Even though I do not spend a lot of time cleaning my house on a daily basis, I do spend time everyday picking it up. It is much easier to pick up things and keep a house tidy if you have a specific place for things.
So, if you want to start faking a clean house, even on the days you can't do much of anything, start finding homes for things today and practice putting everything from garbage to clothes and paperwork where it belongs.
Having your home generally picked up will help things look clean - especially when your children have every toy you own scattered around. At least it will be clean, except for the toys.
One more plus, when you have a home for things and you work on putting things away on a daily basis, your home will be much easier to clean because the picking up part is already done.
In our home we have some toy-free zones. Everyone but little babies can follow that rule and it really does help contain things to their spaces, just a little more. And teaching children to clean up after themselves is a great life skill to learn.
Take time everyday to put things away - even several times a day - and set a good example for your children. If things are really bad, set a timer for 5-10 minutes at a time and see what you can get put away. A quick clean up after every meal really does make a difference. And at the end of the day, start making it a habit to clean things up. Tomorrow's you will thank you for the clean kitchen and a picked up house.
I think I get most of my picking up done right before I want to take a picture of my kids but want our house to pretend it's clean.
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