When there are toddlers in the house, cleanliness can become a tough task. It can be challenging to keep the house neat and tidy. In fact, toddlers and cleanliness is something like oil and water; it hardly goes hand in hand. In fact, the more you clean, the more mess there seems. But you wouldn’t want your kids to be in a messy house, would you? Having kids at home at all times, especially due to COVID restrictions, can in fact affect their health. Thankfully, there are effective, quick, and easy ways to keep your house clean when toddlers are at home.
We need to have a clear definition of what cleanliness means to us. If we are looking for cleanliness that we had in the house before the toddlers, then we need to reconsider our definition of cleanliness as it is not a practical one. We need to let go of a few fingers and hand marks on the furniture, doors, and glass windows with toddlers in the house. Here are a few ways in which we can keep the house clean when there are toddlers at home.
Limiting the toys in the main area of the house
When kids are in the house, the house is usually filled with toys. Kids roam around the house with their toys and usually tend to throw them all around. Limiting the toys in the house, especially in the main area, is essential. It helps in faster and effecting cleaning of the house. Keeping a box or a bag to store the toys is a useful trick to unclutter the house. Kids must be taught to keep their toys in the box or bag after playing with them. This ensures that the main room is free from toys and that its proper cleaning can be ensured.
Using multipurpose kid-friendly cleaners
You need to use kid-friendly cleaners. Toddlers have a habit of licking things or putting their fingers in the mouth after touching objects. So, using cleaners having toxic ingredients and chemicals is a risky thing to do. Mostly it is advisable to clean the house when the toddlers are sleeping or are not around. But this cant is the case every time. So, using cleaners that a kid-friendly can be much help as it can help to keep the house clean, and also there is no threat to the health of the kids.
Setting a proper routine
Having a routine for cleaning work helps in maintaining proper cleanliness and hygiene of the house. To keep the house clean, it is important to utilize time effectively. For example, we can have two cleaning sessions every day. In the morning, we can clean the living room and dining room, wipe the glass doors and windows, if any, and do a quick vacuum of the house. After lunch, mostly when the kids are asleep, we can clean the kitchen and bathroom, sweep the floor, and put things away. This can help us to unclutter the house and also help us achieve our goals of cleanliness.
Having a proper place for everything
This is an effective way to keep the house clean when there are toddlers at home. This also helps to maintain orderliness in the house. Having a specified place for toys, clothes, etc., avoids the unnecessary mess and, in turn, helps in the cleanliness of the house. It also saves time as the things can be picked up from the specified space assigned to them. A proper place for everything reduces the burden of cleaning the house, and one can do it with much ease without losing their mind over it. A rule of ‘proper place for everything’ can help us keep the house in order and alarm us when we have accumulated extra stuff in the house.
Allowing toddlers to help clean the house
Toddlers love to help and are often happy about their accomplishments. Ensuring the help of a toddler in cleaning the house is an effective way to clean the house. Cleaning and picking up things must be set as a habit in the house. This helps the toddlers catch the habit quickly and accept it as an important part of daily life. The key to do this is to recognize the tasks that are within the limit of toddlers. For example, kids in the age group of two to three years can be taught to keep their toys in the proper place assigned to the toys. Once this is set, the toddlers can be of much help to their parents in maintaining the house’s cleanliness.
Having toddlers around in the house can make things a bit messy, but following the ways mentioned above can help maintain cleanliness and hygiene of the highest degree at home.
