This post may contain affiliate links to items I love, and I am confident you will too! All opinions are my own, however, I may receive a small commission on purchases. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For any health advice I give on nutrition and weight loss, make sure you check with your doctor, as I am not a health professional.
Cleaning your home in half the time with kids following you around sounds impossible. And insane!
But it’s actually doable. I know it might be quite difficult initially to attempt to clean your house, especially if you’re a new mom.
Your newborn would want to cling to you naturally, which can make doing anything difficult. You might find yourself asking how to get anything done with your baby.
But what if you have a toddler or worse, toddlers?? Now that can get really challenging!
Don’t worry mama, it’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed at first. That’s a given. But there is a way to keep your house clean with little kids.
And there are also some tricks in saving you more time in cleaning your home, even with your little ones around.
So if you’re looking for quick ways and also long-term methods in keeping your house generally clean, even with your kids around, then keep reading.
How To Clean Your Home in Half The Time With Kids: Starter Tips
Prioritize
Don’t try to do everything. Just do one thing at a time, for eg. clean up first the living room on Monday. Then do the bathrooms the next day. And so on.
Don’t try to do the whole house in one day while your kid is following you around. That will just drive you insane.
Have a cleaning routine
It would also help if you set up a weekly cleaning routine.
A cleaning routine will help you focus on the things that matter, instead of being overwhelmed or distracted about the mess.
So you won’t find yourself decluttering your clothes when you should have been changing your bedsheets and vacuuming and mopping your bedroom.
It will also help in ensuring that some rooms or places in your house will stay reasonably clean most of the time.
Which is helpful when you have guest surprise visits!
It’s also beneficial in the long run to let your kids see that you have a cleaning routine. So they’ll learn to expect it and hopefully will try to copy you and help you clean up the house when they get older.
Get some smart cleaning tools
If you can afford it, get cleaning gadgets that practically do the cleaning for you.
Things such as robot vacuums, self-cleaning litter boxes (if you have cats), toilet bowl cleaning system, etc.
These cleaning tools were invented for a reason and I think that’s to clean your home in half the time, even with your kids around.
Kidding aside, try to get one or two of the said items and you’ll thank yourself (or the tool!) later.
Let your kids help
Toddlers as young as 2 years old can already help out with some light chores.
You can teach them to wipe the tables, dust the windows, clear up their toys, put their clothes in the hamper, etc.
It might not be perfect and they might even make more of a mess of things but what you’re doing is training them to clean. Which will also benefit them and everyone in the long run!
Think long term here, not the short term disaster that they might do initially.
So start them young and let them help you. You’d be surprised at what they can do!
Use a baby gate
If you have kid/s that you know would be hard to control or are too young to understand and follow instructions, put them in their baby jail.
That can mean a crib, pack n play, or install a baby gate in their room!
Just make sure to make their room safe for them to stay in, alone – no sharp objects nor corners, nothing for them to climb or stand on, no wirings, etc.
Give them also some activities or toys to play with, so they don’t call on you every 5 minutes.
Then just check on them from time to time or talk to them while you do the chores.
Limit and rotate toys
Toy rotation means you limit the number of toys that are accessible to your kids by organizing and keeping some of them.
It has a lot of benefits such as preventing your kids from feeling too overwhelmed with so many toys and, most importantly, it makes cleaning up a breeze!
Plus it always feels like it’s Christmas Day for your little one when you take out some toys they haven’t played with for a while.
You can also do a book rotation, especially if you notice it piling up everywhere.
Just start with a simple toy rotation system and keep it in your weekly cleaning routine. It will really help you a lot in decluttering toys and books in the long run.
Actionable Methods on How To Clean Your Home in Half The Time With Kids
Do the laundry first
Before doing any kind of cleaning, do the first round of laundry.
It’s the easiest thing to do and you’ll feel like you’re off to a good start with something as simple as clearing up your laundry pile.
Just remember to take them out of the washer!
Use a bathroom spray cleaner
These will seriously help you clean your home, or at least your bathroom, in half the time.
Just spray it on appropriate surfaces, wait for 5 minutes, or as instructed on the bottle, and hose everything down.
This is one of my favorite quick bathroom cleaning tips that really saves me a lot of time.
Play “vacuum” with your kids
This is a little fun game I do with my 4-year-old sometimes.
I either let her vacuum some areas while I guide her on how to do it or we play chase, pretending the vacuum is some kind of monster.
Of course, I set up rules like not holding any food or drinks while playing vacuum monster.
This little activity makes vacuuming so much easier and faster. Plus I get to bond and play with my little one!
Use screen time wisely
This is probably the most popular, most useful trick any parent has on their sleeves – using the good ‘ole TV to distract their kids from wrecking the house.
Just remember not to use it too much to the point that your kid gets addicted to it.
So use it wisely. Use it at those times where you really have to do a task alone, such as mopping (you don’t want them stepping on the floor!) or cleaning the bathroom (cleaning chemicals are harmful to your kid).
Wash the dishes while cooking
This is a one lifesaver trick I’ve learned through the years.
I’ve realized there’s actually a lot of downtime when you’re cooking. There’s a lot of waiting for stuff to boil, steam, and whatnot so what I usually do is I wash the dishes!
So by the time I finish cooking, the sink is also cleared up! All the plates, glasses, and utensils are washed and the kitchen just looks clean.
Put storage baskets in high traffic areas
If you’re looking for a way to quickly clean high traffic areas without putting in too much effort, put up some storage baskets and start dumping objects in them!
High traffic areas mean rooms where your family and friends usually hang in. So if you and your kids are usually playing in the living room or bedroom, that’s a high traffic area.
And these areas usually are dumping grounds for toys, books, even dirty clothes, and some random stuff.
If you want a quick cleaning, just put everything in the storage baskets. Then just make time to sort them out.
Takeaway on How To Clean Your Home in Half The Time With Kids
These actionable tips work if you’re in a hurry to get the house looking fairly decent and generally clean.
But take note, cleaning this way is not a foolproof method that your house will always stay clean. Especially when you have kids or pets around.
So try to manage your expectations. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to keep a clean house all the time. And don’t get too worked up on your kids when they make a mess every day.
Remember that they’re just children, they need your guidance in basically anything, including how to clean your home.
++++++
Julie
Adaptable Mama
