Expert Tips for Home Organisation

Once the pitter patter of little feet enter our homes, they often bring with them a never ending supply of toys, clothes and essentials. It often feels like a never-ending cycle of play, clean, repeat.

While our bags and parenting accessories are purposefully designed to ensure maximum organisation on the go, we sat down with Chelsea Smith, CEO of the Organising Platform, who teaches families how to de-clutter, organise, simplify and maintain their homes, especially after having children.

The Organising Platform guides parents to relieve guilt and anxiety when it comes to tidying and organising each room.

“As a mother, I know that keeping a clean and tidy home can be a challenging task, especially with toddlers, little kids and newborns around. I believe it's important to set realistic expectations around your home environment according to your current stage of life.” said Chelsea.

Chelsea highly recommends taking the time to ruthlessly declutter high traffic areas of your home to ease the burden of cleaning and maintaining your home environment.

“When you have fewer items in your home, you have fewer things to clean. This means you'll spend less time dusting, sweeping, and wiping down surfaces, and more time with the ones you love – or just putting your feet up, cause you deserve it!”

As we spoke with Chelsea she was able to fill us in on several methods to help maintain a tidy home without sacrificing quality time with your kids.

1. Establish a cleaning routine that fits in your families schedule.
2. Set aside specific time each day or week for cleaning tasks such as vacuuming or wiping down surfaces.
3. Get your age appropriate kids involved in the cleaning process. Assign simple tasks such as picking up toys, unpacking the dishwasher or dusting surfaces.

What cleaning tasks are necessary after having children?

After having children, it's important to be kind to yourself and recognise that it's okay to let go of some household tasks in order to prioritise caring for your child and adjusting to your new role as a parent.

Let’s zone in and focus on the 3 tasks that are typically necessary to upkeep ensuring that the family’s needs are met:

• Cleaning up after meals: With kids, mealtime can get messy quickly. Wiping down surfaces, sweeping or vacuuming floors, and doing the dishes or running the dishwasher are all important tasks to keep your kitchen clean and hygienic.
• Laundering: Between dirty nappies, soiled clothing, mess and spills doing laundry frequently is a must. Prioritise washing one load of dirty washing per day, hang one load of washing out each day, and put one load of cleaning washing away each day.
• This ensures that the never ending cycle of laundry never builds up to an unmanageable state and that you and family never run out of clean clothing.
• Cleaning bathrooms: Bathrooms can become a breeding ground for germs, so it's essential to keep them clean. Wipe down surfaces, clean toilets, and mopping the floor weekly.

How do you work with families to develop a long-term cleaning plan?

We work with our Clients and Chaos to Calm members to support and empower them to develop their very own tailored long-term cleaning plan that reduces stress, saves time and increases productivity.

Here are some steps I would take to work with families to develop a customised cleaning plan:

• Assess the family's current situation: I would begin by discussing with the family their current cleaning routine, their goals, and any challenges they may be facing. This would involve looking at the size and layout of the home, the family's lifestyle and daily routine, and the ages and needs of their children.
• Identify key areas and priorities: Once we have a clear understanding of the family's current situation, we would identify key areas of the home that require regular cleaning and maintenance. We would prioritise these areas based on the family's needs and schedule, taking into account the age and needs of their children.
• Establish a cleaning schedule: Based on the family's needs and priorities, we would develop a tailored cleaning schedule that outlines specific tasks to be completed on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. This schedule would be designed to fit the family's lifestyle and schedule, while ensuring that all key areas of the home are regularly cleaned and maintained.
• Adapt the plan as needed: As the family's children grow and develop, their needs and schedules will change. I would work with the family to adapt their cleaning plan to meet their changing needs and priorities. For example, as children become more independent, they may take on more cleaning responsibilities or require less supervision during cleaning tasks.
• Provide ongoing support and guidance: I would provide ongoing support and guidance to the family as they implement their cleaning plan, offering tips and advice on how to maintain a clean and organised home while balancing the demands of family life.

You can look at more of what Chelsea does to help new parents here.

Or if you would like to learn more about home organisation and take part in Chelsea’s course, you can find out more here.