Kids Room Tips

I have three kids.....any tips on keeping my house clean?

I have a seven year old, Devon, a three year old, Logan and a 20mos old, Hayden. For the life of me I can't keep up the house. It always looks like a tornado went through it. I went through the kids' room and organized it a week ago.....now it looks like a dump. Are they old enough to organize, or should I be happy with them throwing everything(clthes, toys, shoes) into the toyboxes. Any tips on having a clean house??? I could use all the help you can give, Thanks. Oh, it's not just their room, it's everywhere. The kitchen floor, how do they do it. And I work. My husband seems to be oblivious to it. Help with that would be helpful too. I really like the schedule idea. Oh, it's not just their room, it's everywhere. The kitchen floor, how do they do it. And I work. My husband seems to be oblivious to it. Help with that would be helpful too. I really like the schedule idea.

Public Comments

1. Two of them are definitely old enough to start taking on responsibilities and learning where things go. Make it a fun game for them or use a reward system for accomplishing tasks.
2. I have myself on a schedule and it has helped majorly. Monday-Laundry and do the routine stuff like make beds, pick up and dishes Tuesday-Clean bathroom and the routine stuff Wed- Laundry, Vacuum and the Routine stuff Thurs-Dust and Routine Stuff Friday- Mop, Laundry and Routine That leaves it to where all I have to do is keep it picked up on the weekend and I have more family time. They are very much old enough to help keep it organized. My 5 year old helps me with her room now. God Bless!
3. You can buy bins to for each child and make them help you (for the little ones) put their things in the bins. This will help keep the main rooms clean and organized. In their rooms buy the shelves with the bins to put all their toys into.. It is never too early to teach them to pick up after themselves. It will help you in the future. Good luck!
4. My kids are 15, 10 and 6. I haven't figured it out yet. I try to have everyone straighten up at about 4 oclock (all of us together at the same tim) so it is a little neater before dinner. Setting a timer helps too. Say we are all going to clean up for 15 minutes and set the timer and start running around. They will think it is a game and help.
5. I have 4 boys & they all have a list posted in the front hall showing them & everyone what their each chores are. They have to do them everyday! I let them make a mess, but they know they'll be the ones cleaning it up! Good Luck!
6. well you should talk to them about keeping the house clean and if they don't then start giving them punishments until they do... and if that doesn't work i think you should get a maid.
7. Realize that your house is not a museum, it is a place where you are raisng children, so it may never be as clean as you would like... but give your children (all of them) chores to do. Ex. make them pick up their own objects. Tell them their room can be as messy as they want, but the living room is to be clean in case of visitors. Growing up we all had turns at different chores. 1 week help in kitchen (cooking, doing dishes, etc.) 2. Laundry (until we were old enough to just do our own clothes) 3. Bathroom 4. Living room. just an idea.
8. They are old enough to start picking up after themselves my stepdaughter is 17 months and she knows how to throw thing in the trash and everthing, althought it is very hard to keep your house clean i only have one child and its a pain so try picking up everyday dont leave mess for days becasue it just builds up thats what i do i find that if i dont clean for a day it piles up so try doing that and making the kids help.
9. well i have an 8yr.old daughter,she helps me wash dishes,hang the laundry outside,she even helps me cook certain things.your son is old enough to help you around the pick up after himself. if he doesn't want to do any of those things well just simply take the things away he likes to do best.
10. It can definitely be hard to keep the house picked up when you have children. The first thing to do is to set aside a room (if possible) that is their playroom, and limit their toys to there or their bedrooms--that means no toys in the living room, dining room, kitchen, etc., so you can at least keep the toys confined to one area. Periodically go through their toys and get rid of things they don't play with anymore, things that are broken, etc. Or you can compromise and at least take some toys "out of rotation" and put them in a box in another room, where they can ask for them back in the future if they decide they want to start playing with them again (but more often than not, they forget that the toys even exist, and they are happy enough playing with the things they have left). The older two are old enough to pick up after themselves, although the three year-old might need some help. Make it a rule that they need to limit their messes to one at a time, so that if they are done playing with one thing, they need to pick that up and put it away before getting something else out. Fifteen minutes before it's time to head upstairs to get ready for bed, let them know that it's toy cleanup time, and let them know that everything is to be picked up and put away in fifteen minutes. Whatever is left on the floor gets thrown into a big box for Mommy to take away, and they have to earn those toys back. Make sure they have storage bins, shelving, boxes, and so forth, to store their things in, so that they can keep their toys neat and organized. Labelling the bins will let them know exactly where to put things and will help at cleanup time. IKEA, Pottery Barn Kids, Target, and many other stores have some great storage solutions that will help your kids to keep their things organized. At bedtime, make sure they have a hamper for their dirty clothes, and give them a shelf or cubby in the closet where their shoes go. The seven year-old is old enough to make his own bed, and he could also help the three year-old to make his. Good luck!
11. It depends on how complicated your organization system is. My 7, 5 and 3 year olds (also have a 13-month-old) do quite well with a drawer for baby doll clothes, a drawer for Playmobile figures, a drawer for musical instruments, a big drawer for stuffed animals, and even a miscellaneous drawer! They should be able to handle some level of grouping and not throwing everything together. They're also old enough to learn that before they get blocks out, they need to put away the stuffed animals, or whatever. I would suggest having a cleanup time at least twice a day. Make them get stuff picked up and put where it belongs. Emphasize that this wouldn't take as long if they cleaned up as they go. Also, it's best if you see that x has been abandoned to tell them to either play with it or put it away. It is possible to avoid a disaster house. When my husband gets home, the living room (where most of play happens) is picked up completely, and during the day it usually stays within a reasonable level of toys out for play. It also helps to keep toys to a minimum. Some children have A LOT of toys. My children have two sets of toy drawers, together about 3 1/2 ft across, 1 ft deep, and 2 1/2 ft tall. That's pretty much all of their toys except for a few that sit beside it, a doll stroller, Playmobile barn (animals put away in drawer), xylophone, and a couple other things. There are also some board games and puzzles kept on a shelf that I have to get down. It makes it much easier when they don't have boatloads of toys within their reach. And yes, in our case, this meant quite a few donations of excess stuff to Goodwill. If we hadn't, our children would have about 40 or more stuffed animals and dolls, instead of a dozen. We don't have the space for an excess of toys, and that sort of excess isn't particularly good for children either.
12. I have a routine as well, written on my dry erase calendar Monday: open Tuesday:Laundry Wednesday:open Thursday:Laundry Friday:Dust, finish all Laundry Saturday:Vacuum, Windex, Bathroom Sunday:open Everyday me and the kids sweep the kitchen and mop, take out trash, pick up toys before bedtime, put away clean dishes and load dishwasher. I usually fold and hang laundry, do dishes, and wipe down counters in the morning. Your children 7 and 3 are old enough to help you in these kinds of chores. The children also need to learn basic skills of sorting and organizing their toys. For instance, everyone takes off their shoes and put them in an organizer that sits in the entrance of the house before they get on the carpet. When you change clothes, the clothes go in the laundry baskets, not on the floor, shower towels get re-hung, etc. I live in a house with very little storage space (like cabinets, no good coat closets, no built in storage units etc), so things have to go back in their places or they would be on the floor. There's a place for everything and everything in it's place is a good motto to have. Also another good skill for the little ones and instantly makes a bedroom less messy looking is making the bed.
13. First of all-I understand completely! I have four children, ages 11-7-5-and 2, and a tiny house. Some days I think that having a clean home is simply not within my reach! A few things I do to TRY to help... 1) Don't stress about the house too much or you will go crazy! Your house will not be perfect and with children living there-it shouldn't be. 2) Have the older 2 start doing chores. I had my kids try doing chores a number of times and it never worked because my 11 year old always got stuck with the harder chores and would complain. Here is our solution-I wrote all of the chores down on popcicle sticks (take out trash, do dishes, vacuum, laundry, whatever you want done!) and included 2 sticks marked "freebie". Everyday my kids draw 2 sticks out of the jar they are kept in and you do whatever chores you pick. Freebie means you have no chore for that stick. If my 5yr old has to scrub the floor (or some other more difficult chore), he just does the best he can and I don't complain when he misses a spot. They don't get sick of doing the same chore every day and are always happy to draw that Freebie. Every little bit help me out and teaches them some responsibility. 3) If you try to be over organized it will just be harder. Sure you want to keep some toys like blocks in a seperate tote so they can be easily played with, but kids will pick up easier if they have a toy box they they can throw large item in and pick them up quickly. My kids do NOT keep things seperated in little cubbies and such at all-so I just don't buy toys with lots of pieces that need to stay so organized! Good luck and if you find some miracle cure-let me know!
14. i have the same problem except mine are 9 and 2 (nearly 3), and every night at about 2 hours or so before bedtime i start making them help pick up. the 9 year old has to clean her room every other day and if she doesnt pick it up she loses priviliges (going to friends houses, cable tv, etc) and so far she does it without much hassle. the 2 yr old has to help put her toys back in her toy box every night and she also helps to clean up when she sees everyone else doing it.