This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Keep up with Your Modern Family!
Get tips sent to you daily :
FOLLOW via RSS
Subscribe to Your Modern Family by Email

Is your house spotless today? Mine is not!

Kid friendly home

My home is clean.  I like to keep it clean- especially the kitchen (nothing that a roll of Sparkle and a bottle of cleaner won’t take care of!), but it is rarely spotless because I have kids and we like to play! It is a A kid friendly home.

Today our kids had EVERY SINGLE pillow from EVERY SINGLE room of the house all piled up in our living room, as they made their daily “fort”. They had blankets thrown over it and secret passageways in it.

I wanted to write this post to tell you that just because you have been following my 40 days to an organized house series and I may have my home “organized”, it does not mean that it is always “pristine”.

If you walked into my home when my kids are awake, you would see Superhero costumes on the ground…
superhero
You would see cut up paper on the table from the kids making crowns to be a King, forts in our living room, sippy cups on the table and kids running around.
invention-box

You would see kids building fun things, like Dinosaurs out of toilet paper rolls

siblings

You would hear: Laughing, Feet running on the ground, whining (of course!), phones ringing, kids talking in their “make-believe” voices and kids saying “CHEESE” as I snap some pictures here and there during their playtime.
crabby 5

As my Mom said, when we were talking about this post: If your house is like a showcase all of the time, but your children aren’t comfortable in it, what is the point?

Let your children play! Our kids know that we pick up when we are done, but that doesn’t have to be done right away. If they are playing with a board game and decide to use the little candy-land people or superheros to play pretend in their room (riding on their matchbox cars), who am I to stop their imagination?

indoor activities for kids

Yesterday our kids were shirt-less, covered in blue shaving cream. We did a science experiment and we decided to cover our counter-tops with the shaving cream. We drew in it, wrote in it, played in it. Our kids wanted to be “Santa” and put it on their faces. Yes, it got on our chairs (and yes it wipes right off). Yes, it got on our floors (and yes it wipes right up). Yes, it got on their pants (and yes they come clean in the washer). Yes- THEY HAD A BLAST (and yes, I did, too!)  They drew a few fun faces in it, too.

teaching weather

If they want to make “Monster Soup” (a giant bowl with a little bit of EVERYTHING in it- spices, sprinkles, food, paper, water, ice cubes…), while I am making dinner, why not let them!  Let the creativity flow…  or at least let them use their DIY creativity box!

They do clean up after themselves and do their own age-appropriate chores.  They do keep their rooms clean (with this rule), I do clean our house daily with my daily cleaning list  and I like it to be well taken care of.

Having an organized home is great because it keeps our life running smoothly so that I DON’T have to stop & clean. I Don’t have to stop & yell. I don’t have to stress-out about the mess. I know that this is their playground, their learning-place, their comfort zone… their home.

Are you ready for DAY 19? How to become a Stay at Home Mom on One Income
A woman lying on a couch holding a baby with text above her.

FOLLOW via RSS  to keep up with our 40 day journey!

ps- How our kids keep their rooms clean with this one easy rule…
teach your kids to clean their room

Hi there!

I’m Becky, a former elementary school teacher turned certified child development therapist and blogger. I work at home with my husband and together we are raising (and partially homeschooling) our four children in the Carolinas. I love diet coke, ice cream, and spending time with my family.

You May Also Like

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

19 Comments

  1. What fun to play in shaving cream. My little girl would love that! Visiting you today from Christian Mommy Blogger. Hope your weekend is a blast!

  2. I am looking forward to all of you insight! I’m struggling with keeping ahead and finding time for myself! I’m a mother of two little boys!

    1. Boys- a mess, but so fun! 😉 (as a mommy of 3 boys, I can relate!)

  3. What a GREAT post. I can completely relate! My house is organized but hardly picked up due to my kids doing what you described….using our home as a playground. Such a great way to look at it. I used to be sooo discouraged that my house wasn’t “perfect” and didn’t want to have anyone over because of it. Now I invite whoever wants to come over into my home and they understand we have kids and this is a home not a museum.

    I’m visiting from the Better Mom Monday link up and now following your blog via Facebook and Pinterest. Have a great week!

    1. Thanks- I’ll head over to your page, too. 🙂 I’m glad you can relate!!

  4. Our house is clean, but it’s a home full of paths of fun & creativity. It is far from perfect. I will have to check out some of your other posts. Glad you dropped in.Thanks for linking up & sharing @ DearCreatives.com Hope you are having a great week & I see you again soon!

  5. Great post! Kids and living always take precedence over neatness and order! Thanks so much for sharing on Busy Monday!

  6. I absolutely LOVE this post!
    I am working on the organized home part…. But I have to say it definitely has the “kids live here” look. Growing up my mom always had a spotless house. I am trying really hard to work against what was ingrained in me and let them get messy sometimes. We love shaving cream!

    1. I know- its hard to have a balance sometimes. 🙂 PS- we love shaving cream, too. I think they could play w/ it all day, every day. I’ll post another fun shaving cream activity this week that you just reminded me of!

  7. Can you PLEASE tell MY mother this?!? She always fussed at me when I was a child. I couldn’t have things in the floor unless I literally had my hands on them, and now she comes to my house and complains about the “mess” that my children are playing with. I love to let my little ones make crafts and we play lots of games. We don’t always pick them up right away. We get into a lot of arguments including the one where I kicked her out of my house for telling my children they needed to “clean up that mess” in my home, while working on a craft, at my table, WITH ME! yeah… house cleaning is a sore subject lol but I have lot’s of craft and educational game ideas and printable on my blog http://www.mt2sm.blogspot.com! I just joined the Don’t be a Bloghol Blog Hop ;)I hope you visit!

    1. I linked up there today, too! 🙂
      PS- not to worry- I just think that in ten years, my house will be spotless! haha!

  8. I love it! That is how my house is, you open a drawer or a cabinet and its all good… The floors,well, sport that “lived in” look.

  9. Yes! A kid friendly house can be organized but not anal! I can “pick up” my house and make if presentable in about 20 minutes if I have to… but most of the time, it’s happiness and chaos and that’s how I like it. 🙂