A Mama’s Guide To Keeping A Clean & Tidy Family Home - It’s Easier Than You’d Think!

Cleaning is one of those things that we love to hate, but it’s a chore that’s essential, especially if you’re a mama. The average family home has over 8000 different types of bacteria living in it - some good, some bad. The fact that our homes potentially contain thousands of harmful types of bacteria shows just how important it is to clean. Especially when you have little ones to think about.

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Of course, after running around after your little ones all day, the last thing you want is to spend your spare time cleaning and tidying. It’s easy to get frustrated as it can feel like dirt and mess builds up extremely quickly and can take hours to tackle. The good news, however, is that keeping your family home clean and tidy doesn’t have to be a struggle. Believe it or not, it’s just a case of sticking to a schedule and being smart about how household chores are dealt with.


Want to know how you can keep your family home clean and tidy without the stress? Then keep reading, as all is about to be revealed.


Create a schedule and stick to it

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The best thing you can do to make cleaning your home easier is create a schedule - honestly, it’s a godsend. Write a list of all the general household chores, like vacuuming, washing the windows, and doing the laundry, for example. Then write a list of all the days of the week and assign chores to each day. This means you won’t have to worry about doing everything in one day, making it easier to keep on top of things.


So, for example, on Mondays, you could do a load of laundry and vacuum the downstairs of the house. On Tuesdays, you could vacuum upstairs and wash the windows. On Wednesdays, you could clean the fridge, kitchen cabinets, and wash any hard floors. On Thursdays, you could do more laundry and tidy the children’s bedrooms. On Fridays, you could vacuum anywhere that needs it and clean the bathroom. Then, on the weekends, you should only have a few little tasks to deal with. For a little inspiration, check out Realsimple.com.


Invest in the right tools

One of the secrets of having a clean and tidy house is having the right tools. It might sound strange, but it’s true. If you want a home that’s easy to keep clean, it’s essential that you make cleaning and tidying as easy for yourself as possible. That’s why having the right equipment is so important. You’ll find cleaning and tidying much easier if you have tools that make it easier.


For example, cleaning your floors with a steam mop is much quicker, easier and less messy than using a normal mop. All you have to do is pour water into the mop - like an iron, wait for it to heat up and off you go. No bucket of water, chemicals, or squeezing the mop out, it’s much easier to use and leaves no water mess. Plus, it is much safer for kids because it’s free of chemicals. For cleaning your surfaces and other areas of your home, it’s also worth opting for chemical-free cleaning products. You can find out more about the chemical-free alternatives online here at CleanHappens.com.


Other essential tools for making cleaning easier are a good-quality vacuum cleaner. If you’ve got pets, it’s best to opt for a pet hair one, as this makes picking up all your pet’s fine hairs much easier and less time consuming. It’s also worth having a mini vacuum cleaner - aka a Dust Buster, for cleaning up small messes like crumbs and dried mud.


Clean as you go

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Ask any mama who’s got little ones running around and a clean house, and she’ll tell you the secret to her success is cleaning as she goes. It’s much easier to clean up small messes as they occur, rather than leaving the mess to build up. With little ones around this might be easier said than done, but it’s worth a try. If you can master the art of cleaning as you go, you’ll never have to worry about your house being a mess.


For example, after preparing dinner, while the food is cooking, clear and wipe the sides and do any washing up. Or, once the kids have finished with one toy, make sure that it’s put away. While your little ones are napping, have a quick tidy up - clear up any rubbish, put their toys away, wipe up any mess. You’ll find it much easier to keep your home clean and tidy if you clean as you go. It’s not just you who should clean as they go, it’s the whole family. You and your partner mainly, but any kids that are older should also be cleaning up after themselves as they go.


Teach your kids to tidy up after themselves


As mentioned above, older kids really should be tidying up after themselves. The key to this is to teach them the importance of tidying from a young age. So, from when they’re about two or three, start implementing the rule of only three toys out at once. If they want to get another toy out, they need to put the other ones away first. This teaches them that it’s important to tidy as you go, and should set the groundwork for when they get older.


As your kids get older, start giving them daily chores to do. These don’t have to be anything too strenuous, just little things that teach them the importance of helping around the house. Make your kids responsible for keeping their bedrooms tidy, cleaning up their toys, and putting their dirty washing in the basket. You could also give them a daily chore, such as loading and unloading the dishwasher. You aren’t the only one who lives in your home, so it shouldn’t be down to just you to keep it clean. Your little ones need to help too, even if it’s just with small tasks.


So there you have it, a mama’s guide to keeping your family home clean and tidy.