Most couples fondly recall how their life used to be pre-kids when it was perfectly possible to walk across a room without stumbling over toys, shoes, or children’s books! Believe it or not, there will be a time in the future when you will be staring at your quiet and tidy room, just wishing it could be cluttered by children once again!

The truth of the matter is that children are disorganized and untidy and you will not be able to change that! In fact, if you try to, it will prove impossible, get you down and you will be trying to curb the fun days of childhood. There are some clever tricks to keep your home looking almost good!

1. Organize a cleaning schedule.

Have set days for doing certain jobs (such as bed changing, ironing, and tidying the fridge). Young children will love to be involved and can be really good at dusting or collecting up old newspapers and magazines.

2. Make yourself a cleaning basket.

Buy a cheap plastic basket that you can pop furniture polish, bathroom cleaners, dusters, cloths, and anti-bacterial wipes in. Keep it somewhere really handy so you can quickly grab it whenever it is needed.

3. Streamline your home!

It is clutter that makes your home look bad and interior designers suggest that ‘little is more’. Clear kitchen worktops, coffee tables, and bathrooms of unwanted ‘stuff’ – in the bathroom, for example, put all the shower gels and shampoos away, and if you don’t have somewhere to put them, invest in a cheap under sink cupboard.

4. Teach your children to tidy up.

Get each of your children a small plastic basket in a different color and before they start their bedtime routine, get them to fill their basket with all the toys, socks and books that they have left in the hall and lounge – this trick works brilliantly!

5. Tidy your children’s clothes.

Keep clothes tidily in the wardrobe or chest of drawers and buy some under-bed boxes if you need more space. School uniforms should be clearly marked with name tapes and if you have some spare ones, these can be used for coats and jumpers if your children have similar ones. Name It Labels is a mail-order company that can supply these, but also has another brilliant type of label that can be used – stick-on shoe name labels, that can be easily fixed into the back of your children’s shoes. Not only are these perfect for school shoes but at home, as they make shoe, slipper, and wellington recognition so speedy! 

Teach your children from an early age that once they take their clothes off, that they should be popped into the linen basket for washing or tidily on the bedroom chair for tomorrow.

6. Organize dance and sports kit. 

To avoid the weekly panic to find everything they need, it can work really well if you buy each child a bright clearly market PE bag where their dancing and sports kit can be placed once it has been washed and ironed. If they need rugby boots or football boots, there are some smart personalized carry boxes that they can be kept in, so once they have been cleaned, it makes sense for the boots to be popped straight in the box ready.

7. Get everything clearly marked!

There are so many lovely sticky labels that can be bought with your child’s name and a motif that makes getting organized fun. You will find many great ways to use the labels to help identify each child’s toys, books, and other possessions. A good friend of mine recently ordered another set of personalized labels in a bid to tidy her partner up and apparently, it is working a treat!