What are your routines that prevent mess, minimize cleaning?

[Anonymous]

Vacuum everyday, it will help with crumbs and everything will generally look cleaner. Wipe counters down and do dishes before bed. Also, one load of laundry washed and put away. That’s pretty much all the energy I have for daily cleaning.

Weekly are toilets, shower and change out linens, dust and anything else that look dirty.

[Anonymous]

I’m not working due to covid (had been contracting), so now I’m low level cleaning and fussing all the time. I’m like a human room a. I’m so bored. An empty house sometimes reflects boredom.

[Anonymous]

Think about the sources of daily mess and put systems in place to minimize them.

Messy floors: train kids to take off shoes at the door and eat only at tables. Keep a small stick vacuum near the kitchen table to quickly tidy crumbs after meals so that animal crackers crumbs at 10am don’t migrate through the entire house by 7pm. If you have pets, keep a pet brush and a dustbuster somewhere convenient to the living room and at least once a week when you are watching tv, brush your pet thoroughly and suck up the fur right away so there is less fur shedding randomly.

Laundry: for day-to-day, I only buy machine washable clothing. I keep oxyclean max stain remover spray in the mudroom and near every hamper. I don’t go through clothes when I do a load, I notice how messy my kid is when I strip them and spray the stain immediately before tossing in the hamper. I don’t sort loads. Everything gets washed on delicate and dried or hung on a hanger in the laundry room immediately to dry. I only fold what matters. Kids are in charge of their socks, undies and pajamas. If they want to dump all three in the bottom drawer and dig through as they go, then no worries.

Food prep mess: we have Replay plastic plates and matching silicon lids. The plates are sectioned. When I make a meal from scratch, I portion out meals for the kids from the leftovers, pop the lids on and store in the fridge ready to reheat. There’s no point in having an “easy” leftover night if I am going to have to pull out three different serving dishes, use serving utensils to scoop out portions, reheat on one plate then serve to my kid on another, etc. So if I am not cooking I am not cleaning anything but plates and utensils either. We all use the same cup all day.

Toys: Minimize! I do a cull before birthdays and Christmas so that before we get a bunch of new stuff we made room. I also am not afraid to toss or donate. Each kid has a designated space for toys that are just their own random treasures (like the prize they got at the dentist and that shiny rock they found) and when it gets too full they have to choose some stuff to let go of. Everything else is communal and most of their toys go on high-up shelves in a closet they can’t easily reach. So if they want to get something out I come get it down for them—they don’t have the ability to dump out 5 different kinds of toys all at once. There are times when we may get a ton of toys out all at once but the important thing is that it doesn’t just happen randomly when they have 15 minutes to play while I make breakfast. We only make a really huge mess when we actually have time to play and clean up.

Kid art: This may not be an issue for everyone but my kids love to create projects. We keep all their art stuff in a rolling cart in the kitchen. All art supplies are crayola brand washable. You pay more for the washable crayons, etc. but it is so worth it. Each kid has a caddy with a set of markers, a roll of tape, a pair of scissors, bottle of Elmer’s glue, a pencil and sharpener, etc. and I have trained them to just bring the whole caddy with them to the table when they want to work on something. I always keep a tablecloth on the kitchen table so I can easily clean up spilled glue, etc. I keep dozens of these tablecloths handy so there is always a clean one. There is a huge bin in my kitchen where all finished art work goes. About once a month I go through and toss most of it and put a few special things into a file folder for each kid, with one “file” for each year. If there is stuff that is too big or is 3D I take photos and/or video of my kid telling me about their creation before we toss it. They have a display shelf and a bulletin board in their room where they can keep stuff too but the vast majority ends up documented and tossed.

[Anonymous]

We have always picked up the house each night, but COVID and WFH means more dishes/ pots/ pans cleaning during the day. Podcasts make it (almost) enjoyable. I listen to news podcasts while unloading the dishwasher and cleaning up the breakfast mess (the daily, up first) and in the evening when cleaning after dinner, loading dishwasher, picking up toys, I listen to trashy/ entertainment podcasts. Still feels like “me time” despite the multitasking.

[Anonymous]

I don't wash the dishes after dinner. I don't want to miss out on family time. I clean up late at night. I find it relaxing.

I have memories of my mother *always* cleaning something. Always in motion cleaning something. Or not in the same room as us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't wash the dishes after dinner. I don't want to miss out on family time. I clean up late at night. I find it relaxing.

I have memories of my mother *always* cleaning something. Always in motion cleaning something. Or not in the same room as us.

This does not answer the question OP posted. Also, we have six kids. When they get up from the dinner table, they bring their plate into the kitchen, scrap the garbage into the compost bin, rinse their plate and put it and their silverware into the dishwasher. Then they come back for their napkin and glass. 45 seconds. Because I clean as I cook, after dinner there's not more than five minutes of scrubbing pots/pans. I do that while my kids are getting ready for bed. Not missing out on any "family time" and the kids learn that you don't leave messes sitting around attracting bugs.

[Anonymous]

No but there is a happy medium

[Anonymous]

I use the same exact space on the kitchen counter. So I only have 1 smallish area to wipe down at any given time.

Kids use 1 (water) cup for the whole day. Otherwise, the dishwasher would be overflowing with cups after a day.

I rinse breakfast (and sometimes lunch) plates if there are only a few crumbs on them and re-use them for the next meal or snack.

I have a basket by the stairs that I put things in that need to go up (or down) the next time I head up (or down).

Kids and I pick up as we go along. Kids have to pick up the number of items that matches their age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:" Organizational things " only encourage more hoarding.

I used to think this but now I disagree. Rubbermaid bins are 90% of the time for hoarding. Usually adding shelving units is hoarding. But Elfa for a closet, or drawer dividers, or bins for a pantry are good. They actually make LESS space but they “hold” the home for things that are in use so they get put back properly.

Example: I have a shelf for handbags in my closet. I got dividers so that each one has a slot. They look so much neater and when one is out, its slot stays empty. I can’t add any handbags without getting rid of one. If I just had them on the shelf, I could easily justify shoving one more on there.

I agree too. Maybe it’s intentional storage, or purposeful storage. I added hooks along the entryway. Each kid has a designated place to put their coat. Whenever anyone comes to my house they hang their coat instead of draping it on a chair or couch (precovid.)

[Anonymous]

For every new thing you buy,make yourself get rid of 5.

Pretty soon, you’ll notice yourself buying less (spending less money) and you’ll be left with only your favorite things.

[Anonymous]

Have a list of chores that are daily/weekly/monthly/seasonal. Do your weekly chores at the same time every week. Every Saturday morning do one of the chores from your monthly list. And so forth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get an outlet installed in a closet or pantry on the main floor if you don’t have one for a Dyson stick.

So funny! We just bought one last week. GAME CHANGER! Even DH is vacuuming.

100% this - we have never vacuumed so much during the week. Even my teenagers will begrudgingly grab the Dyson cordless when there are snack crumbs left on the sofa or family room rug. They won't drag out the Miele canister unless I threaten them LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everything single thing in the house has to have a "place." Even if it's often out and in use - it has a place. Hook for purse in closet. Place for mail (outgoing/mine/his). Baby's swing has a spot. Diaper bag has a spot. A place for everything! Stops stuff from getting overwhelming.

What is your place for water bottles? Constantly in use, frequently wet?
What about books and magazines you are currently reading?
Bread and bananas?
masks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do two "Pick up 10 things" drills every day. We run around like crazy, putting things away and counting aloud. My kids jump at it because they usually pick the easy stuff to pick away. In a family of 4, if you pick up and keep 40 things in its proper place, twice a day - you are GOLD.

- I have made beds easy. My kids have a faux down comforter and no top sheets. They just have to spread out the comforter to make their beds.

- No shoes indoors.
- Everyone makes their bed as soon as they wake up.
- Everyone puts all dishes for snacking, cups, saucers, bowls from their rooms on to a tray in the hall in the morning.
- Everyone puts all their dirty clothes in hampers in the morning.
- Everyone takes care of disposing off mail addressed to them and any paper
- Everyone puts their dishes in the dishwasher after meals.

Some assigned chores specific to the family members.
-My DH runs and empties the dishwasher (thrice a day...we cook and eat a lot). He also takes care of breakfast and puts away leftovers in the fridge.
- My youngest waters the indoor plants, recycles and composts the kitchen scraps and will hang coats inside the coat closet.
- My eldest is in charge of panty, fridge and refrigerator organization - as well as making shopping lists by store.

- I clean (since my twice a week cleaning lady is no longer an option) the bathrooms and all the floors, once a week.
- I wash at least 2 loads of laundry a day. All my towels, bath mats, bed sheets and bed linen are white so I can wash on hot and use bleach. I fold everyone clothes and they are in charge of putting their clothes away in their dressers. I Konmaried clothes in the begining of the pandemic and I fold clothes in a specific manner based on whose clothes I am folding and their storage space in their bedrooms
- I take care of the yard and outdoor stuff.
- I cook some entrees during the weekend. Mostly DH is cooking but if I have to cook, I cook in the morning just after I finish my breakfast.

Thank the LORD that I do not have pets. Less responsibility and my house is cleaner because of that.

Food does not leave the kitchen/dining room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recommend Cheryl Mendelson's classic "Home Comforts" a lot
Basically, at night the house is "done" by picking up clutter, putting it back, washing dishes, cleaning counters, taking out garbage etc. Ideally you wake up to a clean house every morning but mostly this happens by having a schedule ie days for certain things. You are doing something each day
(Like grocery shopping, deep cleaning etc) or hiring out but the point is there is REGULARITY, on both a weekly and daily basis. This helps us most. You are proactively tending to the house, not allowing chores to build up. Decluttering helps but is not deep cleaning. Decide what you need to do daily and then within reason, try to do it. Then most of the time, you live in a clean environment.

This is good advice!

OP, sounds like you are already doing great, and kids under 4 is HARD. Just getting kids that age to pick up toys and out dishes in the sink is huge. Throw in some bed making and you're already ahead of the game.

My kids are 9 and 11 and in addition to misc daily chores, we do a weekly clean where I emphasize the sort of less-obvious (to kids) hygiene-related and tidying jobs to them -- bathroom trashes get emptied; toilet roll roll holder gets checked for adequate backup rolls; all hand towels and pillowcases are swapped out weekly; couch pillows straightened, fridge shelves get wiped down; etc. I find that teaching that these little side items are critical to a happy and clean house helps -- meaning, I want them to see, weekly, that it's more than vacuuming and toilet bowl scrubbing.