With two children and the busy life that comes with them, it is essential that our family have some quick clean ups to help us maintain some sort of disorganized clean.  Daily clean ups need to be simple so that the kids can pitch in and clean up after themselves.

Easy Clean

Cleaning wipes are about the easiest tool to use for quick clean up.  My favorite wipe is Mr. Clean Antibacterial Wipes because they are easy to remove from the container, so easy for kids to use.  Place wipes in strategic locations - under the sink in the bathrooms and kitchen - so that they are always handy.  Cleaning off the sticky counters and wiping down toothpaste sinks will become a routine along with dinner and brushing teeth.  .

Another useful wipe to have placed in the bathrooms, glass cleaning wipes.  My favorite, inexpensive of course.  Having the wipes always handy allows the kids to pull one out and wipe off the mirror.  Don’t worry about the kids only reaching the “spit” area of the mirror, you can reach the rest during a weekly clean.

The good thing about these wipes, both are handy for cleaning places like the toilet, door handles, light switches - the places usually forgotten.  The one downfall with wipes is they are expensive.  You can always try making your own.

Quick Pick

I make it a part of my children’s daily routine to clean up toys as they are finished playing with them.  Even then there are always the few stragglers that seem to end up in a different room then where they belong.  That is where my family basket comes into play.  All of the lost toys, books and even the dirty clothes that are not picked up that I find are placed into this basket.  The next day when everyone gets home my kids stop by the basket and find the lost items. 

There is a reason behind the “lost” basket.  If the items are not claimed by the end of the week, then off they go, donated to the community center, their classrooms, or the Boys & Girls Club.  It took this rule to get my kids to take responsibility for cleaning up after themselves and now they do.

These tips are essential for me to have both help and teach my children.  These are simple tips that you might already implement, but hopefully I have been able to give someone a new tip or trick they didn’t already know.  Do you have a tip you’d like to share?  Let me know.