Anyone else living for good cleaning supplies lately? 

I don’t think I’ve ever had so many DM’s, interest or love for a vacuum in my blogging life but here we are. I did a Q&A a few weeks ago over on Instagram stories and was surprised that one of the most common questions I received was how to I keep our home so neat and organized. 

First, our house isn’t always clean and organized but overall I am very Type A and I know my girlfriends in Chicago always teased me about the neatness of our place. I don’t know that I have any rhyme or reason to my madness but I do love cleaning and clutter stresses me out so both of those things are huge motivating factors for me. 

I figured I would share a few things that keep me sane during the week and hope they help whether you have children or not. I know we are all at home a lot more these days and I am a firm believer that the environment you are in really affects your mood and having things in their place makes me significantly more productive! 

 

 

Invest in Organization 

I know in the past I had been hesitant to really pull the trigger on organization pieces. It can sometimes feel like they are really costly and may not get used but trust me, it will make a world of difference. Having a ‘place’ where things belong is half the battle for me and I’ve found great pieces at lower cost on Amazon and Target! Bins for Zain’s toys, lazy susan’s for beauty products and fridge items and so on. 

 

Declutter Daily/Weekly/Monthly

I don’t set aside specific days or times to declutter but try to make it a constant frame of mind. Instead of piling things up that you dread having to go through, make a habit of cleaning out your drawers, cabinets, closet every so often. It feels good to get rid of things you don’t need and will leave you feeling 100% lighter. 

 

Embrace Minimalism

I’m not saying get rid of everything you own but especially when it comes to having a child and toys, I am firm believer that less is more. In Chicago it was easy to limit toys for Zain since we were so limited on space but when we moved into our house I made an effort to not let it get out of control. Our den is where we spend most of our time and it luckily has great storage. I let Zain’s kitchen and tool bench stay out and tucked away under our bar and everything else has a bin in a drawer or cabinet. 

When quarantine started, I promised myself to invest in new arts and crafts and not toys. Zain is at the age where he enjoys activities more and then we don’t have a ton of new things laying around. If you are looking for some, I shared our favorites in this post! 

 

Rotate Toys

Before I realized this was called the Montessori Method, we were doing it and it works great. Aside from the den we have a small area on our third floor with a play tent and two fabric bins of toys from when Zain was much younger. I kept them around in case we had another baby and needed them. Now, I will rotate out toys between those bins and downstairs every so often so everything feels new and exciting. 

 

 

Clean up Daily

I a firm believer in not cleaning up after Zain alone 🙂 Every day before nap time, he puts away all of this things or we do it together and it’s nice not to come downstairs from putting him to bed to a messy living room. I think most kids don’t mind picking up especially when you do it with them and you can always sing ‘the clean up song‘ to really get them into it. 

I also try to tidy everything up nightly! Does that mean I get my dishes washed every night? No! However, I do try to vacuum our dining area and make sure everything is put away before I sit down after my shower. It just feels more peaceful and really let’s me relax. 

 

Get the Goods

I am guilty of this myself but invest in tools that will help you! Most of my favorite cleaning products and organizational tools are in my Amazon Shop and if I had to pick top 3 it would probably be:

 

Dyson V10 Cordless Vacuum 

I don’t know why I waited so long on this! Probably because they are pricey and I had a vacuum that worked? However, this thing has been life changing. Having no wires, being so light and effective and a battery that lasts a good while has been essential! I did a ton of research and went with the higher model refurbished. I wanted to extra perks of the V10 and have absolutely no complaints. I had never purchased a refurbished Dyson product but they come with a 60 day guarantee and I talked with several friends who had purchased their pieces the same way and not one person had a complaint! 

 

Folex Carpet Cleaner

This stuff is a godsend! It has honestly taken out every stain I have ever used it on and is always stocked in my home. Make sure you test it on different fabrics but I will say I’ve never had an issue with it. I’ve heard some linen blends can be tough so keep that in mind! 

 

Lazy Susan’s

I purchased these for our kitchen cabinets and my beauty cabinet and I love it. When you have deep cabinets things tend to keep getting shoved to the back and you may never see them again. Now, I have things organized by section and the spin makes it so easy to not feel overwhelmed. 

 

 

I hope this was somewhat helpful and cheers to some clean homes!