Dummy's guide to keeping a house clean

I work full time, 40 hours a week, and have 2 small children and a husband. How do you think my house looks? A filthy pig sty? Toys everywhere? A sink full of dirty dishes? 

Wrong. The key to my heart is a clean house, and cheez its, and pizza. But mostly a clean house. I want Xavier to be a great husband someday starting by picking up after himself. I have instilled in him from the beginning how to pick up after himself. At 4 years old he folds his own laundry, makes his bed, cleans his room. Before I know it he will be cleaning my whole house. I kid, I Kid . .that would be wrong. Kind of. 

Since the key to my heart is a clean house. I do have a hard time spending my 2 days off from work doing a deep clean on my house. I want to be with my babies :-) I can totally justify having a housekeeper once a month- THIS IS WORTH EVERY PENNY. IF YOU CAN DO IT, THEN DO IT. YOU WILL NOT REGRET SPENDING A DIME OF THIS MONEY.

Below are some tips on how to keep your house neat, tidy and looking nice all while managing through dirty diapers and super hero melt downs.

1. After each meal clean the table and sweep the floors. This takes 3 minutes and makes a kitchen so much cleaner if simply the table and floors are looking shiny.
2. This step is EASY and will make a world of difference at the end of the day! Pick up what you took out! Don't let things build up, if you put it away when directly after your done with it you will avoid a TON of clutter
3.  Clean up the kitchen right when you are done cooking. The longer you wait, the harder it is to get motivation to get it clean. 
4. Before I go to bed each night I tidy the pillows on the couch, line up the shoes by the door, make sure all toys are put away, towels are nice and neat in the bathroom etc. A little OCD? Maybe, but who likes waking up to a messy house!
5. Seriously . .just teach everyone to pick up after themselves. I am nobody's slave, everyone knows how to put a dirty dish in the sink. Consistently make them do it. 
6. Make your kids eat at the table and not walk around with sippy cups and snacks. If I see a cracker crumb on my couch I might flip my lid.
7. Make your kids/husband put their clothes in a designated dirty clothes hamper/pile/whatever you choose it to be. Lets be honest dirty kids clothes can build up and make a mess quick. Xavier puts his clothes away each night, therefore I NEVER have to see his clothes piled around the house.
8. Keep antibacterial wipes in each bathroom. This can clean up a bathroom mess nice and quick.
9. Fold your clean clothes and put them away immediately. This goes back to step #3, the longer you wait, the quicker your clean clothes will just pile up and look like more of a mess than anything.

I could probably go on forever. But the moral of the story is- Take the extra 2 minutes to do things right the first time, and put crap away. There. That simple. Do it.