pretty bad effects - clogs, and stains. So, as we said before, prevention over a solution. Cleaning the outside as well as the inside of your sinks will eliminate the possibility of anything worse happening. Tackle your countertops before you sleep This is a little hint that we really live by. How do our countertops become so messy, so quickly? Not only with crumbs, and food but with random objects throughout the day. Before you go to bed, make sure that everything is clean and tidy on those countertops. This includes moving any gloves, post-it notes, and toys that have made their way onto them. When you wake up in the morning, it's much easier to have breakfast prepared, and just reduces the stress you feel. Nobody wants one of their first sights in the morning to be the mess of yesterday's lunch. Invest in multiple laundry baskets One of the biggest misconceptions about laundry - you only need one basket. Even people living alone struggle to do laundry with one basket, let alone a family. We'd say every single member of your house should have a laundry basket, as well as a shared one. This could be treated as a lesson for your children on how to do laundry, as well as helping to prevent any laundry overspills. It's entirely up to you how you decide to overthrow the reign of the laundry, but having multiple baskets would really help. Trust us, we know. Take out the trash and recycle Check your bin days, and take out your bins when you're doing the school run, or making your way to work. It's a simple action but will help you a great deal. Also, don't let pieces of paper just lying around. We know, as a family you make your way through many post-it-notes, letters, and random school things. These all mount up pretty quickly if you don't dispose of them in a timely way. It might not always be pleasant, but taking out your bins helps your house stay fresh. Have designated spots for everything This really does make everything seem quite unbreakable, but it's not as rigid as you might believe. We're talking simple things like, say, a shoe rack or coat hooks. A drawer to put Lego, or art projects. This helps your children know exactly how to keep things tidy while giving your house that organized look it really needs. How far you want to go with this is your choice. Some families have boxes with labels on them for just about everything. Conclusion Having a clean house and children isn't an impossible task, especially when your children are helping along the way. These lessons will be sure to stay with them for the rest of their life, while you get to have a nice clean house. We hope these little hints and tips helped you out. If you have any other helpful hints and tips about parenthood and housework, we would love to hear them.
