Member-only story
Secrets to Help Keep a Tidy House When You Have Kids
Where to begin.
As soon as you have your first child, you will find yourself with clutter — clutter that will take up all available space. Unless you develop a plan, you’re going to be drowning in toys. Here’s how to begin to control it:
Establish ground rules.
As soon as they’re able to understand, tell your kids they have to put away their current toy before they can play with a new one. It will take some practice, but they’ll quickly get the hang of it.
Have a place for everything.
This is going to take some pre-work on your part. Make sure every craft supply, game, and toy has a storage place. You can use closet organizers, baskets, shelves with bins, or whatever works for you. The important thing is to ensure anything new that comes into the house has somewhere to go. You can also try using the “one in, one out” rule: every time you bring in a new toy, game, or craft, an old one needs to be discarded (donated, recycled, or trashed). This will keep you from running out of space.
Appoint a supervisor.
Kids love having authority. Make your child, or one of your children, the “cleanup supervisor.” Tell them they are in charge of making sure everything is put away in its proper place when it’s…
