How to find balance between housework and chaotic kiddos.
My kids are still quite young and they are not quite in the “pick up after yourself” groove. They can help with cleaning but most of the housework still falls on me. I admit, it is a challenge juggling two messy and attention seeking toddlers while trying to clean the house! I can only imagine the chaos that I will be dealing with when the kids are school aged and home for the Summer. I’m gearing up now for the messes!
In the amount of time it takes me to clean up one room, they can easily trash the rest of the home, clearly this is not the ideal situation for housecleaning, but what’s a mama to do?
Here are 5 ways I manage the chaos and work towards a picked up home.
- Confine the kids in a fun way – When I’m working on cleaning up, I try to keep my kids in one area of the house, so that they can’t completely destroy the entire home while I’m scrubbing one room. Sometimes this means getting down coloring books and letting the color at the dining room table. Other times, I may let them go crazy in the living room, making messes and pulling out toy bins, as long as they stay in that room. Get creative and find ways to get the kiddos in just one area of the house. That way, you will just have one extra room to pick up when you are done with your original task.
- Chill Out – Trying to clean the house while the kids are home is a stressful undertaking. It can be extremely frustrating and almost seem counter productive at times… so instead of getting upset about that, learn to embrace it. If you don’t get the entire home cleaned today, that’s okay. If your kiddos make a mess of the living room while you were scrubbing toilets in the back of the house, that’s okay too. Those things happen, and it makes for a much happier day if you start to expect those things, instead of being surprised when the inevitably take place.
- Take Breaks – After 30 minutes or an hour of cleaning take a break and play with the kiddos. Using rest time to play with them will not only increase their attention span as they wait for your to come play, but it will also give you chances to connect in the middle of a busy day. Even if you are only able to stop and play for 10 minutes, those are precious moments that communicate love to your kiddos in a way that few other things can!
- Be Realistic – Don’t make goals that you can’t reach. If you have toddlers at home like I do, it will probably not be a good idea to set a goal like “The entire house will be spotless by 5 pm today.” That is just not realistic!
- Perfect One and Maintain the Rest – I try to set goals for myself like the following: “I will clean the entire kitchen today, and try to keep the rest of the house looking as good as it looks right now”. That way, when I’m done cleaning the kitchen I can just take a few minutes to run around the house picking up whatever my kids have messed up while I was cleaning in the kitchen. I don’t typically try to scrub extra things or make each room look spotless all in the same day. I just maintain the semi-cleanliness of the rest of the house, while deep cleaning 1 room at a time.
If you need some SUMMER FUN to keep the kids busy while you clean, check out our limited edition Summer survival kit! It was put together by teachers and moms and it’s sure to keep the kids busy, having fun and learning through the Summer!
Looking for more tips? Check out this post for 7 MORE ways to get things done with a toddler underfoot!
What are your tricks for cleaning up with toddlers in the house? I’d love to hear them!
Becky says
You are a brave woman to clean the house with your kids underfoot! I just wait until my toddler naps to even attempt to clean. You provide great tips though! I think that if I got out some exciting things like coloring or playdough, I could buy myself 10 or 15 minutes.
Thanks for linking up with Mommy Moments!
Becky :)
Chrissy Boerman (@boermanc) says
ahh great advice. distracting them usually works untill the distraction makes a bigger mess. ha ha
jessica | piganddac says
Great tips Paula. You’re right on the money with the realistic goals and expectations. My daily main goal is the kitchen and living area, and special chores thrown in here and there. Cause I just CAN’T clean like I’d like RIGHT NOW, just for right now, while the kiddos are at this age. Just ain’t happening!
Michelle says
Now you’ve got me wondering if there’s such a thing as cleaning house without kids underfoot!
Molly Young says
Thanks for sharing. It can be hard getting anything done around the house with little ones but these are great tips!
Sara says
Cleaning with little ones underfoot is a challenge! I try to either clean when they’re otherwise occupied, aka asleep, or involve them in the cleaning. They love dusting with my old feather dusters, wiping surfaces with towels, and ‘washing’ dishes.
I love your chill out suggestion. It certainly helps if I’m relaxed about messes occurring in other parts of the house while cleaning. :-)
Maria Peterson says
Keeping our homes clean and organized with little ones sometimes seem overwhelming.You gave some really good tips. It is so nice to hear other mom’s advice etc. Thanks for sharing.
Amanda says
Great tips, Paula !!! I’m a perfectionist and it’s hard to be all or nothing with the little one messing as you go ! I need to let the little things go ! Thanks for sharing !
Sarah @ SarahTitus.com says
Me too! :)
Sarah @ SarahTitus.com says
Being realistic is the hard part for me personally. I’m so hard on myself. I have to get 100 things done a day and if I don’t, it frustrates me. Sometimes that translates to no fun for the kids, so I am definitely working on that. Thank you for the reminder! :) They are just kids, let them BE kids! :) As a single mom, sometimes I forget.
Sybil says
Great tips and also pictures! I’m having a problem with the kids lately, so I hope this helps solving it… or may be they just enter the teenage years, then there is no saving lol :D
Lenore Chapman says
Great post! It’s hard to keep the house in a proper condition with three kids even to a professional cleaner like me. My boys have their chores and help with the house cleaning, but though we have a messy house. Your suggestions are great and seem to be quite helpful for me and I’ having them on mind. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Marko @ parentsupporthub.com says
The phrase “will you help me?” is like magic fairy dust to young kids. Small kids observe you doing household tasks and can help with simple things; generally it will thrill them to do so. Ask you little ones if they would rather help empty the dishwasher or wipe off the table, if they want to help load the washer with dirty clothes or dust the floor, if they can put away the sandwich bread or set the table, etc.
Older kids can help out, too. Instead, offer a list of tasks and ask them to pick 3 small ones or one big one. Small tasks include dusting, washing up dishes, putting laundry away, sweeping the floor, while big tasks could be mowing the grass, washing the car, or helping with grocery shopping.
Bob@homesocool says
Thank you so much for these perfect tips especially when you have like a couple of minutes to clean up because your in-laws are on their way to check on their grandkids. Hahaha!