Anyone who has children will know how difficult it is to maintain a tidy house, especially those with babies or toddlers – food and drink stains are a total nightmare!
It can be a real challenge to keep your house looking presentable once the stork has come calling, but it’s not impossible! Check out these top tips to childproof your house and keep it looking great…
Kick Out The Clutter
Parents are, by and large, sentimental creatures who will hang on to almost every knick-knack from every stage of their child’s life – but if you want to keep your home clutter-free, the first thing to do throw out any keepsakes you can live without.
So, all those old baby toys that are stored in wardrobes, or under the bed, have to go, as do all the old clothes and books – by all means keep some sentimental items, just try not to have so much that all of your valuable storage space is taken up by items that are no longer needed. Once you’ve cleared all that space, you’ll find it much easier to keep on top of things!
Get The Kids Involved With The Cleaning
Put yourself in the position of a child whose parents clear everything up after them, would you bother putting anything away if you knew someone was going to come along and clear up for you?
Make sure your kids understand that keeping a clean house isn’t the job of the ‘tidy-up fairies’, get them involved in any clean-up operations and demonstrate the ease of tidying as they go along, instead of letting the mess pile up.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, here are some more tips to help keep a tidy home:
Spill-Friendly Dining Areas – If you have a wooden dining table, always put down an easy-wipe tablecloth at meal times and give the kids plastic chairs to sit on. It’s a good idea not to have carpet in any dining areas, instead, go for tiled or laminate flooring.
Create a Kids Studio – Got a spare room at home? Get rid of that unused exercise equipment and turn it into a kids studio where they can do all their drawing, painting and colouring without the risk of ruining the coffee table or the living room carpet!
A Family-Friendly Living Room – No-one wants to be constantly sending the kids to their room when they want some family fun, so make your living room a family-friendly area by getting an L-shaped sofa, some cupboards with doors for storage, and an entertainment system like the Nintendo Wii that encourages fun multiplayer games. Just to be on the safe side, make sure the fabrics and flooring are from an easy-clean range, or purchase loose covers that can be removed and washed, such as those found at Plumbs.co.uk.
Carpets – Think carefully before purchasing any carpets or wood flooring for your home. A light-coloured carpet is likely to stain a lot more easily than a carpet with patterns and darker colours. A wood floor is a good option in many ways as it can be wiped clean easily, but might be too cold and/or hard for some children to play on.
Handy Paint Pot – It can be a pain to dig-out the tin of paint from the garage in order to touch up any scuffs or marks in the home. Keep a small jar or pot of paint securely somewhere in the house. This is great for re-touching areas that get scuffs or marks on them during play-time.
What’s your secret to a family-friendly and (almost) continuously clean living space? Let me know in the comment section below.
Jada x
