4 Daily Tasks to Keep a Tidier Home

Let me start by saying I DO NOT have a clean house at all times. There is not a single room in our house that looks like a room from a magazine at all times. We have 6 young kids who live in this house with us. Key word LIVE, so I’m not expecting the house to be perfectly cleaned but with that being said, the clutter can get OUT OF HAND so fast if we don’t stay on top of it so here are 4 things I try to do every day to keep the house tidy-ish.

We have a tub that we keep in the family room that collects the items that need to go upstairs but we’re too lazy to take up there right away. Then, twice a day I have the kids take it upstairs, put everything away {WHERE IT BELONGS} and bring it back down empty. We found our cute tub at Walmart for $5 in their seasonal section.
We have set “clean up times”. They coincide with our meals to keep it easy to remember for the kids. So, right before lunch they do a clean and right before dinner. “Clean up time” means clearing the floors, emptying the bucket, toys being put in appropriate buckets, blankets folded and put away etc. The lunch clean up I’m more relaxed about and they often leave out what they are currently playing with and wanting to go back to after lunch. Dinner clean up though is more thorough, they have to have everything put away and they are pretty good at it because they know they have their nightly chores after dinner and it goes faster if the house is already picked up at least.
Have a designated place for items like mail, purses/backpacks, shoes, kids art, etc. These tend to be the items that clutter up a space fast so the sooner you can deal with them the better off you are. For us, mail immediately gets sorted and bills go on my husband’s desk upstairs, “mom mail” (invitations, magazines, letters etc) goes on my night stand for me to go through at night and everything else goes into recycling. Purse & diaper bag get hung up in the closet under the stairs, backpacks have a place in the craft room (for now, mudroom coming soon), shoes go next to the stairs but only ONE pair of flip flops per person for quick access, all other shoes are {supposed} to be taken up to closets and kid art goes on their clip board that is also hanging in the craft room/my office.
Wipe down your counters often. There is something about a clean counter that makes you feel like your house is cleaner than it actually is. For real though, we try to be good about wiping down our counters after each meal. When it doesn’t get done and the regular “clean up times” don’t happen and the house is just feeling DESTROYED, I will start with wiping down the counters and immediately I feel like it’s getting under control. Am I the only one that feels this way? I also feel like the dishes being done are right up there with this. Ok, maybe I should change number 4 to just be “clean your kitchen”. If my kitchen is clean I don’t mind the rest of the mess as much. Life feels overall more manageable with a clean kitchen. Try it, maybe it works for you too.