Having children in the house, who are always energetically high, means that your house might seem like a thunder of mess and clutter for most of the day.
Keeping up with the constant #cleaning and #tidying up tasks can be challenging – in fact, never ending. Constantly keeping you on the toes, you hardly find the time and energy to complete your to-do list.
If you're among the cleanliness freak mama's who cannot tolerate any mess around the house, you need to give our pro-tips for a tidy house a quick read.
Declutter – Don’t Accumulate Useless Stuff
Most mothers who have #youngkids do realize that it is essential to keep things organized to attain a tidy house. To do this, the importance of decluttering cannot be stressed enough. You can only manage a well kept home when you know where everything is and when everything has a fixed place.
Having tons of extra items from broken toys to outgrown clothing, redundant papers and unused tools, you can never have enough space to fit everything in. Get rid of all the things that are not of any utility to you and throw them away or donate them. This will make managing around the house much easier.
Organize things in a way that makes them accessible. Categorize them appropriately, whether it's the kid's closet, their toys, or the pantry. Knowing where things are makes life easier for you, saving you time to dig into the cluttered drawer to find that one diary. Additionally, your young children would be better able to follow your tidy up instructions and fetch things for you only when they know where they belong.
Complete The Task in One Step!
How often do you pick up the toys from the living room and put them in the kid's room only to keep them back in the toy rack later? Or do you take time out to fold all the laundry and pile it in the laundry room, as it awaits to be placed in the cupboards the next day?
In trying to speed up your work and save a
few minutes, you're unmindfully adding twice the time that is needed to fulfill these tasks. Try to adopt the ‘do it right’ the first time approach. You'll notice how it only takes a couple of extra minutes to complete the task and all the things are back in place without a second shift.
Make Your House A #ChildrenFriendlySpace
Remember, you cannot expect your house to be spot on clean and organized at all times as was the case when you didn't have kids around. With kids, you have to embrace the mess, yet find ways to keep your house intact at all times.
Keep Fragile Items Out of Reach
Keep any decorative pieces, photo frames and sentimental items at elevated surfaces, out of reach of children. Young children have the curiosity to explore new things - definitely those that are not toys, and wouldn't be able to resist their temptation to give your precious glass ornaments a touch. To prevent any damage or mess, it's ideal that such items remain inaccessible to them.
Designate A Place to Each Item
If your kids know where each item belongs, it would be much easier for them to assist you in tidying up the house. It’s a great idea to put baskets and containers around the house - preferably labelled - to put the things into.
Doing this would prevent your kitchen or living room counter from becoming a cluttered zone for all the things that couldn't make their way back to where they belonged.
Dumping? Not again!
One activity that you hate but your kids are most fond of is dumping - whether it’s the laundry basket, toys or that drawer where you store all the miscellaneous papers - not to forget the kitchen cabinets which can be a horrendous disaster for you.
We recommend using baby-friendly drawers and cabinet locks so you can install them in all places you want to keep your children away.
Establish A Cleaning Ritual
Delaying tasks to be performed later will not only leave the house unkempt at most times, but your work would only become more exhausting. Do not wait for tomorrow for what can be done today. Develop the habit of doing chores upfront and inculcate similar habits in your children.
Before you leave the kitchen after cooking a meal, feeding your kids or after any meal, make it a ritual to tidy up the kitchen. Feeding young kids can be beyond messy and overwhelming but take notes of the simple tasks - keep aside the leftovers, wash the dishes, wipe the counters and sweep the floor. Doing a five-minute quick clean up each time wouldn't create a terribly messy kitchen and save you from the long hours of cleaning spree.
Do the laundry every day or at least alternate days. Piling up the entire week's laundry means you'll have to spend hours sorting it out and then putting it back in place. When it becomes part of a routine, you hardly have to take out a few minutes each day to organize the clothes.
The moment you enter the house, put everything back in the right place. Shoes should go back in the shoe cabinet, the coats on the coat hanger - make sure your kids can reach the height otherwise they would simply throw it on the floor and school bags in the study room. Keeping everything back in place will keep your house organized at most times. It is, anyways, better than waiting for the cleanup time to put things away which can be quite frustrating.
Make Cleaning Up A Routine
Priming and cleaning your house should be a part of your everyday routine. This doesn't mean that you carry out deep cleaning everyday, but there are some tasks that need to be done everyday, and best so, upfront.
Create a ritual of making the beds every morning, doing the dishes, mopping the floor and cleaning the kitchen. These should be part of your everyday routine, and you'll be amazed how your house would look so systematic and tidied all the time.
For the rest of the week, devise a schedule that you should follow to keep up with all the work. Designate days for changing the beddings, cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming the entire house, cleaning the rooms, and doing the garage.
Save yourself from the nerve-wracking chaotic situation where you're finding time to conclude the grueling tasks amidst taking care of your toddlers as they run around the house, by establishing a proper routine.
Inculcate The Habit Of Cleaning Up Among Kids
After all, it's not just your home. Everyone needs to be responsible for their actions and play a role in keeping the place intact. Make rules along with your partner to let the kids embrace the importance of keeping the house clean.
Here are some effective tips to help you.
Practice a reward system.
Each time they assist you in clearing the mess, reward them. This can also be words of appreciation or a little treat to encourage your young ones to develop the habit.
Set Playtime Rules
As long as the kids are playing, they can be allowed to disperse their toys around, but this should be strictly confined to the playing area. Before hopping on to their next endeavor, they should tidy up the previous clutter.
Pitch In Small Chores
If the kids are old enough to carry out some tasks, you could assign responsibilities for doing the dishes or tidying up the living room to instill in them a sense of responsibility.
10-Minute Clean Up
This regime works wonders. Before hitting the bed each night, carry out a 10 minute clean up and encourage your kids to take part too. If they’re too young, after putting them to bed would be the right time.
Be sure to put all the books and toys back in place, all the clothes in the laundry bin, the kitchen pristine clean. Imagine waking up to an incredibly immaculate house with the cushions elegantly set up on the living room couch and no dishes awaiting you on the sink.
A Clean House with Kids – It’s Possible!
The key to a well kept house lies in doing little things everyday rather than piling them up for later on.
Having kids in the house is no doubt an overwhelming load of responsibilities where you hardly find time for yourself to the extent that it can be extremely frustrating. But it's only a matter of time till they grow up. So, enjoy and treasure this time, rather than fretting about all the mess these naughty souls have created behind.
The Bottom-line
Know that it's okay to have a little messy house when you're raising young ones! Don't be too hard on yourself and your kids and relish the beautiful times as a plethora of toys await to be kept back in the toy rack!
At MonisCleaningService, we are dedicated to assist you achieve cleaner, healthier homes in nominal budgets to give you a stress-free life taking care of you and your family. So connect with us today to avail our services!