It can be difficult to keep your home looking pristine with kids running around. Whether you run a daycare center or have small children in your home, there are many ways you can help protect your home from damage. Below are some tips to help keep your home safe from kids and their messes.

Encourage Proper Clean-up

If your child has a tendency of leaving their trash everywhere, it’s time to teach your kids about the importance of proper disposal. Don’t worry, you can make this fun by teaching your kids about biodegradable alternatives! For instance, if your kids love snacks like bananas, create a composting bin for them to throw away their mess. Even wool is 100% biodegradable, so there are many opportunities for your children to properly dispose of the trash while helping the environment and keeping your home clean.

Shelter Your Outdoor Areas

If you have an outdoor area, such as a playground or desk, it’s a good idea to shelter your outdoor areas with the help of a tarp or a canopy. Sheltering your tarp or outdoor area allows your kids to play outside, keeping the mess outdoors instead of indoors. Around 60% of homeowners said the main reason they didn’t spend time outdoors was a lack of shelter from the elements.

You can install a tarp easily on the outside of your playground, and you can help create a safe space for your children to play outside. In addition, protecting your outdoor space from the elements also prevents mud and messy debris from forming. Your kids won’t track this mud indoors.

Add Stain Protection to Carpets

Adding stain protection to your carpets is one of the easiest ways to protect your carpets from messy kids and adults alike. In fact, 75% of people admitted to wearing their outdoor shoes indoors! If you have carpet throughout the home, it’s best to add a layer of stain protection so your carpet won’t be damaged by debris, mud, and other messy spills. You can also lay down rugs over your main carpet and in front of entryways. However, you’ll need to provide slip protection so kids don’t trip over their feet within your home.

Set Boundaries for Children

While it may be tempting to let your kids play wherever they want, it’s important to set boundaries for them. For example, if you have an office that has important documents, let your kids know it’s not appropriate for them to play inside the office. If your kids are stubborn, it’s best to set boundaries through consequences such as cutting playtime. While it may be difficult to set boundaries at first, your kids will learn to stay away from certain areas of the home, and you can feel at ease knowing your children won’t damage areas of the home.

Organize Regularly

One of the best ways to organize your home and keep it free of messes is to declutter it regularly. The best way to declutter your home is with the help of your kids. Set up areas such as toy boxes, cubbies, or spaces to store their favorite activities. You can also take this time to tidy up around the home, such as the kitchen and living room areas.

Set aside around two hours a day to organize your home. You can set up a time during the morning and then during the evening to put away toys and organize the home. You can even make this activity fun by incorporating singing, organizational games, and teaching kids about colors and numbers.

These tips above can help keep your home clean despite kids running around. While it might be difficult to start implementing these habits, it’s better to start your children early on when organizing, tidying up, and setting boundaries.