Every mother knows well the daily uphill battle we fight to keep a tidy home when we have little ones running around. Toys, clothes, and garbage almost seem to materialize overnight making it difficult to find the beauty in the chaos. It can begin to feel like ground hogs day when you repeat each day cleaning up after everyone, only to have them undo a full days work as soon as your back is turned. We all know how disheartening this can be. However, bringing peace and order into your home is entirely possible. You just have to get creative and intentional with your system you are trying to implement. Let’s explore practical tips and strategies to maintain a tidy home, even with the wonderful mess that kids bring in this complete guide to keeping a tidy home with kids. Let’s discuss how to best implement these ideas to help you take back your home and strike the perfect balance between your relationship with your children and a clutter-free space.

Get The Children Involved

Sometimes asking for help from your children can seem counterproductive, but now is always the time to start instilling good cleaning habits. The earlier you start on reinforcing good cleaning habits the easier it will be. If you have an infant or small toddler, baby wearing is a great way to get things done and still give your baby the closeness they are craving from you every waking moment while observing and learning. Involving your children in the household chores also helps them to appreciate the amount of effort, respect your time, and take ownership of their home. Even toddlers can help with simple tasks like picking up toys or sorting laundry. If they make a mess, have them clean it up themselves and offer your help as needed according to their age. As they grow, gradually introduce them to more responsibilities. Set clear expectations about what needs to be done and make it part of their routine.

1. Make it Fun!

What if you could turn cleaning into a fun and engaging activity for the whole family? Transforming it into a game will make the experience much more enjoyable and help them to associate good feelings with daily chores. Set a timer and see how many toys they can pickup before time runs out. If you have a child that gets overwhelmed by the mess, play a scavenger hunt for all the items that need to be picked up (e.g. finding all the cars and putting them into the car bin.) It’s also a great idea to assemble a playlist and play some music or short story podcasts to keep their mind busy. Here are some additional ideas to get you started:

• Sing a silly song while you work.
• Play I spy. Have them find an item in the house to clean. E.g. I spy something with four legs.
• See if they can match all the socks to their missing buddy.
• Toy basketball. Have them try to make the toys in the bin. Play on their competitive spirit by placing a timer and seeing who can get the most toys in before the time is up.
• Play some music and have a dance party while you clean.
• Have them slip on some Mop slippers and skate around the house while they clean your floors!

Microfiber Washable Mop Slippers: Get it at Amazon for $13.99. Comes in sizes 3-4 years kids, sizes 4-5, sizes 5.5 – 8.5.

2. Create a Reward System

Consider implementing a reward system for positive reinforcement for completing what is asked of them. A little motivation goes a long way! Never go the opposite direction and use chores to punish your children for bad behavior. They will learn to associate their household responsibilities as punishments and drag their feet every time and be far less inclined to implement the new skills you are trying to teach, even when they leave the nest one day in the not too distant future. Plan fun family activities such as a trip to the park or a family board game giving them positive experiences for completing their chores. You can also implement a system that only grants access to certain privileges once they have finished their designated tasks. An allowance system is another great idea you can start this week if you are having troubles getting your children motivated. Once your children have completed all assigned daily tasks at the end of the week they can earn a set amount to be collected at the end of the month, whether that’s money or points to earn certain privledges.

3. Set Clear Expectations

A chore chart is a great visual representation of what is expected from them everyday otherwise you start to feel like a broken record. Establish a daily chore routine for each child dictating their responsibilities that they can incrementally check off. This is also an easy way for you to determine what has been done and what hasn’t without becoming their shadow throughout the day. Consistency is key and will make or break all your efforts. Set an alarm if you have to and have a set time during the day that everyone works together to complete their household chores. Ensure all tasks are appropriate for their age and capabilities to avoid setting them up for failure. Here is a list of age appropriate chores according to their age:

Acrylic Magnetic Chore Chart: Get it at Amazon for $22.94. Assign weekly or daily rewards for completing their responsibilities! Comes with 12 dry erase markers. Pack of two charts.

Create an Efficient Routine

A cleaning routine helps you break down tasks into smaller, more manageable steps, reducing the stress associated with cleaning. It ensures that every area of your home gets the attention it needs while preventing clutter from piling up. Plus, having a set schedule helps you develop consistent habits and makes cleaning feel less like a chore and more like a natural part of your day. Make sure you have this routine somewhere you can easily refer to. Whether that’s somewhere in your phone, or printed and placed on your fridge.

Start by assessing your space and identifying areas that need routine cleaning or problem areas where you can implement a better system. Get a better understanding of your space in determining what works and what doesn’t in order to tailor an effective routine. Maybe your shoe situation is a scattered disaster and you go on hunts for the matching pair that you apparently don’t seem to own. Maybe you resort to using the smell test to differentiate your clean laundry from your dirty laundry because they all cohabitate on the floor. Get a good system going that will be easy to maintain and doesn’t make you feel like you are constantly treading water.

1. Break it Down

Create a list of all the cleaning tasks you need to accomplish and break them down into the Following categories: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Seasonal. You don’t need to focus your attention on everything that needs done all at once. Some things just don’t require very much of your very much sought after attention. Here are some examples to get you started:

• Daily: Dishes, sweeping or vacuuming floors, wiping down counters, decluttering living areas
• Weekly: Mopping floors, dusting surfaces, laundry
• Monthly: Cleaning windows, cleaning your appliances inside and out, organizing closets,
• Seasonal: Yard work, rotating out seasonal clothing,

2. Create a Schedule / Family Rules

Now that you have your list, determine a set time each day where you are able to be most productive and consistent. Whether that’s during nap time for the little ones, while the kids are at school, or first thing in the morning after breakfast while you still have the energy and before other things begin to take over the day. Make a visual of your schedule. You can do this by using a simple white board in your home, a calendar app, planner, or in the notes section of your phone. Next, assign the tasks to members of the family and feel free to rotate these responsibilities weekly or monthly. In order to keep the house clean for as long as possible after all your families efforts, try to schedule outdoor time once all chores are completed.

Establish some family rules that help you meet your goal of keeping a tidy home and conduct a family meeting so that everyone is on the same page. Brainstorm ideas together as well as consequences if rules are broken to get everyone involved. Here are some ideas to discuss:

• No shoes allowed in the house. Shoes can contain millions of germs not to mention all the dirt that gets brought into the house.
• Food is only allowed at the table and sippy’s with water and spill proof lids are the only thing allowed around the house.
• Create rules for designated zones. Toys are only allowed in the bedroom or playroom. Clothes are only allowed in the laundry room and designated hampers. Toys are not allowed on the stairs. Shoes must go in the shoe area.
• Everyone must help “put the house to bed” before the day is over. Each member of the family can be responsible for tidying up a space in case it got messy again throughout the day, or at least for the main living areas such as the kitchen. Waking up to a messy home is one of the biggest mood killers and can cause you to feel overwhelmed, anxious, and ultimately cause you to lose motivation for the day.
• Daily chores must be completed for the day before they are able to access certain privileges.

I have created a free printable here for a cleaning routine you can implement with your family.

Get Organized!

The best way to ensure that your children keep things tidy is by creating a place for everything that everyone is aware of and keep everyone accountable. Utilize labels, bins, and color coordinating if needed to make it easier on everyone. Some of the main problem areas in the household include shoes, toys, and clothes. If you don’t have a great solution for these areas, now is the time to create one. It will make it so much easier for you to run your home more efficiently.

1. Shoes: It’s hard enough getting everyone ready to go out the door without a shoe search party. Here are some ideas for solving your current shoe issue; Assemble a garage shoe shelf and place shoes in cheap bins with lids to avoid the obvious bug or spider issue if needed, create a drop everything zone in your entryway or mudroom with built in benches with storage or baskets under a entryway table, assemble a shoe shelf in your entry way closet, or keep everyone’s shoes in their bedroom closets.
2. Toys: For kid areas, over utilize labels with pictures or words. If your child is into dumping EVERYTHING, keep toy bins in a space that is not accessible so they cannot have another bin until it is cleaned up to avoid a tornado zone. A great way to implement this is using the top shelves of their closet for cube bin storage with labels. Use low height shelving to rotate toys and avoid keeping all toys out and reducing toy burnout.
3. Clothes: Laundry is a never ending cycle that can easily turn into a nightmare. Utilize the under bed space or closets to store out of season clothing, or to store clothes that they have outgrown and need to be donated to save on closet space. Place hampers in bathrooms for all dirty clothes and 3 hampers in the laundry room to place sorted dirty clothes for whites, lights, and darks. Try to do one load per day or establish a weekly laundry day if you prefer to just knock it all out in one day or have less laundry than most. Keep a stack of laundry bags in your laundry room to wash all socks together to prevent missing matches like these mesh laundry bags or sock locks to keep your socks together.
4. Create a Command Center: It can be helpful to create an area in the home where you keep important information and family schedules to help your home run smoothly, such as, a calendar, mail, school forms and homework, chore charts, grocery lists, bulletin board, and a charging station if you don’t wish to keep phones in the bedrooms at night.
5. Go Vertical: Keep things off counters to make it easier for quick wipe downs by utilizing hanging storage, wall shelving, and cabinets. This also minimizes the cluttered look. Using wall storage is also a great space saving idea for those with limited space.
6. Create a Place for Everything: Start in a room and sort everything into piles. Once you have grouped everything together into different categories, determine a home for everything in a place that makes sense. Purchase bins, containers, shelving, etc as needed. Things with many small pieces can be placed in bags to keep everything together. Things that you don’t want little ones to be able to access need to be secured with child locks or placed in a high spot where they can’t be reached. Be smart with your empty spaces such as under the bed, wall storage in your garage like shelves or pegboards, shelf risers if your cabinets or closets are lacking shelving, or use hanging door storage items. These are among a few clever ways to use every inch creating needed storage space.

Invest in the Right Products

The right cleaning products can be your best ally in streamlining your cleaning process. Whether that’s preventing them in the first place or improving the cleaning process itself. If you choose to involve your little ones in the cleaning process it is important to find or make green cleaning products that are not toxic to your children since many chemicals are absorbed through the skin and can cause skin irritations as well as enter into the body. Find your favorite all purpose, glass, floor, and bathroom cleaners and make sure to stock up. Here is a list of products that will make your life so much easier if you decide to bring them into your busy homes. It’s all about choosing the right products to help you keep your sanity.

1. Vaccum Steam Mop

A steamer, vacuum, and mop all in one will certainly be a game changer for your floors condensing all steps into one quick run through over your floors. This is a huge time saver and is great for food and drink spills, muddy feet or paws, and scrubbing away any stubborn spots. There are many options on the market but I highly recommend one with a steam mop option to better sanitize and clean those stubborn spots. The exact mop that I own and highly recommend is the Bissel Crosswave Hydrosteam Multipurpose Mop that has three cleaning modes; the regular vacuum mop setting for hard floors, a mode to clean area rugs, and a steam and vacuum mop mode all in one. This particular mop comes with Bissel’s Hard Floor Sanitize Formula that eliminates 99.9% of bacteria that can also be used in addition to the steam. I would recommend getting a couple of the replacement brush rollers because I like to throw my brushes in the washer after each use. This model also has a convenient self cleaning mode that I recommend using after after each use. I have used mine for months now and I have no complaints. It gets my floors much cleaner than when I used a mop since it uses clean water from the water tank rather than repeatedly smearing dirty water over the floors.

Bissel Crosswave Hydrosteam Vacuum Mop: Get it from Amazon for $319. Almost 5 star rating. Includes 3 Trial Size Formulas, 1 Washable Filter, and Auto Clean Out Tray with Accessory Holder.

2. Washable Rugs

A washable rug is the only rug that you are going to want to own, especially in those high traffic areas. Even if you do your best to keep food at the table and no shoes in the house, there are always going to be accidents and dirt will always be present. It is so convenient to be able to throw your rug in the wash and remove all dirt and stains that accumulate over time. Due to the convenience, they can be cleaned often to remove allergens, dirt, bacteria, and are built to withstand multiple washes. You will no longer need to invest in professional cleaning for your rugs. I love being able to not stress as much about any messes or spills. We could all use a little less stress in our lives. Click the rugs below to find where to purchase.

3. Silicone Kids Dishes

One of the best ways to avoid spills, plastic, and broken glass is to use silicone kids dishes. Silicone sippy’s are great because you don’t have to worry about plastic seeping into drinks and the lids prevent any spills. I have drank from my child’s plastic sippy before and the water tasted of plastic. I loved the sippy’s with the lid and straws or spouts and the lids could be removed when they are ready to practice drinking through a cup. I do not recommend the straw options for on the go sippy’s as they do not prevent leaks if dropped and I would opt for the sippy’s with leak proof spouts.

A lot of time and effort goes into preparing meals for your kids and it can be very frustrating when it doesn’t make it to their tummies and ends up getting dumped on the floor. Silicone bowls and plates with suction bases greatly improve mealtime cleanup by keeping kids from being able to pick up their dishes. The raised sides also prevent their windshield wiper arms from swiping all the food off their tray.

Silicone bibs with a catch bowl are another great option. Cloth bibs must be washed in the washer after each use which adds to your laundry and you can easily run out of clean bibs available. The catch bowl on these bibs are great for catching food that gets spit up or spit out, especially if you have a little one that suffers from reflux during meal time as mine did. After each use they just need a quick rinse in the sink and they are ready for the next meal.

4. Mattress Protectors

Over the next few years your kids mattresses are going to be exposed to a lot of unmentionables. Invest in a waterproof mattress protector to keep your kids mattresses from being destroyed. This will save you money in the long run and they are not expensive! They have a lot of options that won’t make your child feel like they are sleeping on a plastic sheet and they are completely unnoticeable under their sheets. Store extra clean sheets under their mattress for any late night changes in the dark.

5. Green Cleaners

Cleaning products are essential and it is important to be mindful of the products you choose, especially if you plan on having your little ones help with household chores. As we use cleaning products, they linger on surfaces and vaporize into the air we breathe. Exposure to certain chemicals over a period of time can have negative effects on our body on a cellular level including hormone disruption, irritations, respiratory issues, and can even contain carcinogens. Some great brands that are cost effective are Mrs. Meyers Clean Day, Seventh Generation, The Honest Company, and Method just to name a few.

6. Robot Vacuum

Having a robot vacuum in your life means that you get to take back all the time spent sweeping and vacuuming your floors and always keep your floors clear of dirt and debris because there is less upkeep on your part. This is especially great for those with crawlers or are always gone since you don’t have to be home to clean. Many can be programmed to clean while you’re away and even self charge. Make sure to vacuum proof your home by removing floor clutter before letting it loose for better navigation. The iRobot Roomba Combo i5+ is a great option. It has smart mapping with the ability to clean on a schedule and empties itself.

7. Carpet / Upholstery Cleaning Machine

You can’t have anything nice when you have kids, unless you have a carpet and upholstery cleaner to completely restore your couches, chairs, mattresses, rugs, and carpet. A great option we have found is the BISSELL Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner that works to remove all stains from your children and pets and even has a self cleaning function. You will find yourself caring less about those sticky hands and dirty feet all over your furniture because you know that whatever they throw at your expensive furniture, it will not be ruined. You don’t have to feel so guilty about getting the cream couch that you always wanted. There are many other expensive options on the market but we have found that this one works great!

Bissel Little Green Multipurpose Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner: Get it from Amazon for $123. Almost 5 star ratings. Includes spot and stain formula. 48 oz clean tank capacity.

Keep Your Home Minimalistic

Adopting a minimalist approach not only helps in creating a cleaner, more organized living space but also cultivates a sense of calmness and focus. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by the clutter in your home, now is the perfect time to purge and embrace a more minimalistic lifestyle. Minimalism helps provide mental clarity, increases productivity, and can decrease stress levels. It isn’t about depriving yourself, it’s about surrounding yourself only with items that bring value to your life. Ask yourself:

• What do I truly need in my home?
• What items do I cherish or use regularly?
• What serves a purpose and brings me joy?
• What is just taking up space, physically and emotionally?

Having a clear vision will help you make decisions as you work through the process. Somethings you don’t have to get rid of if you have the storage space, such as a garage or attic, but it helps to keep them out of your home until you need them. Especially for those with little ones who tend to get into everything and you find yourself picking up the same things over and over that you don’t even use. Why not store them in a place where they can’t be reached or just get rid of it all together.

Playrooms and bedrooms can easily overflow with all the toys your child couldn’t live without and many being quickly discarded weeks later. Not only will having less toys improve your sanity, but studies have found that having less toys improves your child’s quality of play by increasing play time and better use of their imagination. Toys can be the most difficult to part with. Making your children a part of the process by picking toys that are less played with and donating them to another kid who doesn’t have as much may make it easier on them. You can also rotate toys out by picking a few toys or toy bins for them to play with for the week and then it’s like Christmas morning each time they get a new set of toys.

There is also no need to go overboard on clothing. Keep a couple outfits per day for a whole week in your child’s closet, and the same for pajamas, and also keep a few jackets/ sweaters and coats. This will help to reduce your laundry load and the inevitable pile of laundry in their rooms.

Learn to Live in the Chaos

It’s important for us to also understand that messes are a part of children growing, developing, and learning and that it’s not going to be perfect. Help them to understand that messes happen and it’s ok as long as we clean it up and fix our mistakes. We don’t want the whole process to be a source of anxiety for them and allow them to feel uncomfortable making mistakes in front of us. Never prioritize a clean home over time with your children or their feelings. We don’t want our children feeling like they are walking on eggshells and not comfortable in their own home. That’s why it’s important to implement systems that result in less nagging or punishing on your part so it becomes a positive experience for everyone and chores feel less like chores. It’s all about creating the best environment for nurturing their development and giving all the love we can give each day. It’s only going to be a short blip in your life and one day you will miss the chaos. At least some of it.

Nothing makes our home more of a healthier environment than the relationships we have around us within our home, and we can’t take care of others to the best of our ability if we do not take care of ourselves. Give yourself grace. It’s the gift we don’t give often give ourselves, especially when it is the most deserving. If there is something you didn’t get to that day, make a point to finish it on another day. It’s ok to take a day off, exist in the mess, and use the time to take care of yourself and your children. If it’s between your daily workout or finishing tidying up the kitchen, choose to take care of yourself. The same goes for getting on the floor and playing with your kids. That will mean the most to your children and they will pick that over a clean home any day.

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• Complete Guide: Keeping a Tidy Home With Kids

If you would please leave a comment. I would love to hear your additional insights! Feel free to share any experiences, feedback, or any resources that were helpful to you. We would all appreciate any tips or tricks on how you manage your home with little ones.