Children are truly delightful creatures, but you have to admit that things can get stressful when it comes to cleaning the house filled with their clutter. The mess condo living with kids can drive you nuts and make your home feel out of control. You have toys, clothes, and school stuff strewn in every direction and the mess seems to multiply every time you try to clean up.
Fortunately, there are smart ways to clean your condo so you can deal with the madness of a cluttered house. You can reclaim your home by following these nifty tips on how to control kid’s clutter on your condo despite having energetic children running around and leaving stuff all over the house.
Do your cluttering in parts
Photo by Micah Sittig via Flickr
Putting everything in order tends to become overwhelming if you try to do it in just one day. Depending on the size of your home and the enormity of the mess you’re dealing with, it’s best to clean and clutter gradually and in batches. Spending 30 minutes a day to clean up is a good start, even if it means cleaning just one part of the house thoroughly. The little time you spend parts of your home will add up and before you know it, you’ve cleaned up your entire condo in a week or two.
Use color codes for each child
This is a big help if you have more than one kid in the house. Assign a color for each kid and buy their personal stuff according to that color. This way, it will be easier to know whose lunch box or toothbrush is missing or misplaced.Get rid of excess toys
Get rid of excess toys
Photo courtesy Toy Story Birthday Party Ideas via Pinterest
The most effective way to keep your condo spotlessly clean is to minimize the things that can contribute to clutter. In this case, toys seem to be the most likely candidate. We’re not saying that you get rid of all their toys altogether. You just need to gather all of the old ones and let your kids pick the ones they still like to keep. You can donate the ones that didn’t get chosen to charity or the orphanages. Make sure to let your kids know that they will make other children happy by donating their old toys.
Use multi-purpose furniture
Storage problem is inevitable if your kids have lots of toys and other personal stuff and you have limited space in your condo. A great way to solve this problem is to buy furniture that can hold your kids’ stuff and still have other functions. Beds that have pull-out drawers are perfect for keeping clutter out of plain sight. Big chest drawers can be used as tables for playing and studying.
Take note of habits that contribute to mess
No matter how often you clean the clutter and sort out stuff, your home will always go back to its messy state if you maintain the habits that contribute to the mess in the first place. Maybe you have a habit of dropping your keys and mail on the sofa whenever you get home from work or maybe you always kick your shoes under the coffee table. Do something about these habits by providing a small basket for your keys and mail or put a shoe shelf near the door.Label boxes
Label boxes
This will keep you from taking out random boxes just to search for particular toys. Once the kids are done playing, you can easily return stuff at their designated storage.
Give away old clothes
Children grow up fast so keeping stock of the things they’ve outgrown should be a regular task in your household. Donate these clothes to shelters or relatives who need extra clothes for their children. You can even earn money from your old stuff by selling them online or in garage sales.
Teach your kid how to put his stuff in order
It’s never too early to teach kids about the importance of keeping things neat and tidy. After playing, show him how to store his toys and return them on its rightful place on the shelf. You may have to teach this to him several times until he can get and return toys all by himself but the effort is truly worth it if it means a cleaner and clutter-free condo.
Invest in organizers
Photo by Windell Oskay via Flickr
Plastic boxes should be a staple in every condo to sort out the stuff that kids accumulate. These boxes are perfect for small pieces of toys, like building blocks and jigsaw puzzles. Don’t just stock your boxes on the floor – place them on shelves for a more organized look.
Avoid hoarding stuff
Lots of parents are guilty of buying all the toys and clothes that their home can store if it means making the kids happy. There’s nothing wrong with providing for your children but keep in mind that most kids are perfectly happy with just several pieces of toys and clothing. Children do not need lots of stuff to feel contented. Keep only their favorite items and find a new home for the ones they rarely use. Avoid buying more stuff unless necessary. Really, they won’t notice the difference.
Set specific areas for activities
Designate a part of your condo to be used for playing and studying. This can greatly help in keeping kids’ stuff contained in just one area, therefore making it easier it for you to clean up clutter.
Rotate the toys they play with
Set a specific toy for your kids to play with on certain days. Imagine the mess that can happen if you let them play with all their toys at the same time. You can make your kids choose which toy they would like to play with so you can just keep the others in storage.
These are only some of the helpful tips in cluttering your condo and keeping kids’ clutter to a minimum. Don’t hesitate to be more creative when it comes to storage and restoring order in your home. Don’t also forget that making your home clean and tidy makes your kids play better than ever. Let necessity be your inspiration in finding clever ways to make your house clutter-free. Make sure to share your ideas so others can also enjoy clean, organized, and stress-free condo living.
