Cleaning with Kids 101
Having kids at home does not have to mean a messy house but how are Moms really cleaning with kids? Today we are talking about tips for cleaning with kids but also how to teach kids to clean for themselves! Yes, please.
Let’s be real, once kids enter the picture the house is never quite the same. Laundry multiplies, spills happen, and toys are everywhere. Momma is tired! That being said, it is time to work smarter and not harder.
Dumb Advice for Cleaning with Kids
“Hey Google, how to make cleaning a house with kids easier?”
Terri K.
You would think there is a list out there but sadly NO…I got pages of the same tips that you would see for any kind of cleaning.
You Need to Declutter
Yeah, no kidding. Less clutter IS easier to clean but I need to clean today. Like now. Maybe I can put decluttering at the end of my list but this is not how to start. While I think this is laughable, this article had some good tips to go along with that one. I even did a full review of the queen of decluttering, Dana K. White here.
Just Hire Help
That’s a great idea. Trust me, I would hire a cleaning lady like yesterday! If I could, I would have hired a cleaning lady but as a young mom, we were struggling to make ends meet. Seriously, do you think I would be Googling how to clean if I had any other alternative?
So, clearly we are going to need to get creative. Time to put on our big girl pants and figure this out!
Create a Morning Routine for Cleaning with Kids
1. Make the Bed, Seriously
This is one of the things every single article I found says should be on the list, it is #1 in this article. Mom will be so proud that I am finally making my bed every day. I always thought this took ten minutes, but the reality is that it takes about three minutes including all my pretty pillows. I spent longer feeling bad about my room being a mess than actually just doing it. Cleaning with kids might mean a little longer because who can resist a little tickling on the bed?
2. Get Dressed For Whatever Happens
I’m a good little FlyLady, FlyBaby, whatever! I get dressed every day “to shoes” like FlyLady says, although they may come off later. Like Dr. Seuss said…
This small task has me prepared for whatever the day throws at me. I can run the store, walk the dog, or pick up a sick kid without panicking. Getting dressed is like putting on your armor for battle. You are not likely to win any wars in horseshoes and no bra! Just sayin.
3. Laundry Start to Finish Daily
The bed may be looking good but a pile of dirty laundry on the floor or across a chair reinforces negative thoughts every time I see it. We have two options, hide it and put our head in the sand hoping it will go away and face it.
Call in your mini assistant and let them help you put everything in the basket. Teaching kids that laundry goes into a basket or hamper will bring you happiness tenfold! Cleaning with kids can and should start very young. Working with my 16-month-old grandson (yes, I am now a G-word) has shown me that he wants to help as long as we do things together. So, we sing the clean-up song and put things “IN”.
Once the basket is full go and start a load. The key to keeping up with this is consistency. One load every day will keep those piles from piling up. But…one load a day is from start to put away. Do not forget and let it set all day in the washer. If you need to set a timer for lunch to flip and again after dinner to fold. I prefer to fold while watching tv anyways plus during commercials I make the kids take their stuff and race to put it away. The tv will resume once we are all back. That might be a good time for a treat.
4. Dishes Go In or Get Washed Immediately
We are only 10-15 minutes into our routine so far (not counting how long you take to get ready). Let’s give the kiddos some breakfast and deal with the biggest elephant in the room, dishes.
Dirty dishes make the entire room look and feel gross. Trust me, even if it isn’t bothering you everyone else who sees it is judging you sadly. This is a basic to cleanliness. No dirty dishes.
Now, I am not a fan of dishes so my tip is to always keep the dishwasher ready to receive dirty dishes. Load it all day and turn it on at night. Unload in the morning while brewing that java from Heaven, and repeat. Anything that doesn’t fit in the dishwasher after dinner means I have to touch it but it is necessary to keep things going. As a result, I try not to make a big mess because I am lazy and don’t want to hand wash anything!
If you want to know my 10 Secrets to Keep a Tidy House check out this article.
Today with Terri K
Kids can help with unloading pans, plastic dishes, and silverware. I grab up knives and plates first so it is safe. If they are very small, just give then a wooden spoon and a pan and they will have so much fun while you finish up. Again, the key is to let them “help” safely.
Surfaces Make an Impact when Cleaning with Kids
When you have littles, there are always a ton of dried food, smudges, and fingerprints. Use a child-safe multi-purpose cleaner and go around wiping everything quickly. Give kids a wet paper towel and let them “help”. Your cleaning with kids gets a lot easier when they help because while the cleaning may go a little slower, they are not pulling things out as much either!
The other really cool thing is that now the kids are seeing that spills and messes need to be wiped up and they will independently try to do this even when you are not cleaning. Again, my 16month old baby recently reached for an old burp cloth because he spilled water on the coffee table. That my friend is a WIN!
Now I am not saying you have to wipe the same things down every day. Change things up and hit a different room the next day. This is a quick wipe and moving on. Toddlers who snack at the coffee table means that need a quick wipe daily but in the other rooms maybe once a week?
Make an Afternoon Routine that Works Around Kids
Ok, I am tired and the babies are hungry so a quick lunch is just what we need. A few minutes of Miss Rachel (if you know, you know) so that I can get lunch together does the trick. By limiting tv time, it works to distract a lot better when you need time to cook or work on the computer!
Sadly, that clean table is already dirty again! This is life with a toddler but it is still better than it was. Neurotic moms, go ahead and wipe it down again if you must. Rinse off the dishes and load them into the dishwasher. Yay, good job Momma!
No Cleaning with Kids When Nap Time Rolls Around
I LOVE that my daughter has him sleep trained. I definitely did not know about that when my own were little! Momma, if you have not tried this let me say it is amazing. Google it now (or after we finish here). It took maybe 2 weeks and Shazam, he gets told “I love you”, white noise turned on, lights out, and magically he lays down to sleep in less than 5 minutes!
Laundry Flip, No Parking
At some point during the afternoon, remember to move the laundry from the washer to the dryer. Little ones can help but I prefer to keep them away from dryers and laundry products as a precaution. Once they are bigger (like 9?) we can start to teach the basics of laundry.
Make that Floor Shine
Nap time is the perfect time to run a vacuum or mop the floors. This is not a daily chore if you have a Roomba because she will keep the crumbs up. If not, a quick sweep under the table is usually necessary.
Deeper Cleaning with Kids and Desk Work
Anytime that the littles are napping I recommend working on the bigger tasks like deep cleaning the bathroom or desk work. Anything that uses harsh chemicals or takes deep thought. This time is often wasted because Mommas are tired but try to do a little something every other day if you can.
YOU are the Secret Sauce
Believe it or not, no cleaning routine is perfect. Creating a routine that works with the kind of mom you want to be is the ticket.
I want to be an active, touchy mom. So my house goals are to keep it tidy and leave time to play and be silly while they are little. It is important to me to take them on walks, play tag, and color together. That is my vision. However, piles of dishes and a disaster house are not part of my vision! So a 30 min Morning Clean and a 30 min Afternoon Clean work well to manage the chaos most days.
Take time to think about what is important to you. I have to let go of perfectionism because that is not who I am nor who I want to be with my kids. This gives me the power to say no when I start to feel bad or guilty about not doing more. This is YOUR family and YOUR home so plan the balance YOU need to get there and not leave a disaster house in your wake!
Food for Thought
Cleaning is significantly faster and easier when you have less. Think about taking a few things off of the surfaces and storing them in a basket or drawer. It looks neater and saves time cleaning.
Cleaning with Kids & Too Many Toys
Try putting 3/4 of all of the toys into bins and rotating the bins every 3 months. Kids get bored with the same things every day. Rotating things lets them play with more and enjoy new stuff without having to buy new stuff. Plus, you will notice broken toys quicker and things they choose not to play with that you can donate much faster!
Less is More Freedom from Laundry
Laundry does not pile up unless you have too much. I was so guilty of this. Because I hated doing it, I put it off as long as possible so I had up to a months worth of things. It did not stop my piles, it actually made doing laundry 4x harder so I dreaded it even more. Try to pair things down to a 2 wk rotation of clothes (hide the rest for a while and see what you miss). The laundry piles are smaller so daily washing doesn’t take very long to fold and put away. If you miss a specific item, pull it out and add it to the rotation. Odds are you wear a lot of things because you are running out of your favorites by the end of the month, if they are always getting washed you don’t need the things you don’t love anymore!
Do you have a tip or trick that works well? Please feel free to share it so we can all work smarter and not harder! If you would like to see easy-to-follow checklists, be sure to stop by the shop tab to make running a house easier!
