Guest Post by Sarah from Early Bird Mom.
I don’t know about you, but I definitely have better things to do with my time than spend all day cleaning. Unfortunately cleaning house is a fact of life for families, especially those with little kids. Here are 6 easy ways to keep your house cleaner without cleaning more!
6 Easy Ways to Keep Your House Cleaner
Use large, dirt-catching door mats at every door
The doorways are your first defense for catching all the dirt the comes in from outside. Invest in large, heavy-duty door mats for each door. At our most used door, we even have one outside the door and one inside. These make such a difference at catching the dirt before it gets tracked across your carpets and floors.
Related: Organize Your Entire Life eBook and Planner
Keep the food and drinks in the kitchen
This may be a hard habit for some family members to develop, but if you insist that the food stays in the kitchen, you’ll have fewer spills, crumbs, and sticky fingerprints to clean up in the rest of the house. (Bonus – if the snacking is confined to the kitchen, you might even find your family eats a bit less.)
Have a no-shoes policy in the house
We leave our shoes in our mudroom and most of the dirt with them. What about cold feet in the winter? Most of my family slips on Crocs to wear around the house. They keep us warm and toasty even while we’re keeping our thermostat low to save on the electric bill and the house stays much cleaner, too.
Make it easy to put things away
Wall storage using hooks and baskets is especially convenient (and decorative too!).
Make it a habit to put things away
Make it a habit to put things away instead of just setting them down. It takes just seconds longer to put a dish in the dishwasher than it does to set it on the counter. Ditto for hanging up a bath towel or throwing clothing in a laundry basket. If these kinds of actions are automatic, you won’t feel like you need to “pick up the house.” Teach your kids to do this automatically, too.
Related:
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- Bedroom Organization Tips
- Where to Find Budget Friendly Decor
- Budget Friendly Tips to Create a Larger Room
Make sure your kids are pitching in
This one’s a little sneaky – hey, all I said was that YOU didn’t have to clean any more. Kids make lots of messes; it’s only natural that they should learn to clean up those messes. Teach your kids how to clean up after themselves and it will save you oodles of time.
Smart strategies like these will help keep your house cleaner without any extra work, so you’ll have more time for the more important things in life.
Sarah Mueller believes that outer order contributes to inner calm! She’s a sometimes frazzled mom to 4 boys in PA, encourager to moms everywhere, and author of Step-by-Step Decluttering.
Julie says
We keep an old towel by our back door to wipe the dogs paws off when they come in. In spring it’s so rainy their paws are almost always wet or dirty. Saves me from mopping the paw prints off the floor everyday.
Sarah says
Oh, smart idea Julie! 🙂
Tresa says
We do the same thing, only thing is, I’m the only one who does it. The boys don’t
Debra says
A few years back, a friend taught me to… every morning, grab one Clorox wipe… clean the counters, then the sinks, clean the outer toilet, and last of all, clean the inside yucky part of the toilet. This takes me a good 45 seconds…!!! If done every day, it’s not that dirty!!! When I know company is coming, I pour a little Pine Sol in the toilet (it makes it smell clean) and they think I’ve been cleaning all day!!! 🙂
Sarah says
Love the Pine Sol trick! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Sarah Mueller says
Some of these things don’t take long, but make a big impact!
Anonymous says
Wonderful hint, I’ll start doing this, thanks!
Ron says
Hi Sarah!
First of all, what a great post! These tips can definitely help maintain an already organized/clean house. I love the 2nd and 3rd tip you gave. No shoes policy and no foods will come out from the kitchen definitely helps a lot.
Emily says
No shoes in the house & food and drink only in the kitchen! Agree! If you keep the mess out, there is less to clean.
Momof2cubs says
Great ideas. I use the wipe idea and no food or drinks in other areas of the house. Only bottled water. It sure helps keep everything clean. I have found that using the wipes get things clean enough for unexpected company…..and it gives me an excuse to sort things in the way, on the kitchen counter. Like mail that piles up. 😀 I just started following you and will share your blog on my Pinterest account.
Sarah Titus says
Glad you found me. 🙂 I don’t let my kids walk around with food in other rooms too. It really does help. 🙂
Jeanne says
I never allow shoes in my house plus it’s just and the furry ones plus I just moved so there a boxes everywhere
Crystal Barton says
I agree, putting things away AND making it simple to put things away makes cleaning the house so much easier. I love all the points you made. Now, it is just a matter of actually doing them, right? 😉
Trina says
Great tips, I’m following your idea.
Sara Barnes says
Love your line of thinking. We must be sisters of a different Mother. I have always been one to go thru the house daily for touch. We had one son living so I trained him as I had my husband…you take it off, hang it up or put it in the laundry basket. If you are finished with a game, puxcle, etc, pivk it all up and puut it where it belongs; just live by the style of put awaym clean it up when finished, rinse the dish and put it in the dishwasher, whatever it is if you are finished for it put it where it belongs. Same concept in my office, put thge papers in the place where they belong. Use contsiners as devorative objects in a room. My friends say “your house is always clean and orderly”. Because we live that wsy. Now with a daughter in law, she said she loves how her husband knows how to live that wsy and in turn they have taught their 2 sons thisstyle of living. Sure frees up time and makes living simpler!