Let us first start this post by dispelling an impression the title might have given you – if you’re a parent, there’s no way your home won’t show the results of having children. Perhaps it’s given you a permanent twitch in your temple, but the truth is that kids will be kids, and a household that’s clinical and perfectly arranged at all times is just not realistic.
“Bless this mess” might be the saying that comes to mind. In other words, if you find toys strewn about or if your puppy tears up the side of your footrest, those aren’t what you prefer, but you’re not a worse parent, homeowner, or person because of it. As with everything in parenting and adult life, you just do your best and laugh about the things you can’t be perfect with.
However, if you’re looking to make home care a little easier for yourself, especially with small children running around as children do, then you might find some value in the following rules:
- No Eating In The Living Room Or On Sofas
It would be unconscionable to have a rule about not eating in the kitchen, but the living room? Well, perhaps you’re more than happy for your children to eat toast while watching TV after school, with a cup of tea perhaps, but maybe you’ll limit certain areas like doing so close to the TV, or on the sofa seat with depth you’ve invested in.
After all, even the most disciplined and well-kept child isn’t going to be perfect about this. You would think juice boxes are designed to prevent spills, but you find out otherwise when there’s a huge blackcurrant stain on your sofa cushion. Now, it’s probably best to be careful about the materials you use in the living space – a bright white rug is asking for trouble, but you can still limit where food can be placed and how it’s eaten during the day.
- Laundry Must Go In The Correct Bins
Once your children are a certain age and know what to do with the clothes they wear, you can have a distinct place for them to place old laundry so it’s not hanging around with nowhere to go. It must be placed in the correct and organised bins, for example, perhaps with a simple set of deep fabric baskets for whites, darks and colours.
That way, you can keep up on the endless laundry duties without having to slip on a pair of jeans going down the stairs or peel a school uniform from their chairs. It’s easier to deal with and will give you less of a headache.
- Make Your Bed, Please!
Making a child’s bed is quite easy for the most part, but that only means they should be able to do it. If you teach them how to properly pull the covers over and fluff their pillows, and tell them the bed must always be made that way, it’s a good ground rule to have.
It also helps to teach them some tricks, like how to add new bedding you’ve washed for them. The duvet tends to be the biggest point of contention in most households, so teach them how to turn the outer cover and grip the corners of the duvet, then easily invert them and flap the sheet to help it fit neatly. It might take a few goes, but if you teach them (and perhaps tempt them with a snack if they get it right), the house should be less of a warzone next time this task comes around.
- Cleaning Their Own Bedrooms (Age Appropriate)
Following on from that last one, when your child reaches a certain age (you get to decide), then having them clean their room is worthwhile. You might make this a rule for them to earn their pocket money each week, or however else you arrange the chores in your house.
You can’t expect them to be professionals at it, of course, but teaching them how to push the hoover around, how to polish the sides, and perhaps clean the mirror is fine. Try to hand them non-toxic cleaning solutions if you can (of which there are many options now), just to help them avoid exposure to anything too intensive. If done right, this can be a learning experience, showing them how to keep good care of their own space. When they move out, be that to a new flat or university, or whatever their future holds, they’ll take these lessons with them.
- Drink Mats Are Essential
This is a pretty simple one. Having enough drink mats to go around, be that on the dining room table, the living room coffee table or their bedside table, should prevent those horrible ring stains that even adults can cause.
You can opt for some nice wooden ones or those with specific designs on them to make them more appealing of course, but either way, making that a rule and firmly reminding anyone when they break it (even your spouse), can make the tidy-up tasks much easier for the whole family.
- No Running Up/Down Stairs
This is less of a cleaning tip and more of a safety necessity. As children, we all ran up the stairs, especially when we turned the last light off and that ever-present monster was about to eat us alive. However, it’s true to say that the last thing you want to deal with is an injury because of your children throwing caution to the wind, as kids most often do.
Putting this rule in place can be helpful for health then, and it also gives you the opportunity to limit damage to the household as well. If you put in safety gates, you could help prevent a fall, but it also helps you limit dogs with wet paws from running up your staircase and around the carpeted living rooms and halls. You can take these off eventually of course, but it’s a good investment in the meantime.
With this advice, we hope you can more easily keep your household in good condition, or as good as it can be, when dealing with the many parental tasks life throws at you.
