Five Easy Tips for Keeping Your House (Somewhat) Clean
Perfection can’t happen with children in the home, but here is how to simplify housework with easy-to-do tips that you can practice each day.
Did you notice that I said “somewhat” clean? Yes, because perfection is just not happening, especially if you have children in the home. Instead, I will tell you how to simplify housework with easy-to-do tips that you can practice each day.
Let’s get started!
1. ASSIGN CHORES TO THE KIDDOS.
I put this off for a long time with my oldest son, who is now 12, and I am not exactly sure why. I kept thinking he was too young to help with chores, but that simply was not the case. In our home, we offer rewards for daily chores as an incentive to complete chores in a timely manner. My oldest son is responsible for his bedroom, picking up living room clutter, and loading/unloading the dishwasher. This provides a HUGE help to me and gives him a little extra spending money.
What age is a good age to start? This will depend on your child’s level of responsibility and what is appropriate for your family. Give it a test run and see how it goes.
2. PICK UP THE CLUTTER AS YOU PASS BY IT.
Clutter is the biggest challenge I face in at home, with most of it consisting of scattered toys and dropped clothing in random rooms. A new habit that I have tried and (so far) has helped lighten the load is to simply pick up a few things as you pass by it. Don’t worry about picking up everything you see, just a few items. If you do this each time you walk by a mess, it will add up and will not seem so overwhelming.
In addition, if your children are old enough to pick up after themselves, enforce the “clean up when you are done” rule. Do not allow new toys to be taken out until the old ones are put away.
3. DO LAUNDRY EVERY 3 DAYS.
Laundry is an epic fail in my home and the main reason for that is that we wait too long to get it started. Growing up, my mom always told me to “do one or two loads of laundry every 3 days” and now I know why. Once your mountain of dirty clothing becomes taller than you are, you may as well count on it taking a day or two to complete (which puts you behind on other chores). I need to take my own advice on this one!
4. LOAD THE DISHWASHER AS YOU DIRTY DISHES.
After you eat a meal, rinse and place those dishes right into the dishwasher (if you are fortunate enough to have one). If you avoid this method, your dishes will quickly get out of control and SMELLY. Get your kids into this habit early, too!
5. HIRE HELP.
When all else fails, hire help and do not feel an ounce of shame about it! A few months ago, I broke down and hired a cleaning service to clean my floors and bathrooms, and that alone has relieved a ton of stress on me. Also, leave home carpet cleaning, window washing, duct/vent cleaning help and other specialized services to the professionals.
Do you have any easy and quick cleaning tips you would like to share? Leave in our comments!
For 16 years, I have been the creator & full-time blogger of Mom Spark. I’ve also created content for numerous outlets such as Good Housekeeping, Better Homes & Gardens, & Huff Post.
2 Comments on “Five Easy Tips for Keeping Your House (Somewhat) Clean”
Can’t help but notice most of your points revolve around kids, lol. I know this all too well. You are totally right when you say train them to do stuff early. It does help, in all areas. Even my 3 year old knows to pack up his toys when done or else he’s not gonna get to play again. Put his diry laundry in basket etc.
Training really is a savior.
Yes, makes a huge difference in the household!