Hi everyone! I have had lots of questions about how I keep my house clean with 3 busy children and all of their toys and what not. I thought long and hard about this question after I LAUGHED out loud at how anyone could think my house is always clean! Let me assure you, it IS NOT! The images you see on my Instagram are sometimes in the moment and sometimes, in the moment with all the clutter and mess just outside of the picture angle! I try my best on a day-to-day basis, but it is a constant battle without a doubt. And I will preface this home cleaning tips post that we do have housekeepers that come and deep clean every few weeks. I used to let a dirty home bother me a lot more, but there is just no point. Life is too short! Kids are kids and all I can do is try to teach them to clean up after themselves and not stress about the rest. I have 5 simple home cleaning tips that do help me stay sane and have our house more clean on a daily basis. Our oldest child is 8 so I have been using these tips for at least that long, if not longer. Let’s get started on my top 5 home cleaning tips…
5 HOME CLEANING TIPS FOR EVERY DAY
- Have a Designated Drop Zone: This is a must even if you don’t have kids. You need a designated drop zone so items are not thrown down anywhere and everywhere once you enter. We have cubbies or lockers as our kids call them in our laundry room. There they each have a hook to hang their backpacks and coats. Underneath they each have these large baskets where they keep their shoes that are used on a regular basis. There is nothing I dislike more than having to have one of the kids go back to their bedroom (which is upstairs) to go look for shoes. As soon as they come into the house, they know to immediately take off their shoes and put them in their basket. They do this without asking and also do it at other people’s homes as well. It is very handy so that shoes are not lost throughout the house. I also have a large drawer in the laundry room that I put all of their socks into. That way they can grab their socks and shoes and then get into the car, without having to run back upstairs. They also place their school folders there too so those don’t get lost. You can hang simple hooks on a wall somewhere if you have no cubbies with shoe baskets and etc. underneath. Or maybe you can repurpose a front closet to be a drop zone. I have seen so many pinterest drop zone inspiration images if you need a little help creating a useful space like this in your home. If you have no children in your home, I think a drop zone is still essential. A place to set your mail, phone, purse/brief case, and more without having it cluttering your kitchen countertops is a home cleaning tip I can stand by for sure!
- Pick up all Toys before bed (if the children haven’t done so): We work with our kids on making sure all the toys are taken back to the playroom where they belong before bed. 99% of their toys are kept in our downstairs playroom. If they bring them out into the living room or kitchen, we ask that they take them back before bedtime(in a perfect world)! I used to have a rule where if they left an item out, I would take it for a few days. I will be honest, once we added our third child, that rule went out the window! Ha! And also cleaning up the playroom floor is a must. Sure, there are plenty of times it doesn’t happen, but for the most part, it is part of our nightly routine before they go to bed. If I know we are going to be home late, I remind them to clean up their toys before we leave for whatever activity we are going to do. It makes the morning much more enjoyable for them (and me) when we can walk into a fresh, clean playroom. Our playroom has these bins with labels on them for several categories of toys. Labels (I use this label maker) such as cars, dolls, dress-up, blocks, balls and more. This way they know where to put stuff away. Before we added baskets and labels, it was pure toy CHAOS. If we have other kids over to play, it is much easier for me and them to clean up the mess after our guests leave with the organized bins.
- Keep Drawers & Cabinets Organized: You will notice there is a theme going on here and that is the use of bins, baskets and more to help me stay organized on a daily basis. I have written 2 very popular organization posts if you love the sound of this! I have drawer organizers in my kitchen drawers that keep things like utensils and measuring cups all in place and not a jumbled mess when I go to find that certain tool or item I need in the middle of a recipe. It helps the control the mess I promise! In our pantry, you will find labeled bins and baskets with certain food items in them. Our bathroom cabinets are also organized with the use of bins for skin care, hair care and more. You can read more about my master closet organization post here.
- Vacuum Daily in Kitchen (or high traffic areas): This vacuum is a LIFESAVER! Even before I had this particular vacuum, I still did this chore most nights. I wrote about it more in-depth in this post when I received it for Christmas 2 years ago. It is still going strong and is used daily in our home. It is very light weight and cordless, and the suction is amazing. Our dark wood floors show crumbs easily, so part of my night-time routine after the dishes and countertops are wiped down is to use this cordless vacuum quickly in the kitchen, possibly playroom and laundry room where all of us enter the home. Vacuuming is one chore I do not mind! It is instant gratification for me to see the clean floor and doesn’t take long. If the floors are dust and crumb-free, it makes the house feel really clean to me. My friend has this roomba vacuum and won’t stop raving about it. I really would love to try it out.
- Kitchen Countertops Uncluttered: We have a large island in our kitchen as well as kitchen countertops along our sink and oven walls. It is a pet peeve of mine for those to be dirty before bed. One time my sister told me the best way to guarantee she had a good morning was to make sure the kitchen was clean and uncluttered the night before. I think it’s true for everyone. I try to have all the papers, homework, arts and crafts items and clutter put away before I turn the light off in the kitchen. That way when I walk into the kitchen in the morning, I feel nice and relaxed, not overwhelmed with mess and clutter. I think this home cleaning tip could easily ring true for an office space as well. I know SO many people who make sure their desk is organized before they leave work. The kitchen is my technically my office, so it all makes perfect sense.
I hope my 5 home cleaning tips are very useful to you. These 5 tips truly help me keep a good handle on our home day after day. Comment below…I always love to hear what tips work for other households. Please remember to give yourself grace on keeping your home clean. That’s what I told myself a few years ago and now I don’t let it ruin my day. And as our kids have grown older, I am having them help more and more which is really nice. Have a great week! Thank you.
