Kids are great at making messes. Keeping a clean house with kids is no easy feat, but it is possible if you come at it from the right angle. If you’ve been struggling to keep your family’s home tidy, consider implementing some of the tips below. A lot of times, a small change can make a big difference.
1. Make it fun for the kids to help
Making a game out of cleaning can make it fun for your kids to help—and having all those extra hands will help you to make much shorter work of your messes. You can make small cleaning caddies for each of the kids so they feel like they’re a part of the process.
2. Get kid-sized supplies
This might not be possible with everything you use to clean, but the more cleaning supplies in your home are sized for your kids to use, the more likely they’ll be able to help you with the process. Consider buying a small hand-held vacuum, for example. Something like the Black+Decker Max Pivot Vacuum is sized so most children can use it but still has the power to get a deep clean.
3. Have a chore board
This is an easy way to keep track of who’s doing what, and helps you make sure all the chores are getting done. You can assign age-appropriate tasks to the kids, with a system for marking down when a task is accomplished. Putting lines on there for the adults, too, can show the kids that everybody’s in it together when it comes to keeping a clean house, and can help you to organize your own household tasks.
4. Clean a bit every day
Getting a lot of free time all at once can be very tricky when there are kids in the house. Instead of planning marathon cleaning sessions, tackle little things throughout the day when you have a few moments. Having a lightweight cordless vacuum on each floor makes it easy to spot-vacuum messes before they can be tracked through the house or ground into the carpet, for example.
5. Stay on top of laundry
This is one of the household tasks that can easily accumulate and get out of hand, especially when there are kids in the house. Have a system for keeping laundry sorted and up off the floor, and wash the laundry often. It’s easier to do one load every other day than to have piles to contend with later on.
6. Do one task at a time
When there are multiple chores that need to be completed, it can be tempting to try and start them all at once. Too often, though, this ends with unfinished projects throughout the house, none of which are completed. Do your best to instead focus on one task at a time, finishing it completely before you move on to the next.
7. Stick to a routine
Building a routine into your day can help keep the whole family on the same page. Build some chore time into your evening, whether that’s having the kids wash the dishes after dinner or having them vacuum the living room before sitting down to watch TV. Everyday life can be hectic, and it’s not always possible to stay on schedule, but establishing a routine will make it much more likely the chores are being completed consistently.
In conclusion
Making sure that the whole family is involved in keeping the house clean is key. If there’s just one person cleaning up after everybody, they’re inevitably going to get overwhelmed. Keeping supplies organized and close at hand also lets you start cleaning faster—which means you’ll be done faster, too. If you focus on efficiency and sharing the workload, keeping the house clean won’t seem like such a daunting task.