Running a home can be hard work when you have children running around and making mess wherever they go however there are things you can do to help run your home more smoothly.
Designate a play area
We have half of our dining room a place for Blake to play. We have it set up with a soft mat to play on and a bean bag incase he wants to sit and read.
Cover the sofa
Using a washable throw is a great idea to protect your sofa from sticky finger marks and it can just be chucked into the washing machine.
Tidy as you go along
This is a habit that we need to start doing more often as it will save us a lot of time in the long run.
Great storage solutions
Toys get everywhere and so having a wide range of places to keep toys out the way is important. We have a cube unit and 6 boxes out of the 12 are for blake's toys. He also has a small one for books, a little unit for crafts and last of all 2 toy boxes. One is up in his bedroom which stores his cuddly toys in. The other is behind the sofa as part of the play area which has a variety of toys in.
Have an area for coats and shoes to go
I find that coats and shoes tend to get dumped on the floor so an area for coats and shoes to go is a great idea. We have coat pegs including ones that are at Blake's level so he can put his own away. We don't own too many shoes between us so we use a wicker basket to store them in.
Cleaning Products
We have a wide range of cleaning products and I'll do a post on that at some point. As well as cleaning products don't forget it's a good idea to have a good quality hoover ours is a shark incase you were wondering.
Invest in items that save you time
Forget soap bars, buy flip top toothpastes, invest in a toothbrush holder, have a toilet role holder that you don't have to unscrew each time to replace one.