Today, I'm sharing five simple strategies and habits to keep your home tidy and organized even with small children.
So you’re spending less time arguing about what’s not getting done and more time doing the things you love like enjoying family time or building your brand.
For a short video version of this blog, click here.
1. Give everything (that tends to pile up) a home - This includes:
Mail
TV remotes
Keys
Portable devices
Chargers
I have small boxes in the living room and kitchen and have designated those boxes as homes for those items.
If I find a loose remote under the sofa, I remind the household that “everything has a home.”
To help the little ones in the home develop this habit of placing things back where they belong, it might be fun to do this exercise:
First, ask “Hey, Is this item in its home?” and then say, “Let’s help it find its home.” This adds a little fun to the task of putting things back where they belong.
2. To avoid toys from accumulating over the years as my child gets older, I assign a designated toy area in my home.
The designated toy area takes up one corner of the living room. This is where we put a handful of big toys and the arts and crafts stuff.
All the other toys go in two separate boxes. Only the toys that fit in these two boxes stay in this area.
What doesn't get played with does not belong in this area. Donate it or stow it away out of sight. Any overflow toys are stored in a closet my child doesn’t have access to. I rotate toys out every few weeks.
3. Make the most out of your home decor purchases.
If your family is like mine, on a business building budget, it’s probably not in your budget to change out decorations several times throughout the year as the seasons change.
Instead of completely swapping out things like decorative pillows, and throws every few months, I choose neutral tones like grays and beige.
And when spring or fall comes around, I bring in the colors of the season using a mix of real and fake flowers.
4. Using magnets and Post-It notes, keep a list of cleaning chores on the fridge where the household can see.
I create a list of the cleaning tasks and also set a regular cleaning schedule and display it on the fridge.
Some tasks on this list are done once per week while others are done twice per week.
This list helps my family be mindful of what goes into keeping our house clean, not only so it stays organized but also to keep it as clean and germ free as possible.
Also, there are weeks when I have a little more on my plate than usual, if that’s the case, it’s easy for me to communicate with the household where I need help by simply looking at the list on the fridge and seeing what didn’t get done.
5. No outdoor shoes allowed in the house.
The shoes we wear when we’re outside pick up a lot of dirt and grime.
It’s difficult to keep my growing toddler off the floor when he’s playing, watching TV, and just hanging out. So to keep the floor as clean as possible we don’t wear outside shoes inside.
Each one of us has slippers we leave at the front door to take our outdoor shoes off and change into.
I hope you found these simple strategies and habits useful if so. If you have a strategy you’d like to share to help keep your home organized and tidy, share it with me in the comments below.
For a short video version of this blog, click here.