How We Keep Our Living/Family Room Clean

At the start of the year, my husband and I decided on a whim to change up the layout of our sectional sofa in our main family room. It opened up the entire room and I’m so glad that it’s held up to be one of the consistently, clean rooms in our house. Our family room is also where we have the most hardwood flooring. (The second floor hallways also have hardwood floors.)

Here’s how we keep our living/family room clean (almost) daily:

1.) NO MORE TOYS

When we rearranged the furniture, we also moved the boys’ small play area and ALL OF THE TOYS down to the basement play room. While I realize that my days may be numbered before the toys slowly start creeping up from their basement dwelling, I’m enjoying the clutter free space for as long as possible. During the winter months, the older boys spend a lot of time in the basement play area, so it’s worked out for us so far to be toy free in our family room.

2.) HARDWOOD FLOOR MOP

We use a Swiffer and a Bona Hardwood Floor Mop as our go to products to keep the hardwood floors mess and dirt free. Sometimes, we also just use warm water and a regular mop to wipe down the floors.

It doesn’t take long for us to clean the floors if we keep up the maintenance 2x a week. But, sometimes, life happens and mopping doesn’t happen for weeks at a time. We’re slowly starting to learn how to care for our hardwood floors and these two items are great tools to have in our cleaning arsenal.

(Bonus: The boys usually fight over who gets to help clean the floors, which is always welcomed by me!)

3.) NO SHOES

Culturally, I grew up in a no shoes indoors household. It’s something that my husband loves and we’ve incorporated into our home as well. With three little boys, I know that it does and will continue to help keep (most of) the mud and dirt and grime outdoors where it belongs. Recently, we got the boys a couple of pairs of slippers that they like to wear around the house. I need to get a pair for myself too!

4.) PICKING UP AFTER BEDTIME

Picking up after bedtime is no longer as big of a feat, since there usually isn’t much to pick up. I fold and put away any blankets in the oversize storage ottoman and do a quick clean with the BonaMop some nights too. I can’t stress enough how liberating it is to not have multiple places in our house that is cluttered with toys. I’m REALLY hoping this lasts and we can contain the toy chaos within the play room.

5.) ROBOT VACCUM

Every night after dinner time, we have our iRobot run throughout the first floor. It contains our every day messes and picks up all of Bailey’s dog fur, too. How I lived before this invention is beyond my imagination. We got ours for a great deal at Kohl’s during one of their home sales.

Do you have a toy free zone in your house? What are some of your tips on how to keep our living/family room clean?