14 Cleaning Tips to Keep Your House Spotless Even with Kids!
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Use these simple cleaning tips and tricks to make your house stay spotless.
Feeling a bit cluttered lately?
By following these simple cleaning tips and tricks, you can easily keep your home spotless every day. Best of all, each one is even obtainable with kiddos!
We get it. Keeping your home clean can definitely be a struggle between kids, work, errands, LIFE, and a thousand other things in the mix! It’s no easy task and sometimes we just don’t know where to start. That’s why we’re here to help!
In fact, we can walk you through week-by-week areas in your home to clean with our 4-Week Declutter Challenge! 🙌🏻
Check out these organizing tips to keep your home spotless:
1. The number one organizing tip is to give every item in your house a home.
When everything in your home has a dedicated place picking up and putting things away becomes much clearer. If something doesn’t have a home, find one, or consider donating it to limit how often you’re shuffling it around. Plus, your home will look so much cleaner and more organized.
“I have cute little boxes & baskets for everything. For papers on my desk, for my recycling, for specific items in my fridge, etc. It really helps to contain any clutter.” – Jessica C.
2. Sweep or vacuum your hard floors every day, especially after meals.
No matter what type of tile or hardwood floor you’re cleaning, sweep these eating areas every day, especially after meals. Move out those kitchen stools, clean up the crumbs, and throw the mess in the garbage. This will also help keep bugs out of your home.
Our Hip reader, Mandy, is a fan of this cleaning tip:
“I love using my microfiber mop after we finish eating dinner. We tend to eat at our kitchen counter often, and the kids always spill food on the floor. After I’m done cleaning everything and wiping counters, I do a quick run around the floors with my broom, and the microfiber picks up everything.” – Mandy
3. Make your bed in the morning for master bedroom goals & peace of mind.
Even if you don’t clean your bed as often as you should, making it when you wake up will have a positive effect on your mood. By simply making your bed, your room will also look much cleaner and put together.
It’s never too early to get into this routine either so get the kids involved in the bed-making department. They’ll have something to be proud of and it’s a great way to start their day.
My Hip teammate, Lina, loves starting her morning with a neat bedroom:
“I make my bed pretty much as soon as I get up, and I love how it looks for the rest of the day. Even something small like that makes a difference in the rest of my day and makes our room inviting (even if the rest of the house is messy).” – Lina
Hip Tip: In the market for some fresh linens? Our entire team loved these affordable sheets on Amazon.
4. Wipe down all of your appliances regularly.
Sparkly clean kitchen appliances make your whole space shine and stainless steel appliances can get dirty fast. Especially if you have kiddos constantly rummaging through them. 🤪 Grab our favorite stainless steel cleaner, a microfiber cloth, and wipe it down.
Better yet, Lina shared a super frugal and reusable trick to really make your appliances shine again and again!
5. Grab your laundry basket and do a load of laundry every day.
One load of laundry a day will keep the piles away. 😂 This is especially important for people with kids since laundry literally piles up overnight. Having a laundry system where you can do at least one load a day will make the task seem less daunting when it’s time to fold and put away. Plus, it keeps your hampers and laundry room tidier too.
My Hip teammate, Jessica, uses this cleaning tip to keep up with laundry and enjoy some downtime! One of my favorite house cleaning tips yet, thanks, Jessica! 👏🏻
“I do laundry every night because that’s the time I get to watch TV and fold. I love it!” – Jessica
Hip Tip: Ever heard of laundry stripping? It’s pretty game-changing. 😏 Make sure to also scoop up this cheap stain-removing bar if stained clothes are a constant struggle – it gets everything out.
6. Clean all of the dishes after every meal.
Whether you eat three meals at home or just one at night, it’s important to clean up after every meal. The kitchen is the heart of the home and nothing will bring you down quite like a full sink of dirty dishes.
Ahh! Don’t you feel better already looking at this before and after?! 🤩 My Hip sidekick, Bryn, uses this cleaning tip to keep her kitchen in tip-top shape:
“I do my dishes right away. Dirty dishes go right from the sink into the dishwasher, so my sink is always clean. I always run my dishwasher at night and empty it first thing in the morning.“ – Bryn
Hip Tip: Our team loves this innovative sponge for all types of jobs and this foldable drying rack. Fair warning…it will quickly become your favorite most versatile item in your kitchen. 😉
7. Organize, clean, and put things back where you got them.
Have you ever grabbed something from the pantry and were too lazy to put it back? While we’re all guilty of it, this habit creates clutter so make sure to put things back in their dedicated places when you’re done with them. (Hence my number one cleaning tip above.) If my kiddos can do it, you can too!
Hip Tip: Did you see my pantry reveal using all Walmart containers?! 😍 There are many more organizing tips to read on my pantry post too.
8. Don’t forget to pick up random items before you go to bed.
Simply fluffing up your pillows, putting throw blankets where they belong, and picking up miscellaneous items like toys will make such a huge impact on how picked-up a room looks. By doing this before bed, you’ll wake up less stressed.
“Every night, after I put the kids to bed, I wipe down counters, put random toys in baskets, fluff pillows, and place throw blankets where they normally go. I wake up feeling so at peace with a fresh, clean home.” – Sara
9. Implement the “one thing out, one thing back rule”.
This goes for you and the kids and eventually, everyone will get on board with repetition and consistency. It’s as simple as putting something back before you get something else out. While it may take kids a bit longer to get used to this system, stay consistent with this useful cleaning tip so your entire house doesn’t end up becoming cluttered and messy.
Hip Tip: These bean bag stuffed toy storage solutions make cleaning up way more fun for kids and they’re functional too.
10. Perform light cleaning services around the house when necessary.
Some people tackle deep cleaning every other week, some just once a month, some maybe even longer than that. 😂 What about all that time in between cleanings? If you notice a dirty bathroom vanity, mirror, kitchen sink, etc., take the time to wipe it up or clean it quickly and move on with your day. You’ll also find that deep cleanings become a lot easier (and quicker), too.
“I like to keep cleaning wipes in the bathroom sink cabinet. When I get out of the shower and I’m waiting for my lotion to not feel so sticky, I can do a quick wipe down to help keep the sink countertop clear between deep cleanings.” – Emily
Hip Tip: Make the switch to Swedish dishcloths if you’re using way too many wipes or paper towels. They’re eco-friendly, will save you money, and are one of our favorite reusable products EVER.
11. Let the kids double-check each other.
This awesome cleaning tip came from one of our Hip readers! They said:
“The best organizing and cleaning tip of all is when you assign the kids to inspect each other’s work. LOL! They’re way harsher than I would ever be. 🤣 The little ones love being able to tell the big ones ‘you missed a spot!'”
It takes the pressure off of you to check behind the kids, and it holds them accountable for keeping their own spaces clean. 🙌
12. Sometimes, you just have to get rid of stuff.
Despite the tons of great organizing tips and house cleaning tips, there are out there, sometimes the only way to truly tidy up is by getting rid of the junk that’s collected over the years.
Extra items build up easily, but there are likely plenty of things you can live without. Luckily, we have a few tips for taking care of the clutter:
- Host a yard sale. Ask neighbors if they want to join, don’t forget to check and see if you need a permit.
- Clear out old, unused electronics. By recycling or reselling electronics, you’ll be freeing up space in your home for the ones you actually use and you’ll likely make some cash too!
- Donate items or sell them for cash on Facebook Marketplace.
- Check-in with friends and family. If you’re looking for a quick and reliable way to get rid of perfectly good items, ask around to see if anyone you know needs them first. This will also save you the hassle of trying to sell them.
13. Give everyone in the house a chore.
There’s no household where one person can do it all! So if you have a roommate, significant other, or kiddos old enough to chip in, assign everyone a daily or weekly chore to keep up with. This will limit the number of tasks for you and you’re likely to find you’re all spending more quality time doing the things you love.
Hip Tip: Make cleaning even more fun for kiddos and download our free chore bingo printable.
14. Shut the door on the mess, literally!
No matter how many house cleaning tips we share, some days our messes get the best of us or it’s simply not feasible with the current stage of life you may be in.
Give yourself some grace – you’re not alone! When this happens, shut the doors and go take a nap, a bath, or get some fresh air with your family!
Out of sight, out of mind. 😉
The last thing we need is to feel stressed about a messy house on top of all the other responsibilities we have on a daily basis. Instead of comparing yourself to others, remember there’s no such thing as perfection. 🤗
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