Wondering how to keep a tidy house with little kids running around making messes all day? Look no further, these tips will help.
First of all, I don’t think it’s imperative that the house be tidy all the time.
However, an untidy and messy house really drives me nuts.
Relaxing or working in a chaotic environment is very difficult for me. And, unfortunately, I can’t go too long with a mess before it starts affecting my mental health.
What's in this post...
Each of our standards are different
Each of us grew up in houses that had a certain level of clutter, mess and organization. We got used to that.
More than likely, that is the standard to which we’d like our homes to be kept now. If your mother was very clean and tidy (as mine is) then a mess may be very noticeable to you.
If you grew up in a home where clutter, toys, or messes were common and not a big deal, then perhaps you don’t stress about the state of the house.
Whatever works for your family and you, keep at it.
In just 15 minutes a night (while you’re in your pajamas!) take your home (and heart and mind) from stressed out to organized.
How to keep a tidy house with small kids
If you are like me (God help you) then having children only means that keeping the house clean will be more challenging. It doesn’t mean it can be forgotten for a few years.
Here are some tips for those of us who won’t let the idea that we can still keep a tidy house die. Perseverance and endurance to us all!
Read: Easy routines to help keep a house tidy with kids
Get 101+ chore cards to help your little one build life skills, confidence, and their hard work muscles.
Learn MoreRevisit your definition of tidy.
First and foremost, we mothers need to revisit what it means to be tidy. Tidy used to mean everything where we put it since the last time we moved it.
It used to mean that surfaces were clear, nothing was on the floor, things were in proper boxes and the house was almost always ready for visitors.
Tidy now will mean something different:
- A few baskets filled with visible toys in each room
- Books are on a bookshelf- any bookshelf will do
- The main surfaces are clear of anything used in previous days, but today’s clutter is acceptable
In just 15 minutes a night (while you’re in your pajamas!) take your home (and heart and mind) from stressed out to organized.
Here are some super cute baskets for kids rooms.
It may mean that throughout the day there will be times when the house is in full play mode which means, obviously, that the house isn’t always “company ready.”
The truth is, most company we keep wouldn’t even notice anyway. But for me, tidy will still look as though the house is in order and picked up. I have to remember that my definition of tidy is different than it was before kids.
Work with your children not against them.
After my first child started crawling and pulling things around I was personally offended.
Does she not know that I want the house to look neat?
Is she doing this to pop my forehead vein?!? Â
After a while I realized that was not the case, and that I needed to figure out some good systems that let the kids be kids and let the house be neat and orderly, but still be home.
Read: An 18 Month Routine for Energetic Toddlers
I let them throw around their toys, games and blocks while they are playing. When they are finished we all pick them up together.
Of course, some days this is me standing over them handing them a block telling them to put it in the basket. Some days they do it happily, some days they run away.
That’s life.
However, if I let them run wild with things then I make them put it back later.
Win win.
Get 101+ chore cards to help your little one build life skills, confidence, and their hard work muscles.
Learn MoreDownsize the knickknacks
One way that I’ve managed to keep the house from looking like an indoor yard sale is to minimize the sit-abouts, tchotkes, and knick knacks.
If I want to put sentimental and decorative items on display I do so where they are above arms reach.
I downsized the knickknacks not because I wanted to teach my children to avoid certain things. I did it simply because the little ones only have so much willpower. 4,356 picture frames, candles and coasters are too much for them to resist day in and day out!
It goes without saying that kids will want to touch everything in the house.
On lower surfaces I keep the bare minimum to be pleasing to my eye and it means there are less things strewn about the house.
Is it just me, or can a child somehow manage to dislocate about 35 things in one trip to the bathroom?
In just 15 minutes a night (while you’re in your pajamas!) take your home (and heart and mind) from stressed out to organized.
Make daily sweeps
Doing daily sweeps makes a big difference!
We clean up after playtime and I do a major sweep after the children are in bed. That’s it…
Those two things means that almost every evening (unless it is a particularly busy evening) the house looks neat and tidy before bed. It really only takes around 10 minutes max each time to do it.
I put things back where they came from and that’s it. Two or three days of messes make cleaning and tidying longer… so I try to do it every single day. This prevents build up and makes the house easier to maintain.
Read: Evening Sweep
Help prepare your kids for life, one skill at a time. Simple, easy skills every month!
Learn MoreOrganize well
If things don’t have a place they end up on the kitchen counter…or so it is at our house. Furthermore, if toys don’t have a place they end up hiding where my foot finds them in the dark! Not good for anyone’s sanity!
I have baskets and places for everything. I’m not saying they’re beautiful. I’m not saying everything is labeled – although I love my label maker – but simply everything has a place.
Baskets and places for everyting make tidying easy because each evening you can put up a pile of things quickly when you know where each belong. Remember to do your daily sweep!
Sometimes the house looks fabulous. Sometimes the house looks awful. I have been known to see spider webs and ignore. Sometimes I have all the kids wiping down surfaces with me.
It comes and goes. I don’t feel like a failure if it looks “lived in”, but I do think that teaching our children to clean after themselves and living tidy isn’t some form of child abuse.
It won’t kill them to clean up. It won’t kill me to clean up.
While a perfectly tidy house won’t make all our dreams come true, I think it will help us not get too down in the dumps when we are nursing the “I’m-so-frumpy-all-I-do-is-the-dishes” syndrome.
In just 15 minutes a night (while you’re in your pajamas!) take your home (and heart and mind) from stressed out to organized.
Sources:
- Involving kids in household tasks has a positive impact later in life
- Chores are associated with self-competence, self-efficacy, and prosocial behavior
- Longitudinal Harvard study shows chores are bigger predictor of good mental health as an adult (moreso than social class, family problems, and other factors)
Frequently Asked Questions
The biggest help is consistently doing these cleaning routines at predictable times throughout the day, so it’s expected and part of your day – like, cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast or picking up the toys in the playroom before nap time. This way, your kids will (generally) be less resistant and will contribute to the routines as they get used to them.
A “command center” somewhere in the home is helpful for this because it is a place where things land when kids come into the house. Then, as they get settled in to being home, you can decide together what to keep filed away, hang up, or toss.
The best strategies are modeling and consistency. Kids will usually do what they see being done around them and engage with things that they can routinely expect. In the process, make it fun by creating games (who can pick up the most things?) or singing songs.
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An interesting blog. It’s important for children to use natural cleaning products without harmful chemicals. Since I use http://bit.ly/1f5ATC3 especially bit.ly/1fbDWsu house smells great and my kids are safe. I recommend to everyone, great clean and do not contain harmful chemicals.
Definitely agree chemical free is the way to go. I make most of mine with natural ingredients, but when the kids help they are usually doing something that doesn’t involve either. Thanks for the input :)
Good post!! Some nice tips there :)
I think I need to re-read it today ;)
Good article. It is a difficult job to keep a house clean if there are small kids. I teach my kids to do small cleaning jobs so that they will know the importance of cleaning when they grow up. Also if the kids are a big and know enough to do the basics like making the bed , it will be a good help for us mothers. As you said daily cleaning is a must when kids are there. Even when me or my husband are not well to do the cleaning jobs, we call for home cleaning services to keep the home clean.
My son is 2 and have trouble keeping it clean and it’s so hard
Oh I sympathise with you. I have two girls, 6 and 3, and I work full time as a teacher. It is so hard focusing on work, children and then looking at the house getting untidy. Although there are so many more important things to worry about, when you see the mess it is so disheartening.
What a great way to say it. There ARE far more important things to worry about it, but it IS discouraging!
I have a 4, 2.5 and as of Tuesday, a 1yd old. It isn’t easy, but my 4 year old did the powder and the settings on the washing machine today, 1 loaded the laundry in (And out, and in, and out…) for it. The older two put their dishes and cutlery in the sink post-meals, 1 wipes their Highchair tray and everyone cleans up toys fast when Mommy gets the hoover out or they’ll loose something – Or worse – Not get a turn! Kids LOVE to copy us, and they LOVE to please. So just teach them how. You’ll likely need to do it right after they do to have it right, but they learn really important skills and the work ends up the same amount anyway. 🤔
Pop up was quite annoying. Got off site because it wouldn’t go away.
YES I JUST SAW THIS. I’m turning it off, some type of technical error. Sorry :(
Thanks for this article – it is very helpful especially for those who are just starting a family. The guidelines are easy to follow and not only will make your house tidy but also can make your child responsible.
Thank you, and yes!! It’s so nice to have a tidy home.
Need all the help I can get . Im in bad health with 4 kids, ages 1 to 15
Thanks for this nice, down to earth article. Makes me feel like I don’t have to give up on tidy just because a baby’s on the way!
Nah you can keep it under control, don’t worry :)
Your blog is great, I’ve learned lots of ideas. Thanks for sharing. :-)
I’m a Single Older Dad, I had to search how to keep my apartment clean. I Feel so bad. But your Blog Has help me to do things I didn’t think would ever happen.
I can see the floor again and I don’t trip on toys going to the restroom at night.
Thanks’
ha, non tripping!
I am a stay at home dad, my wife works full time and I am not a good house keeper. You have some great ideas, I am more than guilty of letting the mess “pile up” and the thought of only taking 10mins to clean sounds great to me, I am definitely going to use most of your ideas.
Hi Ben, it’s SO TEMPTING to let the mess pile up. Good luck!
So, so encouraging! Great tips, and best of all the advice to remember it’s a process… ?
Cleaning house is something that we do when we decide to thoroughly clean every little portion of our house. It is absolutely necessary for us to deep clean home at least three times in an year to make it as beautiful and clean as we want it to be. It is more than just the normal dusting and sweeping of the house that we do every day; home deep cleaning involves many little things. It is easy to get confused and to miss out on one of those little things while we tackle the big problem. So, to help you tackle these things in a more organized way here are few steps that we should follow while deep cleaning house.Target this main area like kitchen, bathroom, sofa and carpet electrical appliances and furniture.
Good article. It is a hard job to keep a house clean if there are small kids. I instruct my kids to do small cleaning jobs so that they will know the importance & valve of cleaning when they mature. Also if the kids are big and know as much as necessary to do the basics like making the bed, it will be a great help for us mothers.
Great tips! It took me two year to realize I just needed to get rid of Knick knacks or just out then away for five years. When I took this off surfaces it helped. It also helps to frequently toss things including toys they aren’t that interested in
Rachel,
Thanks for the nice tips on – Keep a House Tidy With Kids.
Would you have any plan to give a detailed post on bathroom cleaning with time management? Bathroom cleaning very difficult for me.
I’m not sure how long ago you wrote that, Mark, but if it helps, I like to do the bathroom in little chunks instead of all at the same time. Immediately after I shower, I wipe down the toilet. If you shower daily, just wipe under the toilet seat daily, and every other day get behind the lid and the sides. I do the tub right before I give the boys a bath. This happens once a week, so it just gets wiped down once a week (I do inside the toilet once a week). For the floor, honestly, using a vacuum cleaner is so great to scoop up hair and dust, so I just go in the bathroom when I’m vacuuming and get it, and then it can get mopped with a swiffer whenever you do floors (around the toilet should get done by hand, IMO, but I do that on floor day, not daily after my shower). I try to keep everything off the sink counter except the bare necessities, and I wipe it down every night before bed so it’s shiny for the next day. I’m not talking deep cleaning here, just maintenance so it always looks acceptable for guests and more pleasant for me. Once a month, you should take the extra time to get the corners, the window, inside the toothbrush holder, etc. So to sum: Toilet seat=daily or every other day, inside toilet=1x wk, tub=before bath 1x wk, floor=when vacuuming/mopping, sink=nightly. Good luck!!
This was nice. I truly appreciate the ” you are not lazy, disorganized or unmotivated” part. Organization and positivity are key in these situations.
It’s so smart to do a cleanup once the kids are done playing and again after they go to bed instead of letting it build up and having to spend a lot more time than that cleaning. My husband and I went on vacation for a couple of days for our 15th wedding anniversary. Our house has now accumulated toys, leftover pizza, and other messes since we’ve been busy unpacking. I think that I will hire a home cleaning service to help clean this up and then start this habit of us and our kids picking up each day to make it easier for the future.
Excellent idea!
This was food for my soul! Thank you… my house is driving me nuts and I spend all day walking around picking up just to keep it at the same level of tidiness it was in the morning… somehow, the bottom line I got out of this was “keep trying, but its okay!”
Yes, keep trying and you’re doing great!
This is a good post to read about how to keep a clean house anhave definitely learnt alot of things
So glad to hear it :)
Our world totally gets a makeover once we have kids, I can relate so much! OCD feels like a prison, but what can you do when the culprit are your kids! heh. I have the same rule of making them clean up their own messes, sometimes it works, sometimes they throw a tantrum! ha
Its really hard to maintain the cleanliness of the house if you have little kids, and you can’t blame them for that. Thanks for sharing this.
It’s super hard, for sure!
Indeed, these are useful tips to keep the house clean even with little kids. I do have kids too, and it takes a lot of effort to keep the house clean and tidy when kids have literally unlimited energy to run around the house all day long. Thank you Rachel for the helpful hints.
Thanks for the tips. I am feeling less overwhelmed. Trying to tidy up my home as I would when I didn’t have my little one is impossible.
Nice post and good to know about how to keep house clean with small kids. Thanks for sharing.
My mom had 8 kids and I would help her clean all the time and although the house was not perfectly clean, I do have anxiety now that I’m older . Now I’m trying not to pass it along to my kids but its hard.Thanks for sharing!
Great tips! I really need to learn from this and have a daily routine, rather that suddenly have to do vacuuming and laundry all on the same day! Thanks for sharing!
My daughter is only 1.5 years old and she is always busy with making a mess in the house. I have always been thinking there is no stop from this unless she becomes 3-4. This post gave me some hope. :)
1 year olds are the absolute most brilliant mess makers!
Loved the article, thanks Rachel!
As a single working dad with my six year old daughter living with me full time I’ve had to make a few compromises on my definition of keeping the house tidy. I tend to be a bit of a neat freak for a guy anyway but it can be so frustrating when the little one strews toys and art projects seemingly within hours after I’ve just picked up the house. Redefining my standards I’ve come to the conclusion my priorities are #1 the kitchen stays clean and #2 the bathroom is clean. As long as those spaces are in order I can keep my sanity even if the rest of the house is a mess. If there is an art project mess on the coffee table I’m OK with that.
My strategy in cleaning I’ve learned from a book somewhere I can’t take credit for it but is to define one central surface in the house that I call the “magical surface” or the cleanliness is godliness table which, no matter what, stays spotless. For me it’s the center island in my kitchen and it gets wiped down multiple times a day. As long as that surface stays clean everything else seems to fall into place.
It’s true you have to take it one step at a time. Don’t try to tackle it all at once. Just clean off one surface at a time. One load of laundry at a time. Even just one sock at a time into the laundry basket. Fold one towel. Scrub the toilet bowl once. Forget the rest for a minute, and it’s OK to take a day off too. Once the habit is developed you don’t even notice your suddenly scrubbing the bathroom sink without thinking about it, it becomes automatic. Yes you might have a little more to do on the weekend but don’t give yourself a hard time if it was a long day at work and there are still a few dishes in the sink at the end of the night, it’s better to get some sleep.
I do my best to be enthusiastic and motivate my daughter to help but there is no sense in ruling with fear of consequence, she will learn by my example without having a meltdown. Starting with the easy tasks. Now if only I could figure out how to fold little girls clothes? Whew. I also don’t worry too much about her room but if it gets to the point where I’m stepping on toys then the toys go into a box and get put away until she is ready to be more responsible with them.
When it comes to cleaning – Sloppy success is better than perfect mediocrity. I really like the tip on cutting down on the kick-knacks it’s much easier to clean surfaces when there is just simply less stuff floating around… now my garage? That’s another story.
Amazing one.
Thanks for sharing valuable information.
Great post Rachel! Thanks for the well put tips, really helpful.
Simple yet effective, although I’ve been struggling with this since LO turned 2. We have designated areas for books/toys, plus LO has responsibilities (thank you for the previous tips about bedmaking!) but when she doesn’t fall asleep without me till *10pm or later*, I’m spent.