Lessons Learned

Perhaps you are wondering, as I often am, "How do you keep your house clean when you have two toddlers who can demolish a room in mere minutes, leaving it looking as if you haven't lifted a finger to clean it in months?

Well, here are three lessons I had to learn the hard way; but will share with you in order to hopefully save you some future frustration.

1. Keep doors closed.- After your children have gotten up, keep all bedroom, bathroom, laundry room, etc doors closed and don't allow your children to go in and out of them at will. This will keep them from having the opportunity to "investigate" a room that you are not in, as well as keep them out of harm's way. It will also keep you from having to wonder whatever happened to your shoes, only to find them in the bathtub later on.

2. Only allow eating in the kitchen, or dining room (if not carpeted). -Who wants to vacuum after three meals and two snacks a day? That's five times a day! Therefore, we brought a small toddler size table and chair set into the kitchen so our little ones can eat everything they need to eat in there. This cuts down on vacuuming and spills that can ruin your carpet, furniture, etc.

3. Limit the amount of toys, books, etc that can be out at a time.- My little ones often like to bring out EVERY toy, book, puzzle, etc in the living room to play with all at once. This creates an unnecessary mess, since they can only use one item at a time anyway. So, I have limited the amount of things they can have out at a time. If they want something new, the old thing has to be put away first.

Hope you find these lessons helpful. Perhaps you have some strategies for keeping your place tidy, with small children at home? Please, do tell!