Do you get compliments on a clean house? Do your guests asks you the question-“how you manage to keep your house so clean and organized with a toddler? Are you on your toes all the time? Your kiddos must be really well-behaved.” Usually, people say these sentences when they visit any organized house. But what is the secret behind that cleanliness? What extra must that parent be doing to keep their house neat? I often get to hear these words when my friends visit my place. Obviously, for the hosts, it’s a wonderful compliment. I would say I am not doing anything unique that is making such a big difference. I practice very basic things. Let me share my tips and tricks on keeping your house clean and organized with a busy toddler at.

 

First thing first, develop a habit in your kids of putting things away at their places once done with playing. Yes, this is the first step in cleaning. It will take time to develop this habit but it helps a lot in long run. Now, how to do this?

• Start early: Usually, parents do the clean-up after the child is done with playing. Why? A) Because they think, the child is very young to understand the concept or b) will take more time. Now think, if you keep on doing the cleaning on their behalf, how will they learn? Let them clean-up. It’s okay if they take time. Have patience. They are learning something new. And if you are desperate to finish it quickly then you also help them but let them do the maximum part.

 

• Be creative in encouraging kids in after play clean-up:  Sometimes kids show moodiness or laziness in cleaning up. That’s the time to use your imagination and creative skills. Trust me seeing you doing this chore with interest, your little one will come to join you.

 

• See clean-up as an activity and teachable moment: When your child is not in a mood to play but you have everything set up then don’t clean it up on your own. Think of an activity that you can do. “Can you find a blue ball? Let’s put it in the bin.” “I can’t find that fish puzzle. Do you know where it is.?” “There is one last toy on the mat. Let’s put it quickly inside the bin. We will start something new.” These could be some sentences to put those little feet into action. Utilize that song from preschool, “Clean up, Cleanup, everybody everywhere! Clean up, Clean up, everybody do your share!” We sing this song every time it’s clean up time. It really helps my toddler know what is expected, makes it fun for him.

 

Along with these pointers, there are few general things that parents have to take care of:

• Don’t accumulate things: No matters how much we say no but the truth is when we see a nice, elegant piece of furniture, our desire is to but it. We find any excuse to buy it and sometimes we make the purchase. Now, this is the weak moment where you have to make a decision. Don’t be an accumulator.

 

Firstly, do you really need it or you are buying it because you liked it? Secondly, if you won’t buy that, will it make any difference to your functioning? And last if you think it’s a really good buy then can it be postponed? If your answer is No for first two questions and Yes for the last question, then this purchase can wait. Congratulations, you passed the weak moment successfully!!

 

• Buy kids toys depending upon their interest and age: Just because the other kid of same age is having a toy that doesn’t mean your kid should also have it. Right from an early age, kids are more inclined towards a particular toy. Some kids are more into puzzles, others are into books. Some might like to paint, others like blocks. Here, I am not talking about girl and boy’s toys. I do not believe in the notion of picking toys as per the gender. To me, toys/activities selection should be age and interest appropriate and not gender-centric.

 

• Do an inventory check before buying anything new: This applies to any kind of new purchase. Before you buy a new toy, first check the existing one. Sometimes we get toys as gifts and they sit on the top shelf in our closet or make their place in a “future/later stages toys” box. With time, we forget about the box and the toys. Doing an inventory check from time to time, gives us a good idea of what we have and there will not be a repetition.

 

It is very easy to get carried away with the stuff in stores or the cute toys but we should know our limits.  Do you have some great ideas to add to our list to help keep your house under control when you have a busy toddler in the house?