Can’t Keep up? 13 Habits that will Keep Your House Clean (Even if You have Kids)

Your toddler is a tipsy tornado. A pile of debris follows your son’s curious path.

You love that he is curious and explores the world, yet you cringe with every item he pulls out. Still another item for you to clean up.

By developing the following habits, the house can stay cleaner and you’ll save yourself some work.

SEE ALSO: Simple Steps for Tackling Spring Cleaning, Room-by-Room

Pull the comforter to the pillows. Since the bed occupies a lot of space, it will make your room look so much cleaner—even if you don’t completely make your bed.Start the day with a load of laundry. When you get out of bed, put a load of clothes in the wash. Once breakfast is over, put the clothes into the dryer. Do a load of clothes every day.Dry your sink. Just after you dry your hands, take a few seconds to dry your bathroom sink. It will remove spots and keep it looking nice.Unload the dishwasher before breakfast. That way, when you dirty a dish, you can put it directly into the dishwasher. No dirty dishes pile up in the sink or on the counter. Turn on the dishwasher just before bed.Leave your shoes at the door. Shoes track in dirt, mud, grass, feces, debris, gum, leaves, and much more. If you take off your shoes by the entrance, you won’t need to clean the floors as often.Tidy the living areas just before dinner.  Give your kids practice helping out in the house and, afterward, reward them with a meal.After dinner, go straight to the bath. Having a regular routine prepares the body for sleep. A warm bath relaxes the muscles. After the bath, begin winding down and prepare for sleep. If you have kids, you can save time by having one parent wash the kids while the other parent washes the dishes.Prepare for the next day. Once the kids are asleep, lay out everyone’s clothes for tomorrow, prepare lunches, and do the prep work for breakfast and dinner. Pre-set the coffeemaker. Check your schedule for tomorrow. Set any items you need by the front door (or pack the car).Get rid of junk mail.  If you don’t want to receive “prescreened” offers of credit or unsolicited commercial mail, the Federal Trade Commission recommends that you contact the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) FREE Mail Preference Service (MPS). This will reduce up to 80% of junk mail that comes to your door.Buy fewer items with packaging.  When you buy something in a package, you unpack it, sort it, recycle it or trash it, and then take it out to the garbage or recycling bin. The less packaging you buy, the fewer times you need to put it in the trash or recycle it.Go to a farmers market, use a grocery delivery service, or sign up for a CSA. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) allows you to get a box of produce (often organic) from a local farm for a low price. Where I live, it costs about $25 for a massive box of fruits and vegetables. Some areas will deliver a box of organic produce to your door for a small fee (in my area, the fee is $1.50).  Many of these CSAs will also deliver locally made bread, eggs, cheese, meat, poultry, pies, etc. There is so much food in these boxes, it is a real challenge to eat it all! And just think, no kids at a checkout line asking for candy!Have a weekly home blessing hour. Instead of “doing chores”, we “bless our home.” We set aside one hour every week to handle things like mopping. The change in mindset can help motivate you to clean when you’re not in the mood. If that’s not enough, FlyLady’s podcast will guide you through it step-by-step.Purge…ruthlessly. Every day, ask yourself, “What am I willing to let go of today?” Put one item (or more) into a box to give away. Have your kids do the same. Put a smiley face on the box, and tell them that every item that they put in there will make someone else happy.

RELATED: 150 Tips and Tricks on Cleaning

Featured photo credit: House cleaning -Cleaning accessories on floor room via Shutterstock

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