tips to stay tidy
There was a post on instagram I saw recently that was a video of a mom showing the messy house that she woke up to. As it was recording the mess that was her living room and kitchen, it was saying something along the lines of how we live in our homes, we truly live in them. A home is supposed to be lived in and loved on. There are moments of laughter and cries, family time, play time, cooking and meals together, chaos, and countless sleeps. Our homes are to be lived in. I thought it was a beautiful perspective on how even when we feel like our house is a mess, we can think about the good times and memories made while making that beautiful mess. As much as I adore this perspective and try to see our mess through this lens, I also thrive when my surroundings are clean and organized. So, here I go, writing a blog post on how to stay tidy…with a baby…and a dog…and I am no expert. Heck, sometimes I don’t even apply my own principles but I’m trying to be better, aren’t we all???
Tips To Stay Tidy
10-minute tidy method
meal clean up
keep your immediate surroundings tidy
find a place for everything
get the dishes done
stay on top of the laundry
bedtime toy tidy
10-Minute Tidy Method
One thing I’ve been incorporating recently is a “10-minute tidy” using pockets of time I have during the day (while I’m making my coffee in the morning, when the baby is napping, before I head to work, once the baby is sleeping). Some days I only get those ten valuable minutes of tidy time, other days I get a few of those ten minute tidies throughout the day, which cumulate into a good chunk of time spent cleaning and organizing. I literally look at the clock and time ten minutes. Whatever I can get done within those ten minutes is what gets done. I was finding myself spending an entire nap time (could range anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours) cleaning and before I knew it she was back up and I was preoccupied again. Incorporating this “10-minute tidy” method has allowed me to not let the day get away from me. I get some cleaning done but can also sit and relax or make a meal or exercise or…write a blog post! ;) It has helped my days spent at home feel more balanced and fulfilling. Every mama could use some of that, right??
Meal Clean Up
Do you feel like you are constantly just feeding your child, cleaning them off, then right back to feeding and cleaning them again? Because SAME. Sometimes I honestly turn around, roll my eyes, and get it over with. It is SO fun feeding them and watching them try new foods and flavors, but the clean up, not so fun. The one saving grace about doing this after each feed is that you don’t have that mess looming over your head. Clean the kid off, give them some water or a toy to occupy themself for a minute and wipe down the highchair and tray or dishes. Just do it. I skipped the cleanup only a handful of times and regretted it every time. The food hardens, it’s harder to clean off, when you go to feed them again you don’t want to have to clean every before and after. So let’s just take the few minutes and get it done. You’re saving yourself time in the long run.
Keep Your Immediate Surroundings Tidy
Where do you find yourself spending the most time? For us, it’s our main level. The floor of our home that has the kitchen, the living room, and Adelynn’s little play corner. We cook, we eat, we relax, we play, we gather, sometimes exercise, all on this level. Focusing on your immediate surroundings helps prioritize what and where needs to be tidied. We are constantly dirtying and cleaning this level (cleaning in those 10-minute spurts of time, of course) :) Keeping the area where we spend most of our time helps me feel less anxious, more put together (lol), and honestly, happier!
Find A Place For Everything
One major thing I learned and have loved creating in our home is finding a designated place for everything. It makes cleaning up so much easier when you know the crockpot goes back on the third shelf in the pantry or the keys and coats get hung up by the front door or the new shipment of diapers can be unpacked into the changing station on the main level. You catch my drift? A place with a purpose! Not only do these designated places make for an easier, more organized cleanup for you, it makes it easier for others in the household to help out too. If they know where the designated places are, they know where things need to be returned after use!
Get The Dishes Done
Don’t let the dishes get piled up. The first thing I see when I walk downstairs in the morning is our kitchen, aka our sink.Piled up dishes are not only so daunting, they also just piss me off for some reason. Like, when food dries on them and you have to scrub or scrape them? Ugh, the worst. I feel like we are constantly doing dishes, especially with the baby bottles, pump parts, and kiddo plates/utensils. Having the dishes done and kitchen clean before bed every night was actually a New Years resolution for me. Something about having the dishes done and a clean sink helps me sleep better at night HAHA. I’m proud to say this I have kept up with this New Year’s resolution! If you have to choose one time in the day to clean the kitchen and do the dishes, do it before bed, after the craziness of the day is done, and tell me you don’t sleep better at night. I’ll wait…
Stay On Top Of Laundry
Yes, that means washing, drying, folding, AND putting away. Man, I loathe laundry. I wish I could put it in the washer and it would do itself after that. Luckily, my husband is a laundry freak. Once the washer beeps to finish he has to move it to the dryer right away. He is also SO good with folding his own and the baby’s laundry and getting it put away. I know…#blessed…Mike you’re the real MVP. But on a real note, staying on top of the laundry is important. At the very least, just get it through the washer and dryer so it’s clean and dry. The folding and putting away can wait but it sure feels good when it’s folded and out of sight.
Bedtime Toy Tidy
Most often, I find myself tidying up behind Adelynn as she rummages through her toys and throws things around. I’ve been thinking lately though, what is the point? She’s just going to take that spinny thing out again or undo the wooden puzzle again or throw the stacking rings around the room. Let’s just do ourselves a favor and wait until the kiddos are down for bed and do a quick toy tidy up. Don’t waste your precious time mama.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for you guys today. Adelynn is pulling my hair as I finish up writing this post so we’re going to go play…and probably make a mess that I’ll be tidying up later :)
xoxo
Cali