photo courtesy of google images

One of the most difficult parts of being home is the constant mess around the house. The saying, “cleaning up with toddlers around is like eating Oreos without milk” doesn’t nearly describe the feeling. Personally it’s hard for me to have a good day when my house is a mess. I can’t focus, I feel like the kids can’t play, and ultimately it just puts me in a bad mood. I know, it’s just a house, WRONG! It’s where we live and where we spend most of our time (especially as SAHM’s).

My home is a reflection of me and my life, when it’s a mess…I’m a mess and represents chaos and I can’t handle it! A little OCD I know, but it’s how I feel and sometimes it’s hard for me to get out if my house is not in order.

So how do I manage it all? It’s really easy actually (said no mom ever). It takes a lot of patience, consistency, and determination. Now that I am getting used to have three little ones, I am learning what works and what doesn’t. I want to share my personal five simple tips to keep your home tidy.

1. Get everyone involved.

This is a biggie in our house, since we are now a family of five the mess is everywhere! I the most important thing from this is that my kids understand and learn to be responsible (yes even as young as 2). So I include them in my cleaning regimen. Isaac my eldest helps vacuum, (help is actually an understatement…He loves it!) I do my best to make it fun. Jocelyn is two and helps clean her toys and pick up books, she also helps me unload and load the dishwasher. We’re a team and everything in this house should be a team effort. At the end of the day they go to the “treasure box” (see my previous blog post for more on this). Giving them rewards for a good day of hard work is important.

2. Tidy up at night.

When the kiddos are asleep life is much easier. I am able to do things faster than when they are awake. This is the time I clean the kitchen, iron, and occasionally watch a show J I feel happy when I go to bed knowing the kitchen is clean. I also use this time to plan the next day. My phone really helps me in this process because I set calendars and alarms to help remind me. Having three kids has affected my memory! LOL

3. Organize your things.

One thing that has been a challenge in my home is the….drum roll please….THE TOYS!! It seems we have never-ending Toyland in our house, seriously sometimes I feel like I live in Toys R Us. It’s ridiculous. So I found a really great site, http://www.diyncrafts.com/2748/organization/150-brilliant-dollar-store-organizing-ideas-and-projects-for-the-entire-home and it has some pretty great and inexpensive ideas to help keep things organized, which also helps keep your house tidy and clean (at least in my opinion). My son’s preschool teacher also has a great system where she has bins for the toys. For example, one bin for cars, blocks, dolls, etc…It makes things look less cluttered and is easy for the kids to grab and put away.

4. Clean as you go.

Before I had kids I would leave everything out, my towel, shoes, and the iron. Now, it’s not as easy for me to do that. So I started to clean as I go, I also include my kiddos in this process. Isaac and Jocelyn both help me, put clothes in hamper, shoes in closet, and dishes in sink. This helps my house look less cluttered. So when I cook dinner I wipe counters and put dishes in the dishwasher as I go. It makes things easier for me and the kitchen doesn’t look dirty.

5. Deep clean throughout the week.

I created a schedule for myself. This helps me to do different things around the house on a weekly basis. So dusting is one day and the bathroom is another. I do at least a load of laundry every day to maintain it from overloading. Now with an infant, I have more dirty clothes than I used to before he was here. This schedule helps me to keep the house up over the week and I’m not stressing about it all at once.

I hope that you find some of these tips helpful in your home. Feel free to share your own ideas and cleaning regimens here. I look forward to learning from every one of you.

Thanks for stopping by, keep sharing my blog so that together we can strive for mommy success!!

photo courtesy of google images

Xoxo,

Reina