Today, Angelina from The Toy Time shares her top 3 home organization hacks to get rid of the mess that eats up our time cleaning up! Her full bio at the end of the post.

3 Home Organization Hacks to get Rid of the Mess!

Are you a new mom? One of the biggest complaints that new moms have (besides always being sleep-deprived) is that they never find time to get things done at home. 

Why?

Because you either have:

1.A demanding, attention-seeking, permanent attachment to your leg (for moms of younger kids) or

2. Someone who messes up all the good work and organizing that you do at home (think messy kids) or

3.Both.

Before you had kids, you were able to clean your entire house in an hour. Now that you have kids, not only is your house extra messy but you are lucky if you are able to find any time to clean.

Before you had kids, you could take the whole evening to focus on cooking. Now that you have kids, you are lucky if you can squeeze in 15 minutes of cooking time without your kids fighting, crying or destroying some part of your house.

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Sometimes, it feels like for every one step forward you take, you are set back two steps by your little angels.

Yet don’t despair, it is not all lost. It is possible to have a reasonably clean home, freshly-cooked meals and some form of social life without giving your kids up for adoption.

Here are 3 getting organized ideas to help you achieve this.

1. Train Independence & Responsibility

Your goal is to train your kids to play independently by themselves and take responsibility for clearing up their own messes.

There are many moms who are good-hearted, kind, caring and nurturing. However, while they are amazing moms, tough love is also important.

While it is kind of cute when a 1-year-old creates an unholy mess, it is not so cute when it is a 14-year-old.

As our kids grow up, we sometimes find it hard to forget those times when our young babies needed us all the time. Instead of stepping back and letting our kids take charge, we continue to do everything for them.

I myself am terribly guilty of this. I have found that when I let go, my kid sometimes surprises me when I least expect it.

Of course, your child may perform the job imperfectly but restrain from any criticism as much as you can (unless there is potential harm involved). When it comes to getting things done at home, it’s better to have an imperfect job done rather than it not being done at all.

2. Get Help

Moms, we don’t need to suffer alone.

There are actually many ways to find help with child care, cleaning, housework and getting things done. You just need to do a little bit of work in researching and setting it up in the beginning.

For child care, some of you are lucky enough to have willing grandparents who live close by but if not, train your spouse to step in. Neighbours can also be great backup carers.

If you can afford it, train a nanny, babysitter or au pair to look after your child so that you can go out on date nights with your spouse.

RELATED: How to Find a Good Babysitter

There is also the choice of sending your kids to daycare or preschool during the day so that you can get some work done.

If it’s cooking or cleaning that you can’t stand and have no energy or time for, hire a cleaner or sign up for a meal delivery service.

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If you don’t have a family you can depend on or funds to employ someone, consider getting a few moms who you trust to create your own babysitting exchange. You should look for moms who only have one or at most two kids and live not too far away from you. The kids should also roughly be around the same age so that it’s easier to keep them all together doing the same activities.

It makes a world of difference if you have backup carers that you can depend on. Not only can you take a break when you need one but you will be able to get a lot more things done.

3. Kid Distraction Strategies

Every single mom who has a young kid needs to have some kid distraction strategies for use at home.

The most effective ones I have found for young kids are:

a) iPad or smartphone apps and YouTube channels (make sure that everything is age-appropriate, including the ads shown)

b) TV cartoons

c) Toys that require engagement from your child such as playdough, puzzles and building toys such as LEGO and magnetic building sets. If you have more than one child and they play together well, imaginary play such as playhouses can work really well. If you have a newborn, then tummy time toys are essential.

d) Coloring books or some other type of art-tool like washable markers or chalk (just make sure that your child only uses them in a space where you won’t worry about things getting drawn on).

I realize that the organizing tips above do need some effort, cost and time for implementation. But once it is set up properly, you will reap the rewards of having more time and energy to get things done at home. So make it a priority to carve out time in your day to figure out what will work best in your situation. These tips on how to get things done at home is certainly a start to get rid of the mess! 

Guest post By Angelina Swift, a mother, blogger, toy-expert and co-owner of TheToyTime.comVisit her page for more home organization hacks and parenting recommendations.