How to Keep Your Home Clean With Kids (and Spouse)
Being a mom feels like you never....ever.....ever stop cleaning. It almost seems like no matter how much you clean, the house will never actually be clean.
For me, that was extremely hard because I want the house to look like nobody lives in it.
After lots of tears, fighting, and angry cleaning, I finally found some ways to stay sane and keep my home clean with kids... and my husband.
These are all the best things I learned being a mom to keep my house as clean as possible... and they actually WORK.
Here is everything you need to know to keep your house CLEAN with kids... (and your spouse)
Secrets of People With Really Clean Houses - How to keep your home clean WITH KIDS
1. DECLUTTER
If you are going to get anything done, you have to DECLUTTER.
You probably saw that one coming, but seriously is it 100% necessary. If you don’t declutter, you are just going to spend all of your time moving your things around your house.
And you’ll never get anything done. Adding kids into the mix doesn’t help at all with the clutter.
First, you have the baby stuff, the toddler stuff, then the school stuff. The list is NEVER ending.
Then, they are going to get more stuff for Christmas, birthdays, grandparents, holidays, etc…
You know how it goes, your house starts to look like an explosion!
So what the heck do you do with all of the STUFF????
First, you can donate. We take a lot of stuff to Goodwill. Second, you can sell it.
We take all of our toys, clothes and shoes to Once Upon a Child. They give us money or store credit that we can use to get the next size clothes.
If you don’t have one of those, you can list it on Facebook marketplace too.
Also, if you have leftover baby gear, you can rent it out on sites like Babyquip.com.
Whatever it is you do, you have to get rid of some things or you will spend your life moving around things in your house.
2. MAKE A HOME FOR EVERYTHING
When everything has a home, then it isn’t out making a mess.
If it is out and making a mess, teach your family where it’s home is.
When you find something that doesn’t have a home, find one or get rid of it.
3. YOU ARE NOT THE MAID
Recently, I had to ask my mom how she got me to clean up when I was younger.
I NEVER remembered my mom cleaning when I grew up.
So I had to ask, what’s the secret?
She said “I was never your maid.”
And I said yeah that’s good in theory but how did you ACTUALLY get me to pick up my stuff??
She said, “I never gave you a choice.” ….. This is when I realized how soft I am as a mom lol.
But it’s true, she would make me put away my toys or I couldn’t take them out of my room. The spaces that were shared were all of our space and we all cleaned up after ourselves.
You are not your kids’ or your husbands’ maid. You are the manager of the house. And the manager gets the employees to do their jobs!
4. CLEANING SCHEDULE (or should I say habits)
We all know that having kids comes with unrealistic high hopes when it comes to schedules..
I am not saying you have a strict schedule you follow or else.. But what I am saying is that you build a routine.
It can be as simple as everyone picking up their own things before bed and each doing one chore.
Or every night prepping everything for the next day. And it might seem overwhelming at first.
But when you keep doing it over and over, it will become a habit and a routine.
If you do little things every day, then it doesn’t pile up and feel totally overwhelming. We have all been there when the entire week falls apart and everything piles up.
But on the normal weeks, you can make your life so much easier by doing a little but every day.
5. CLEAN WHILE YOU COOK
Cleaning while you cook seems so simple, but not doing it might be the reason you feel totally drained at the end of the night.
You already got all the kids and cooked dinner….then you have bath time…. And THEN you have to clean the WHOLE kitchen. No way!
That is just too much.
No wonder you feel so overwhelmed by it all. It is not a good system.
Cleaning while you cook will make the nighttime routine go so much better. At first, it will be super hard.
But once you do it, little by little, it will get so much easier.
My Tip: Leave the dishwasher open while you cook so you can easily rinse and put the dishes in there as you go.
6. DON’T PUT IT DOWN PUT IT AWAY
This is one of those rules that is hard to turn into a habit, but once you do it will change your life.
But getting your family to do it too, that’s even better.
You might have to follow them around like a crazy person, but honestly it is so worth it.
If everything has a home and every time you put it away instead of putting it down, then there’s no mess to clean up.
7. DOING A LOAD OF LAUNDRY A DAY
This works for some people and doesn’t work for others.
I prefer to do small loads of laundry to stay on top of it than spending my weekend doing laundry.
I HATE the laundry like so many people do. And doing a small load makes the task so much less daunting and overwhelming.
Doing a small load of laundry every day can make a world of difference.
Also, I am a big fan of outsourcing. People think that they don’t have enough money to outsource things like laundry. But, in my area, you can get your laundry washed and folded for $40/wk.
I would much rather make $40 extra a week than spend hours and hours doing laundry. So, if you can afford it, look into a wash and fold service to make life easier.
HOW TO GET YOUR KIDS TO HELP CLEAN THE HOUSE
1. Chore Charts
Having rewards and penalties makes having kids a lot easier. They understand the rules, know what is right and wrong. And they get rewarded when they do the right thing.
If your kids don’t have guidelines and understand what they SHOULD be doing, then they feel like everything that they do is wrong.
You can clearly outline what should be done, and as the parent, GET IT DONE!
I always laugh when I hear “they just don’t listen.” Because that just means you are failing to get them to listen.
The easiest way to get them to listen is to create systems that they are used to. This way they know what they SHOULD be doing.
A lesson that I always wanted to teach my kids was that there are basic things in life they are going to have to do no matter what. But, what they do above and beyond that is always going to be rewarded.
I want to reward the good things they do as much as possible and I don’t ever reward things that are bad.
Discipline is learned.
I don’t mean you are a crazy drill sergeant.. I mean you use love and communication to teach them.
You lead by example, you have and set rules as a family, and you keep those rules in no matter what.
I learned to be careful about what I say because when I say something to my kids, I carry it through no matter what. So I pick and choose my battles. But that is the only way they are going to respect you.
Tips: Investing in a chore system you and the kids can use can make the world of a difference. This calendar has chore charts and a calendar for the whole family to stay coordinated.
2. Incentives
Having tools to help you out in motherhood makes life so much easier.
We used incentives on a daily basis. But, again, you need a routine and a structure.
We don’t want to give incentives for things they should do no matter what. We aren’t into bribery to do basic life tasks.
But, I do want my kids to know when they are doing really well. And that they should be rewarded for that.
If they do their chores, that is expected. If they do them before we leave the house in the morning, that’s awesome. They can get a prize.
We use prizes for potty training, going above and beyond, and for being helpful.
This way you are rewarding the good and they will want to do more of it.
3. Cleaning Song
When you have young kids, having a cleaning song can be a really good way to get them to pick up their toys.
It is only for a few minutes and you can make it a game to go as fast as possible.
Kids really like to play games and love when you make things fun. If you are getting serious about it, they don’t want to cooperate.
Having a cleaning song can be a really good way to get them to help you out.
4. Cleaning “with” you
I always give my kids another one of what I am using.
If I am sweeping, I let them sweep too. If I am doing the dishes, I give them some soap and a sponge.
They are cleaning with you.
You aren’t sitting there “ignoring” them but they are included in what you are doing too.
My kids love to cook and clean with me while I am doing it too. It takes a little bit longer, but they love it. And it is also teaching them life skills.
What we use:
Best Parenting Advice
My best parenting advice is to treat your kids like they are adults. Talk to them like they are real people. Just because they are small doesn’t mean they don’t deserve respect.
They are young, learning how to use their body, and learning all new things. They need your love and your respect.
Your kids will learn by example. How you treat them, is how they will treat others. So, you want to treat them with the respect they deserve. And they might just turn out amazing!
