I can already see your faces—cleaning? Yuck! You don’t want to talk about it, and I get it. Cleaning can feel like an endless, thankless job, especially when you have little ones running around undoing everything you’ve just finished. But I want to let you in on a little secret: small steps make all the difference.
My Love for Cleaning (Yes, Really!)
I have always liked cleaning for as long as I can remember. Weird, right? My siblings were lucky to have me because whenever my parents went shopping in the city and promised us a treat (KFC!) if we cleaned the house, I took it upon myself to make it happen. My idea of fun was sending my siblings outside to play while I scrubbed the bathroom, tidied the kitchen, and dusted every surface. I truly loved seeing everything fresh and clean—it brought me a sense of peace and accomplishment.
As I got older, I realized that while I love a clean home, keeping up with it isn’t always easy or fun. Life gets busy, kids make messes faster than we can clean them, and the mental load of maintaining a home can feel overwhelming. But through trial and error, I’ve discovered systems that make it manageable, and I’m here to share them with you.
I think I love a clean house more than cleaning but in order for me to have a clean house I needed to clean. Thankfully it isn’t a task I hate, the reward was worth the work.
Cleaning with Small Kids: A Battle or a Balance?
If you have small children, keeping a tidy house can feel like an impossible battle. I’ve been there. One of my toddlers spent his days going from room to room, leaving a wake of destruction in his path. I’d put the dish towels back in the drawer, and two seconds later, he’d be dumping the dog’s water across the floor.
At first, I found it cute—watching my little one learn to open drawers and explore the world. But after the hundredth time of picking up those same towels, my patience wore thin. The frustration would build, especially when my husband would come home and ask, “What did you do today?” when there was nothing to show for my efforts. I was constantly in reactive mode, just barely keeping up.
Even as someone who enjoys cleaning, I still struggled to maintain my home while balancing the needs of my family. And let’s be honest—not everyone in the house shares the same standards of cleanliness. My husband and I are both naturally tidy people, but our kids? Not so much. And that’s okay! The magic happens in the middle—somewhere between hoarding and obsessively cIean.
A few easy to manage systems will help you stay on top of things without feeling like you spend all day everyday cleaning, because that is not the goal.
The Frustrating (and Sometimes Funny) Experiments We Try
We’ve all tried different tactics to get our families to help out. Maybe you’ve thought:
“I’m not going to clean up any of their mess and let them live in it.”
“I’ll leave something out and see how long it takes someone to put it away.”
“I’ll hide $20 under a piece of paper to see if anyone picks it up.”
Spoiler alert: None of these methods really work. Instead, we just get more irritated when nobody cares as much as we do. If we want help, we have to ask for it and teach our families how to pitch in.
This may take some trial and error because our kids aren’t going to be as thrilled to help as we’d like them to be. But teaching our family to contribute is important.
Systems That Make Cleaning More Manageable
Rather than getting stuck in frustration, let’s talk about some practical systems that can make cleaning easier and more sustainable. These systems are simple and easy to implement but make an impact in your cleaning routing.
1. The Two-Minute Rule
If something takes less than two minutes to do—do it now. Wiping the counters, putting shoes away, or tossing laundry in the hamper are all quick wins that prevent messes from piling up. A two-minute toy pickup will kiddos are napping keeps you from feeling overwhelmed and buried or having kids help tidy up after they are finished their game. Keeping on top of things is easier than trying to do it all at the end of the day. That doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy your kids and are continually cleaning.
2. Daily Reset Routines
Instead of waiting until the house is a disaster, build small resets into your day. A morning tidy-up, an afternoon pick-up, and an evening wind-down can keep chaos at bay. Going to bed with a clean kitchen is a great way to start the new day. Before kids head to bed have them tidy the play room, put clothes in the hamper and hang up towels. Simple tasks that make a big difference in the overall cleanliness of your home.
3. Delegate and Involve the Family
Instead of assuming no one will help, start assigning small tasks. Kids can put their toys away, set the table, or wipe down counters. Your partner can help with dishes or vacuuming. The key is to make it a team effort rather than carrying the entire load yourself.
You can make a cleaning chart if that works for your family. What worked for us was everyone pitching in. Bring your dishes to the sink after meals, work together until the job is done. It keeps you from having one person doing all the work and being left out of the family fun activities. It also makes the task go quickly and teaches family valuable life skills.
4. Create Zones
Divide your home into zones and clean a little each day instead of trying to tackle everything at once. Monday might be for bathrooms, Tuesday for dusting and vacuuming, Wednesday for kitchen deep cleaning, and so on. Creating zones and systems is very personal. Everyone has different schedules so find zones and systems that work for you and your family.
5. Let Go of Perfection
Your home doesn’t have to be spotless all the time. Clean enough to feel comfortable and at peace, but don’t stress over every single detail. There might be busy seasons where you can’t keep up in the same way you could before whether it is work schedules or family activities. You will need to adjust your schedules as your family seasons change.
You’ve got this, you’re amazing and you can figure it out. It might take a minute but it will be worth it in the end. You can check out this blog post with more tips and tricks.
Embracing the Process
Cleaning is never truly “done,” and that’s okay. The goal isn’t to have a picture-perfect home at all times but to create a space that feels good to live in. By implementing small steps and letting go of unrealistic expectations, you can move from chaos to calm in a way that works for you and your family.
Take a few minutes and assess what you have in place and recognize your pain points. I bet you have cleaning systems in place that are working for you already. Add to them if necessary. If you need to adjust try tweaking things a little, don’t blow it all up because that leads to overwhelm and quitting make a few subtle shifts a little at a time.
So, take a deep breath, put on some music, dance with your kids as they help tidy the kitchen or family room, and tackle one small thing at a time. Your future self will thank you!
Here are a few of my favorite cleaning products, makes life easier and simple. The scrubbing bubbles gel tabs help keep the toilets fresh and clean. I couldn’t life without my cordless dyson. It is the best. When I am dusting all I use is a cloth and water, no products that build up and make it harder to keep surfaces clean.
