Hey, so if you’re anything like me, the literal bane of your existence is sticky/dirty floors. I hear you – it’s the worst. I can deal with some messy stuff, but for whatever reason sticky, grimy floors make me want to scream.
Maybe that means I have unresolved emotional issues, but I digress. :p
Let’s talk about how to keep your floors clean with kids in the house.
Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive a commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own!
1.) Don’t let anyone wear shoes in the house
Ban the shoes. It will help so much! In many parts of the world, shoes aren’t allowed in the house. And for a goooood reason!
By not allowing shoes beyond the entryway area of your home, you’re skipping out on tons more dirt and bacteria getting spread throughout your home.
Let people know that this is now a rule in your house and provide a place for them to take off and store their shoes as soon as they enter. A small shoe rack will hold quite a few pairs. If you have a larger family, a bigger rack or a storage bench in the entryway will work beautifully.
It took a few weeks to my family to adjust to taking shoes off by the door, but I’m so glad we made the change! If you have cold floors, use socks or get house slippers for everyone. It’s a lot less cleaning for you to deal with!
2.) Mop at least once a week
This isn’t fun advice by any means… but it’s the sad truth of keeping the floor clean with kids. For me, this isn’t TOO bad. My least favorite chore is doing the dishes. So this doesn’t bum me out too much.
3.) Restrict food to certain places in your home
This is a big one, y’all. And the biggest battle here was getting my husband to stop bringing food into the living room… but it was worth the struggle.
If you’re 101% done with cleaning crumbs off every surface, seat, and floor space in your house, define the “eating areas” in your home.
If your family likes to do movie nights in the living room, consider allowing food in there during those nights. But otherwise, keep it in the kitchen + dining area. (Or where ever works for you!)
This will save you so much time on cleaning – definitely worth the trouble of establishing a new rule in your house. It’s probably the most important rule to have when it comes to keeping floors clean with kids running around.
4.) Invest in a vacuum that actually works
So long, cheap and crappy vacuum!
You actually don’t have to spend a TON of money to get a decent vacuum. $550-$600 on a vacuum isn’t going to work for my budget.
As much as I’ve been eyeballing that Dyson stick vacuum thing that every YouTube mom has (goals AF by the way) – I can’t justify buying this right now.
I have a Shark vacuum that is less than 1/3rd of the price and it had worked amazingly for me over the last three years. It’s not too big, it does a great job of actually getting dirt up, and it comes with a bunch of different attachments for whatever couch or corner you need to reach.
5.) Get a mat for under the highchair
Ok, talk about a lifesaver.
For some reason, it didn’t occur to me to look for something like this or buy it for the longest time. I struggled for a whole year with my first daughter without having any type of mat under her highchair to catch her neverending mess. I really didn’t have to struggle like that.
Grab a cute, easily cleanable mat for under your kid’s highchair. They are so much easier than mopping the floor every time your kid eats (or even once a day).
Here’s a super cute highchair floor mat that is very reasonably priced. And here’s another one with llamas and cacti on it, just because!
6.) Buy a floor cleaner that you unapologetically love the smell of to a creepy extent (This is super effective for me)
Honestly, I think this might the best tip on the list.
Are you obsessed with things that smell good? Girl, me freaking too. And here’s how to take that fact and turn it into perpetually clean floors.
Give into that boring adult part of you who is obsessed with the smell of a specific the floor or all-purpose cleaner. Is that Pine-Sol? Is it Fabuloso? Is it Mrs. Meyers Geranium All Purpose Cleaner? For some reason, I’m obsessed with Mrs. Meyers and Method brand cleaners. Almost all of the scents from both brands smell absolutely heavenly. If you’ve tried either brand before, you probably know what I’m talking about.
I’m so much more likely to bust out the cleaning supplies when I love how they smell. It’s just a fact of life. I now allow myself to splurge on nicer cleaning supplies because it means that I’ll get more cleaning done.
If you’re in the mood to go ham on some amazing-smelling cleaning stuff, check out Grove Collaborative – you can get a free 5-piece cleaning set when you sign up with my link. They carry quite a few natural or eco-friendly cleaning, baby, pet and personal care brands for good prices. This is how I get my monthly Mrs. Meyers and Method fix.
7.) Know how to make a DIY floor cleaner in a pinch
Find a good DIY floor cleaner recipe and save it somewhere you can find it. God forbid one day you run out of your fav cleaner, you’ll have something to fall back on. This has saved me from sticky floors more than once.
So, bam. This is how you keep floors clean with kids in the house. It’s hard, but it’s do-able! Is your best tip for keeping floors clean not on my list? Definitely let me know in the comments!
