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Home » Practical Tips for the Home » Cleaning & Chores » How To Keep A Tidy House With Little Kids – It’s Possible!

How To Keep A Tidy House With Little Kids – It’s Possible!

Updated November 18, 2020

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Want simple chaos-erasing family routines? Who doesn't? Check out our Family Routines Reboot!

Want simple chaos-erasing family routines? Who doesn't? Check out our Family Routines Reboot!

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.

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.

instead of cleaning I just turn off the lights poster

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

(1) Revisit 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

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.

(2) 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?!?  

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.

Here are some printable chore cards you can use to help you teach the kids to tidy up. These will teach responsibility, hard work, and contribution. 

(3) Downsize 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.

Read: Minnamism for Kids

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?

Want some 15 minute projects that you and the kids can do to get the house in order quickly? Download and print here!

(4) 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.

(5) Organize 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 anyones 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.

Get Your Tidy Routines Printable Checklist

::

You are NOT lazy, disorganized, or unmotivated. The fact is, if your home feels chaotic,it’s your systems. With easy efficient systems, habits, and routines you can start to have the home (and home atmosphere) you crave without working yourself into a frenzy.

Take this quiz to see how well your home systems work then get free and easy hacks to help make your home more tidy, peaceful, and organized.

Rachel

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Filed Under: Cleaning & Chores, Practical Tips for the Home38

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I'm Rachel, mother of 5 young kids living in the Florida panhandle with my Australian husband. I write about family culture, family rhythms and routines, and boundaries in motherhood and life. You can see snippets of my daily life here and visit my shop for baby sleep, organizing, and routine help.

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I just wanted to say thank you for your easy peasy routine for 2 year olds! I day-weaned my 2 year old a month ago and have been trying everything to get him to go down for a nap without the nursing. Nothing was working and I was starting to think he would never have a nap again.

Anyways I started following your routine and we just sat in bed and had what I told him was “quiet time.” We sat and read and made a fort and had warm milk. Then today I told him it was quiet time again and he tried to escape the bed a couple times, but in the end he snuggled up after the warm bottle and fell asleep for 3 hours! I was almost in tears I was so excited! So thank you!

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With help and encouragement drawn from your writing, I have made some incredible changes in the order (and sanity) of our home, in just the past few weeks. My kids are doing chores daily, and I also have clearer expectations of myself.

My husband is in awe!

Which helps reinforce what you said- the problem wasn’t me; it was my systems. Our home is in much better order, and so is my mind. So, thank you!!!! You have made a difference for me and my family.

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I stumbled upon your blog one morning after praying night after night for God to fix my home! I had just had a baby this May 1st and also have a 2 and 4 year old and my home broke out in complete chaos!

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I googled everything I could think about but there was never really something that felt right, that felt genuine instead of just telling do’s and don’ts. 

And then I found your website and read your pieces about sleeping and eating. I carefully read through your schedules and decided to try it.

IT WORKED!! 

And within a week or two our little girl changed from a frustrated baby into this happy dappy smiling ray of sunshine, that is able to settle herself down by sucking on her fists, even in the middle of the night. At 12 weeks baby girl slept through the night and now at 20 weeks old she sleeps a good 10 to 12 hours every night. 

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I will say though that since reading your blog I am really focusing on remembering that every moment is a learning \ experience for my son and I try to take a breath and count to ten. In the few short days that I have been exercising this method I truly have noticed a change for the better in his response to me.

Tami K.

Comments

  1. Pipi says

    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.

    Reply
    • Rachel Norman says

      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 :)

      Reply
  2. seychellesmama says

    Good post!! Some nice tips there :)

    Reply
    • Rachel Norman says

      I think I need to re-read it today ;)

      Reply
  3. Eva Russell says

    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.

    Reply
  4. Megan says

    My son is 2 and have trouble keeping it clean and it’s so hard

    Reply
    • Ali N says

      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.

      Reply
      • Rachel Norman says

        What a great way to say it. There ARE far more important things to worry about it, but it IS discouraging!

  5. Regina says

    Pop up was quite annoying. Got off site because it wouldn’t go away.

    Reply
    • Rachel Norman says

      YES I JUST SAW THIS. I’m turning it off, some type of technical error. Sorry :(

      Reply
  6. George Garcia says

    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.

    Reply
    • Rachel Norman says

      Thank you, and yes!! It’s so nice to have a tidy home.

      Reply
  7. Hollie says

    Need all the help I can get . Im in bad health with 4 kids, ages 1 to 15

    Reply
  8. Julia says

    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!

    Reply
    • Rachel Norman says

      Nah you can keep it under control, don’t worry :)

      Reply
  9. Maria says

    Your blog is great, I’ve learned lots of ideas. Thanks for sharing. :-)

    Reply
  10. John says

    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’

    Reply
    • Rachel Norman says

      ha, non tripping!

      Reply
  11. Ben says

    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.

    Reply
    • Rachel Norman says

      Hi Ben, it’s SO TEMPTING to let the mess pile up. Good luck!

      Reply
  12. Rebecca says

    So, so encouraging! Great tips, and best of all the advice to remember it’s a process… 🙂

    Reply
  13. amol joshi says

    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.

    Reply
  14. Nielsen Rosella says

    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.

    Reply
  15. Julie says

    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

    Reply
  16. Mark William says

    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.

    Reply
  17. Ari says

    This was nice. I truly appreciate the ” you are not lazy, disorganized or unmotivated” part. Organization and positivity are key in these situations.

    Reply
  18. Sabrina Addams says

    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.

    Reply
    • Rachel Norman says

      Excellent idea!

      Reply
  19. Febé Meyer says

    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!”

    Reply
    • Rachel Norman says

      Yes, keep trying and you’re doing great!

      Reply
  20. Boris says

    This is a good post to read about how to keep a clean house anhave definitely learnt alot of things

    Reply
    • Rachel Norman says

      So glad to hear it :)

      Reply
  21. Amy Lee says

    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

    Reply
  22. Stephen Claus says

    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.

    Reply
    • Rachel Norman says

      It’s super hard, for sure!

      Reply
  23. Natasha Smith says

    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.

    Reply
  24. Miriam says

    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.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. What personality type are you? Ask your home! - A Designer At Heart says:
    January 19, 2020 at 11:19 am

    […] Because they don’t mind a cluttered room, people with this personality type can easily adapt their home to the presence of children. On the contrary, introverts with kids may struggle a lot with the need of keeping everything tidy. Discover how to keep a “mostly” tidy house with kids. […]

    Reply

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Hey y'all, I'm Rachel Norman, BA, MS, Language of Listening® parenting coach, mother to 5 babies in 5 years on 3 continents, no multiples. Join me in parenting without losing your mind. Read More >>

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