10 House Cleaning Tips For Working Moms And Dads

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Consumer Information

10 House Cleaning Tips For Working Moms And Dads

As a working mom or dad, it ultimately means less time to do the things needed around the house, whether working from home or in the office. Without kids, can this be manageable? With kids? Managing the household and working can be tricky, even with spousal support.

So, how do you break up the quest for a clean house into something more manageable? Even with life as a busy working mom or a busy working dad, it is possible to maintain a clean household. Keeping things clean and organized will seem possible if you follow these ten house-cleaning tips for busy parents.

These tips for busy parents work, whether you’re a work-at-home mom or dad or one who goes into the office five days a week—no need to stress anymore about balancing a cleaning routine with the life of a busy working mom.

GET YOUR KIDS TO CLEAN UP AFTER THEMSELVES

It’s a genius cleaning tip, and it’s simple. Being clean is an important life lesson, regardless of the context. Children must learn this at an early age. It sounds simple, but having your children clean up after themselves as much as possible will undoubtedly improve the appearance of your house.

Even simple tasks, such as putting toys away when finished or bringing dishes to the sink, will help you feel less overwhelmed. It will also teach your kids responsibility, which is always a good thing.

DON’T GET OVERWHELMED

While having a messy house can make you feel overwhelmed, it’s essential to stay calm when things appear out of place. Getting flustered will not make things any cleaner.

Some tricks for staying excellent include taking things one step at a time, one task at a time, and remembering to breathe through difficult moments. This is a great practice that will benefit you both inside and outside the home, making your life at home much easier.

ESTABLISH A ROUTINE

Establishing a cleaning routine is one of the most essential steps to keeping your home clean and organized. Keeping a clean house is also one of the best ways to increase your home’s value, so be sure to have a solid routine whether you do this by doing some types of daily cleaning, like doing the dishes (or at least using the dishwasher to do them) every day, making sure that they’re dry and put away, unloading the dishwasher, or having a cleaning schedule or cleaning checklists for the older kids so that they can pitch in too.

This could include cleaning bathrooms or a simple cleaning of their bedroom. One great way to incorporate cleaning into your daily routine is to start making the bed every morning (and delegate this task to your young ones).

Then, encourage your kids to clean up after themselves, as above. Establishing this sense of routine will help you feel like you’ve accomplished tasks, even when things appear dirty. It will also help you to ensure cleaning is part of your regular schedule for working moms.

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DON’T LET SPILLS LINGER

One of the worst things you can do is let a spill linger on the carpet. Whether the little one has spilled juice or had an accident while potty training but has yet to master the art, letting a spill linger on a carpet is the very worst thing for your home.

The smell (if the spill is odorous) will sink into the carpet, and the coffee stain won’t come out with a scrub. Instead, you’ll need a professional carpet cleaner to ensure you clean your carpet.

ONE DAY A WEEK, DEEP CLEAN

This is a great cleaning tip to help you resist the urge to be a slacker when cleaning your house. You don’t have to do your laundry daily, but keeping your home clean is as easy as setting aside time to clean once a week.

Giving yourself one day a week where you deep clean the whole place is a perfect way to start feeling fresh next week. Weekly cleaning in this fashion will help maintain the overall cleanliness of your home.

Strip the beds, do all the bedding laundry, empty, clean, restock the fridge, vacuum everywhere, and scrub the kitchen and bathroom surfaces. Like this TikTok mom, having just one day a week where you (and your spouse, if applicable) clean like people possessed by Marie Kondo’s spirit will help alleviate the cleaning to-do list for the week ahead.

MULTITASKING IS KING

You, too, can put the ‘king’ in “multitasking” by cleaning while you’re doing something else. While you’re cooking, for example, the food will often never need your full attention.

So, use your time wisely to do some quick cleaning. Whether that’s the leftover dishes from lunch or giving the table a quick wipe-down, you can do many things while your food cooks. An intelligent mom or dad often does this daily, leaving you with a clean kitchen.

MONTHLY PURGES

One of the most important things you can do to keep your home clean is to go all ‘Marie Kondo’ on the place. Enlist the help of your spouse and kids, and once a month, go through and purge stuff.

Get rid of things you haven’t used in ages, such as old clothes and pots/pans. Start in the basement and work your way up. There’s a lot in your house that you forgot you owned. Even if it’s not that big, this monthly cleaning will help keep you better organized.

DO YOUR BATHROOM ONCE A WEEK

You might not think it’s necessary, but a once-a-week deep clean of your bathroom is completely necessary. Especially if you have kids, they carry more germs than you can imagine, and your bathroom is a veritable petri dish.

So, engage in germ warfare, wear your mask and yellow rubber gloves, and get to work. Clean every nook and cranny thoroughly. You must leave enough cleaning products in the space. Use organic cleaning products to help reduce the smell and the sometimes toxic chemicals used in many household cleaners.

A once-a-week deep clean of the bathroom will help maintain freshness and reduce the number of germs in the household.

ESTABLISH A LAUNDRY ROUTINE

Keeping on top of your laundry will help you feel like you’re in control. Whether it’s just you and your spouse and one kid, or if you’re a multi-child family (bless your beating hearts), establishing a regular pattern for doing loads of laundry will help keep the mountain down to a manageable level.

If there’s room, combine your clothes with your kids’ clothes. It’ll save you money and time. Ask your kids to help load the washing machine, the dryer, or both.

Ensure they put their clothes in their laundry hampers when they take them off at the end of the day. If you’re in a climate where the weather is warm enough, buy a clothesline instead of a dryer and hang your clothes to dry. You can also get the kids to put their clean clothes away afterward.

HIRE A CLEANER

While you can do plenty of small cleaning things for yourself, it’s OK to hire a cleaner to do the deep cleaning if you’re feeling overwhelmed.

Cleaning your house can be a huge task, and as a busy working mom or dad, it’s not necessarily something else you need on your plate. If you have the money, hiring a cleaner is perfectly OK, and they might even do a better job than you. Just make sure you choose someone reputable and reasonably priced.

Being a busy mom or dad can make it challenging to accomplish the tasks that need to be done. However, by using these simple cleaning tips, you should be able to enjoy family activities without worrying about what needs to be cleaned next.

byStacey Walker/onFebruary 21, 2018/updatedJanuary 28, 2026/inConsumer Information

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