You want your house to be clean; most people do. Cleaning house when your kids are home can be really difficult. With everything else that you have to do, it can feel like you are being pulled in 20 different directions at once. How in the world are you going to get everything accomplished, take care of the kids and keep the house clean? Never fear! Here are a few great housecleaning tips for when the kids are home too!
o Get your kids involved! It makes kids feel important when they can help their parents and younger children especially love to help with ‘grown-up’ chores. Have them do small tasks like separate the laundry into baskets of white, colored clothes and dark clothes. Not only is your child helping, but they are learning as well! If your kids are older, they probably hate chores, right? Well, that’s where the good, old fashioned bribe comes in San Antonio maid services. You can offer them a small spike in their allowance for helping you out, promise to let them use the car one night or even offer to take them shopping for a favorite item. Of course, don’t tell them it’s a bribe. ‘Reward’ sounds much better.
o Handle small projects while you’re doing other things to keep the house looking straight and nice. For example, when you’re cooking dinner, quickly wipe down all the countertops and put away the clean dishes from the dishwasher or dish drainer. While you’re on the phone, straighten sofa cushions and throws, magazines and books, walk through the room with a duster and polish up shelves and knick knacks.
o To make things easier and keep the kids out from under your feet, designate them a ‘play area’ in one corner of the room. Make sure they know that toys, books, crayons and such cannot come out of that corner. In fact, you can use blue painter’s tape or something similar to mark the floor so they know where the boundary is! They will think it’s fun and you can keep the rest of the house clean. If you want to make it more exciting, hang a sheet in that corner so they have a ‘tent.’
o You can’t possibly clean up after everyone ALL the time. Show your children the importance of putting their dishes in the sink, dirty clothes in the hamper, toys in the toy bin and things like that. Taking a preventative method like this will save you from having to clean up after them, and it teaches them responsibility.
While it seems like the most difficult thing in the world to keep your house clean while the children are home, this can be a great opportunity to instill some responsibility and pride in your children. Showing them how important it is to keep the house clean and take pride in what you have is very important. If all else fails, put on a video for your younger children and go to cleaning like a mad woman!
