6 Tips to Keeping a Cleaner House While Raising Children

Do you feel like your house is falling apart when your kids are home? Wish it could stay a clean house a little longer or get cleaned up a bit faster? With a little creativity and planning, you can make your home cleaner even when the kids are home.

These are not the end all ways to keep your house looking a little less crazy but you will feel better by trying to implement some of these small changes.

Dirty Dishes – The Bane of My Existence

Keep the dirty dishes out of the sink. Nothing makes the kitchen look as dirty as a large stack of dirty dishes and children are great at making sure you have a perpetual sink full of dishes. Grab a large dishpan or rubber tote to store dirty dishes in. Slide it in a bottom cabinet and teach children to use that instead of the sink. You will no longer have to look at your pile of dishes that are waiting on you.

Simple Changes Make Big Differences

Opt for simple changes that reduce trash that gets left around the house. Choose tubeless toilet paper, refillable cleaner bottles, and washable rags in place of paper towels. Not only are you setting a good example for your children; you are removing items that kids often leave lying around making your home look messy.

Decluttering . . . It’s a Real Thing

While you are reducing everyday items that get tossed around think about decluttering. The less clutter you have around your home the less mess can be made. Clutter is the number one reason our homes feel messy. Think about every flat surface you have. Is it covered in stuff? This is my biggest issue personally. And of course, kids tend to hoard everything. Every piece of art, every fast food or dollar tree toy that broke the day they got it. Taking the time to get rid of things will save you time in the long run.

As the Dixie Chicks Would Say . . . Wide Open Spaces

Keep wide open spaces in your home. Minimalism may not be for everyone but when it comes to home decor that lifestyle has an advantage. Wide open spaces in rooms makes cleaning up the floors easier. Reduce bulky furniture and use a decorative rug to add flare to the center of the room instead of something bulky to clean under or around.

Enlist Your Tiny Humans

Have the kids pitch in often. Seriously. Because somehow handprints are major issues in most homes with children. No matter how often you remind them to wash their hands the walls get dirty and make even a clean home look messy. Grab a Swiffer style wet mop and have the kids help mop the walls. They will find it silly and fun and the job gets done a little faster.

When the Going Gets Tough

Confiscate things that have been left out. Kids easily forget to pick up after themselves. Teach your child that if you have to pick up the toy they will have to earn it back by helping you clean something. Soon enough they will learn it is easier to keep toys put away than help you every time they get careless. This will encourage them to keep better track of their things as well as instill new habits of cleaning up after themselves.

Will it ALWAYS work this way? Of course not. But is it a good start? Absolutely. The key is to encourage the kids to help keep up the cleanliness of the house and to better make it a home, instead of a pigsty. Keep doing the hard things mama, your diligence will pay off.

In His Grace,

Callie