After a long day at the office or at home with your kids, everyone in the family is fed, bathed, and in bed, you finally get to flop down on the couch, you are so exhausted. But as you recline back on the couch, you notice some dust building up underneath the coffee table, and then it hits you: the house hasn’t been cleaned in almost two weeks! But you’re so tired. How do you keep everything in the household running while keep your home clean too? Here are some tips for busy parents to keep home clean and tidy.

  • Decluttering

You know it’s true: the more things you have, the quicker your house will become cluttered. Get rid of all the unnecessary stuff gathering dust that will only have to be cleaned later on. When in doubt, throw it away or donate it to a charity shop.

  • Clean and tidy after use

Quickly wash the bath after you’ve used it. It’ll be much easier to clean and with a simple rinse after each use. Wipe down the kitchen surfaces every time you prepare food. Encourage the kids to tidy their toys up after playtime. Keep a couple of storage boxes in their play area, so they can easily throw their toys into them.

  • One room at a time

Schedule about 20 minutes every evening tackling one room in your house. Today’s 20 minutes can cover the bedroom and the next day’s 20 minutes can cover the living room. A little each day gets a lot done in a week.

  • Get family members involved

If your kids are old enough, take 20 minutes as a family to clean the house together. That means that a family of four can do about 80 minutes’ cleaning each night! Give age-appropriate tasks to your children. A six-year-old can wipe down the kitchen surfaces, while an eight-year-old can help with sweeping the kitchen floor. Challenge your kids to see who can put their clothes/toys away the fastest.

  • Don’t leave all your laundry for the weekend

Weekends are far too short to leave all your laundry to be packed into two days. Get into the habit of putting a load on every day or every other day. Throw in a load in the morning before you go to work. When you get home, throw it in the dryer or onto the clothes rack, and when they’re done, quickly sort and fold them before getting into bed. This way, you won’t have to spend a precious weekend day buried under a mountain of laundry.

  • Hire a cleaner regularly or even every once a while
Hiring a cleaning service once every 2 weeks or even once every month can help to make sure that things don’t get too out of control at home. Every once in a while won’t be as costly and it’ll give you some well-deserved time to relax.