How To Keep A House Clean With Kids

Before I had kids, I vowed that I would never let kid’s toys take over my house. Especially the colorful plastic ones. But now that I’m a mom, my tune is much different. While I do try to limit the number of toys that come into our house (especially the colorful ones!!), it’s impossible to not have toys in the house when you have kids. 

Once we transitioned from one kid to two, things started getting out of control. Clothing, toys, clutter – there was stuff everywhere. I finally had enough and knew it was time to figure out what would work for our family so that we could limit the sticky floors, crumb-infested counters, and tripping over toys anytime we walked through the house. 

If you’re in the same position as I was and are tired of living in what feels like filth, I’m spilling my secrets on how we keep our house clean with the kids (and dog!) and how you can, too!

5 Tips on How to Keep a House Clean with Kids

Stay on Top of the Clutter

Whether it’s shopping bags, kid’s toys, decor, or just stuff, stay on top of the clutter! When things start piling up, it takes longer to put them away and makes your space look instantly messy. Plus, when your counters and surfaces are cluttered, it makes it harder to clean. 

• Tackle mail and other paper items (bills, artwork, etc.) right away! Whether you’re recycling it, putting it away for safekeeping, or paying a bill, eliminating the paper clutter before it even has a chance to become clutter will save you so much time. 
• Have a home for everything. And yes, I mean EVERYTHING. From beauty products and kids’ toys to kitchen appliances, everything you own should have a home. If it does, it’ll make putting away items faster. If it doesn’t have a home, find one and if you can’t, get rid of it!
• Take a few minutes every day to put things away. Mornings are always hectic in our household, therefore, making them the time that the house gets messy. To help this, I take a few minutes every day once the kids are settled to put things away and get cleaned up. 

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Make Cleaning a Routine

I am a big believer in doing a little cleaning every day instead of tackling it all at once. This allows me to not only spend more time with the kids but also keeps the house consistently clean saving me more time. To make it easy, I split up our cleaning/organization tasks based on frequency and room and tackle 2-3 small tasks per day (plus the normal making the bed, washing dishes, etc.). By the end of the week, you’ll be glad you did a little cleaning each day and can spend your weekend having fun. 

Get the Whole Family Involved

When you get the whole family involved, your kids will learn the importance of putting away their toys and helping around the house. Not to mention, it’ll also cut down on kid clutter and make cleaning easier. At the end of the day, I’ll usually put on some music so we can have a combined dance party and cleaning session to make it a little more fun.

Keep Cleaning Supplies in an Easily Accessible Area

When cleaning supplies are in an easily accessible area, it makes it more convenient to clean throughout the day! Most of our cleaning supplies live in our kitchen and laundry room, but we also keep a vacuum easily accessible so I can vacuum small areas each day. This is especially convenient when the kids are playing!

Take One, Give One

It’s no secret that kids have so much stuff. To limit how many toys, clothes, and other kids’ stuff we bring into the house we follow the rules of take one, give one. This means for each item we bring into the house for the kids (mostly when it comes to toys), we get rid of/donate the same number of items. This has worked really well for us and allows toys to get switched out and get a new home.