6 Easy Cleaning Hacks To Keep Your Home Tidy With Kids Around

If keeping a neat and tidy home is something you prioritize, it's a common misconception that adding children to your life automatically makes this impossible moving forward. Instead, it's far more likely you and your family will need to work together to form new cleaning and organization habits, especially as your kids grow. Often, the best way to do this is to implement easy, reliable systems and daily practices that help create a family cleaning routine.

Most importantly, every member of the household should be involved in the system — kids included. In fact, teaching your children the value of cleaning offers developmental benefits, including a sense of accountability. Participating in household chores helps kids feel more connected to the wider world around them, which can ultimately give them a stronger grasp of their value within their communities. 

Of course, that doesn't mean it's easy. More people living under one roof means more clutter, and when your kids are little, including them often means letting them tidy at their own pace, however inefficient it may be. But if clutter is the biggest culprit, it can be helpful to tackle a major purge as your starting point, and then focus on daily maintenance and smaller, more manageable tasks to keep things in order. From there, and with the help of some carefully implemented cleaning hacks we've rounded up below, you can maintain the tidy home you loved and adored pre-kids.

If laundry is your biggest source of cleaning day overwhelm, break it down and make it manageable. Rather than designating one day to nonstop laundry, do a daily load. You can schedule it by family member, by color, or by category, and save the bigger items, like sheets and towels, for quieter weekdays or the weekend. By limiting yourself to one load of wash per day, done ideally first thing in the morning, you'll keep your hamper from overflowing and make the mental load of non-stop laundry feel less daunting.  

Once you've done a major purge, it's important to start decluttering regularly. A handy way to tackle this is to use what the pros call the "One In, One Out Rule." As soon as you notice an item is used up or broken, toss it and replace it if needed. This rule can also come in handy for upcoming holidays. As the big day nears, see if any toys can be donated or tossed to make space for upcoming presents. 

This may be easier said than done, but if you want your family to put things away neatly, then you need to have a dedicated home for every item. And, perhaps most importantly, each spot should be easily accessible. This is especially helpful with smaller kids, because as they learn where their toys, shoes, and clothes all "live," they can more easily get into the habit of putting things away.

Adding regular house cleaning to the schedule can be helpful for working it into your routine, but if you make the task too daunting, you might struggle to feel motivated. Rather than dedicating a full day to a deep clean every week, schedule clean-ups for a specific amount of time, whether that's a speedy 15 minutes or an hour. Give every member of the family a chore, turn on some music, and set a timer. You'll be shocked by how much you can accomplish.

It's hard not to crash at the end of the day, but if you implement a quick and easy pre-bedtime cleaning routine, you'll soon find it's worth it. By cleaning before bed, every day starts off a bit more manageable. Set everyone to work cleaning the kitchen after dinner, create a challenge to tidy up 10 items before heading upstairs, or have everyone grab some laundry to quickly fold and put away before retiring to bed.

Don't think of it as bribery. Think of a non-material rewards system as a way to show your family gratitude for being active and helpful members of the team. By showering your children with thanks, praise, and tiny, non-material rewards such as a later bedtime, a little more screen time, or the family activity of their choice, they'll soon learn that when you get the un-fun stuff out of the way, you'll enjoy the fun stuff even more.