How clean is your house right now? When is the last time you picked up the living room? Are there toys, blankies, and board books on the floor? Before you start to worry about the relative disarray your house may be in, remember: it is foremost a home. There are toys in the living room because kids live there. Because a happy, busy family lives there.

Babies and young children are not only demanding of your time, but they make messes, too! When caring for the –-- sometimes exhausting –-- needs of your children, it can be difficult to squeeze housekeeping in. Plus, cleaning your house is definitely not the relaxing activity you want to enjoy during precious naptimes.  

Try not to lose sight of the fact that your house is meant to be a home for your family. It is the backdrop to some of your favourite memories. It’s much more important to cultivate a warm, happy feeling of home than to simply live in a well-kept house. You could have constantly sparkling toilet bowls and floors you could eat off of at any moment, but then you’d probably be really tired. And you’d hate to be too tired to play with your children, or too busy to spend quality time with your family.

Here are some ways to incorporate homemaking into your obligatory housekeeping:

Integrate your kids’ toys and artwork into the design of your home --- and allow them to clean those areas up themselves!

Disguising housekeeping as simply living can be one way to lessen the stress of keeping things neat and organized. Decorate with your children in mind. Have a display area specifically for their artwork. Have toddler-sized furniture, like a special little table they can sit at to colour or play with toys.

Embrace the existence of “kid stuff” in your house by getting creative with storage options for toys and art supplies. If you keep toys in your living room, consider storing them in something functional, but nice to look at, like a bench that opens, or baskets in an open bookshelf. It should be somewhere accessible to your child, which means they know where things go and will be able to put everything away themselves, too.

Try establishing a routine with them for picking up their toys. If they are young toddlers, they can help you put things away each night before getting ready for bed. Devoting a few minutes a day will help prevent things from getting overwhelming by the time Chore Day rolls around. If they’re preschool-aged or older, have them do it themselves.

Let your kids “help” you with cooking and cleaning.

So much of homemaking takes place in the kitchen. Put a step stool in your kitchen for your kids to “help” you while you cook or do the dishes. If they’re old enough to actually help you do simple cooking tasks, then let them help. Kids love to be involved and feel responsible. If they’re too young to actually help, put some bath toys in the sink and let them go to town! At least they’ll be occupied and having fun while you get the real work done. And they’ll feel involved with what you’re doing, rather than just staring up at your legs and getting underfoot.

When it comes to cleaning, try getting kid-sized cleaning tools and have them follow you around the house doing the chores as you do. Many little kids love nothing more than a kid-sized broom that looks and performs just like a real one. 

Sure, you’ll still be doing the work, but it will feel more like a game and can translate to some nice quality time with your kids.

 Sing a song!

Don’t discount the power of music in creating a happy environment in your home. Music can be relaxing or fun. Playing soothing music will help you unwind, if you’re looking to make your home a more peaceful place to be. Conversely, playing upbeat music in the home can help to energize you!

Consider making up silly songs to accompany the everday chores like making beds, wiping counters, and picking up toys. The kids will get more excited to do mundane tasks because there’s a full-on musical performance associated with those things! And they will probably always remember growing up in a house filled with music and fun.

When push comes to shove, choose peace.

Sometimes despite your best efforts, the drudgery of housework --- combined with sleep deprivation, cranky kids and too many tasks --- can become overwhelming. Everyone has days where everything just feels out of control. That’ s okay.

When days like these come along, our best recommendation is to choose peacefulness over housekeeping. Your home will be a far happier place if you are relaxed and rejuvenated --– even if that means the tub doesn’t get scrubbed or the dishes are left to sit in the sink.