After more than 20 years of running a household and raising seven children, I’ve learnt something very important about cleaning:
A clean home does not have to be a perfect home.
I love watching beautifully organised homes and satisfying cleaning videos as much as anyone, but that isn’t what I’m aiming for in my own house.
I want our home to be livable, breathable, relaxing, welcoming and clean.
With a large family, there will always be washing. There will always be dishes. Someone will drop something on the floor approximately five minutes after you’ve cleaned it, and somehow every available surface will eventually attract a mysterious pile of papers!
Over the years, though, I’ve found some habits that make keeping on top of everything much easier.
Here are my best cleaning tips after raising seven children.
1. Keep Your Floor Under Control
One of the quickest ways to make the whole house feel cleaner is to clean the floor.
With children constantly coming in and out of the house, ours can become dirty surprisingly quickly. In warmer weather especially, there’s mud, crumbs and goodness knows what else being brought inside.
We have mostly laminate flooring, which I’ve found very practical with younger children.
You don’t need anything complicated. A traditional mop and bucket, hot water and a suitable floor cleaner work perfectly well.
How often you need to mop will depend on your household. During warmer months, I might mop two or three times a week, whereas during quieter periods once a week may be enough.
And don’t underestimate a quick sweep. Sometimes simply brushing the floor and removing all the obvious bits instantly makes the room feel better.
2. Always Clean From Top to Bottom
This is such a simple rule but it makes perfect sense.
If you’re cleaning the kitchen, don’t mop the floor first and then start wiping cupboards and worktops. You’ll only knock crumbs and dirt back onto your lovely clean floor.
Instead, start higher up and gradually work down:
Cupboards and shelves → worktops and surfaces → appliances → floor.
Your floor should generally be one of the last things you clean.
3. You Don’t Need Twenty Different Cleaning Products
Cleaning aisles can make you feel as though you need a specialist bottle for every square metre of your house.
You really don’t.
A good all-purpose cleaner, washing-up liquid, floor cleaner, microfibre cloths and a few suitable scrubbers will cover an enormous amount of everyday cleaning.
I do sometimes buy separate bathroom or kitchen sprays because I enjoy the different scents, but they’re certainly not essential.
And an important reminder: never randomly mix cleaning chemicals. Some combinations can produce dangerous gases. Use products according to their labels rather than assuming that combining two cleaners will make something twice as clean!
4. Don’t Forget the Fabrics
Sometimes a house looks clean but still doesn’t feel fresh.
The culprit can be the fabrics.
Think about everything that absorbs smells and moisture:
Sofas, throws, cushion covers, curtains, bedding and rugs can all contribute to that slightly musty feeling.
Wash removable sofa covers and throws regularly if you can, particularly in a busy family home.
I also try to change bedding regularly. Weekly is lovely if you can manage it, but life happens!
And one of the simplest things you can do is open the windows.
Even during cooler weather, airing the house for a little while can make such a difference.
5. Keep On Top of Bathrooms and Toilets
Bathrooms are one of those areas where a little maintenance is much easier than dealing with a huge clean later.
Regularly clean the toilet, sink and surrounding surfaces and deal with any damp or mould appropriately rather than allowing it to build up.
Bathrooms are particularly prone to moisture, especially if ventilation isn’t brilliant, so ventilation matters too.
The aim isn’t to spend hours scrubbing your bathroom. It’s to prevent the dirt from getting to the stage where you need to spend hours scrubbing it!
6. Try to Go to Bed With an Empty Kitchen Sink
This is one I don’t manage every single night.
But I notice the difference when I do.
There is something wonderfully satisfying about coming downstairs in the morning and seeing an empty sink instead of last night’s pots and pans waiting for you.
With a large family, our sink can fill up incredibly quickly, so we wash dishes throughout the day rather than allowing everything to accumulate.
The children can help too.
If you’re old enough to use six different glasses during the day, you’re probably old enough to wash one of them!
That sounds fair to me. 😂
If you’re exhausted, though, go to bed. A few dirty dishes are not worth sacrificing desperately needed sleep for.
7. Deal With Mould and Damp Early
Mould is one of those household problems that is much easier to tackle when you first notice it.
We have areas around windows and bathroom tiles that can be particularly susceptible, so I keep an eye on them and clean them when necessary using an appropriate mould-removal product.
Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions, ventilate the area properly and check that the product is suitable for the surface you’re cleaning.
Most importantly, don’t ignore recurring mould. Cleaning removes what you can see, but persistent damp or mould may indicate an underlying moisture or ventilation problem that needs addressing.
8. Clean Glass and Mirrors Properly
Clean mirrors and windows can make an entire room look brighter.
I usually remove the first layer of dirt with a damp microfibre cloth and suitable cleaner before finishing with glass cleaner and a squeegee.
You don’t need expensive equipment.
A basic glass cleaner, microfibre cloth and inexpensive squeegee can give you lovely results.
9. Stay Ahead of the Bins
This might not be the most glamorous cleaning advice I’ve ever given, but good bin bags matter!
After having bags split at exactly the wrong moment, I’ve learnt to buy reasonably strong ones with handles or drawstrings.
It’s also worth knowing your local bin and recycling collection days.
Rubbish piling up inside or outside the house can quickly make everything feel chaotic, so this is another small household system that makes a surprisingly big difference.
10. Don’t Let Laundry Become a Mountain
Laundry is never truly “finished” in a large household.
I’ve accepted this. 😂
Rather than waiting until every basket is overflowing, I prefer to run the washing machine regularly. In our house that can mean almost every day.
Once the washing is finished, try to take it out promptly. Leaving damp clothes sitting inside the machine can result in that horrible smell — and then you’ve created more work because everything needs washing again.
When the British weather decides to cooperate, I love drying washing outside.
The other important part is actually putting the clothes away.
If you can fold and put things away immediately, you’re doing better than me! Otherwise, choose a regular laundry-putting-away day so the clean washing doesn’t permanently relocate to the chair.
We all know the chair.
Get the Children Involved
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt from having seven children is that maintaining the home shouldn’t automatically become one person’s responsibility.
Children can help according to their age and ability.
Simple jobs such as sweeping, putting clothes away, tidying belongings or helping with dishes teach children that looking after a home is simply part of everyday life.
You may occasionally discover that the beautifully folded clothes you’ve handed them have been shoved into the bottom of a wardrobe.
I’m afraid I haven’t discovered a cleaning product that fixes that yet.
Bonus Tip: Add Some Houseplants
This one isn’t technically cleaning, but I love having plants around the house.
A little greenery can make a room feel calmer, fresher and more welcoming without needing an expensive makeover.
If you’re not particularly good at keeping plants alive, choose forgiving varieties such as snake plants, spider plants or pothos.
They don’t magically replace proper cleaning or ventilation, of course, but visually they can make a simple, clean room feel much more peaceful.
The Most Important Cleaning Lesson I’ve Learnt
After all these years, perhaps my biggest piece of advice is this:
Don’t aim for perfection. Aim for a home that works for the people living in it.
There have been periods of my life when keeping the house tidy was incredibly difficult. When I was completing my teacher training while raising four children and had recently had a baby, cleaning certainly wasn’t running like a beautifully organised Instagram account.
Sometimes life is busy. Sometimes you’re exhausted. Sometimes other things simply matter more.
The goal isn’t to never have a messy house.
The goal is to develop a few simple habits that stop everyday mess becoming completely overwhelming.
Keep the floors reasonably clean. Wipe your surfaces. Stay on top of dishes and laundry as best you can. Air the house. Declutter when things begin accumulating. Let the family help.
And then go and enjoy your home.
Because ultimately, we’re not cleaning our homes so that we can spend our lives cleaning them.
We’re cleaning them so that we have somewhere comfortable to live our lives.
