This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my Amazon affiliate disclosure at the bottom of this page or click here
This is a list of 30 essential housework tips for busy mothers. The best housework hacks that make managing the family household just that bit more simple.
Essential Housework Tips
Oh my, oh my how do such little people, aka your children, generate so much housework?
If it’s not the obstacle course of toys strewn across the sitting room floor…
…it’s the piles and piles of paint
… and worse …
… the stained clothes that are so fiddly to hang on the line …
… or the trail of sand, mud and who knows what that comes in on their shoes …
… the carnage in the bathroom …
… the indescribable mess of potty training …
… the school bags that must be got ready …
Now I have by no means mastered the art of keeping a completely spotless house at all times.
I’m not totally sure I want to.
But I have found a bunch of really simple, really quick, really easy cleaning tips, hacks and habits that do stop our house from descending into complete chaos on a daily basis.
I’ve popped them into a quick-read list, take a look and see which you can start using straight away to make your life just that bit easier.
Essential Housework Tips
- Run the dishwasher after supper, empty it first thing, fill it as you go
- Never let towels out of the bathroom – they will be left in a soggy heap
- Bathrooms get mucky after a few days so a big weekly clean is a waste of time
- Quickly wipe round bathroom basin, top of the bath, loo every other day
- Keep cleaning stuff in each bathroom/cloakroom
- Keep bin bags upstairs so you can easily empty bins without bringing down
- Enforce ALL dirty clothes in the laundry basket before bedtime stories rule
- Hang up clothes that could be worn again … cuts down laundry
- Have a laundry routine and stick to it
- Be absolutely brutal about the ironing – work and best clothes only
- Hang everything up as soon as it’s dry … iron when it’s needed
- Make it fun … but enforce a two minute “tidy up time” of toys every day
- Have a large basket into which stuff to go upstairs can be stashed throughout the week
- Empty the stuff basket and put things back where they belong once a week
- Making the beds only takes a minute and it will make you feel more in control
- Get everyone to take their shoes off when they come into the house
- Start a basic housework routine … that actually works for you …
- 15-30 mins housework daily more effective than a big blast
- Clean against a hard deadline e.g. school run … you’ll be much more efficient
- Start cleaning from the bottom of the house up … this is the bit visitors see
- Stock up on baking soda & white vinegar … there’s not much they can’t clean
- Get a telescopic real feather duster, it will dust a room top to bottom in no time
- Run baking soda and vinegar through your dishwasher every six months to keep it fresh
- Run vinegar through the washing machine every six months to keep it fresh
- Give children a spray bottle of water and a cloth so they can “help”
- Get a Spring cleaning check-list and do one thing off it every week
- Even if it’s just a few baskets and a pinboard have a “command centre” for post and notices
- Always cook double quantities … and freeze one quantity to eat at another mealtime
- However short you are on time do something … 5 mins daily is better than nothing
- If you’re stuck … ask a mommy blogger … they’ll always have the answer!!
I do hope you found these essential housework tips helpful.
Want more tips? Check out the household section which is full of super simple, sanity-saving, planet-friendly tips.
Pin to save:


Luci is the founder of Mums Make Lists. She has written about all aspects of organising family life for ten years. Her main areas of expertise are family finance and budgeting, simplifying housekeeping and family admin and kids’ party planning. Read more.
Mary Catherine
Thursday 18th of July 2013
What a wonderful list! Can you please come to my house?!? :)
Jason&Jamie Koenig
Wednesday 17th of July 2013
Wow need to print out this whole list for my house. ty for sharing new follower.
Anne M
Wednesday 17th of July 2013
Hi Alice. Thanks so much for linking up to Thriving on Thursday. Some great tips in your list. Your post will be featured at tomorrow's party.
Anne xx
Stacy
Tuesday 16th of July 2013
This is really great! I hope to share some of your tips on Facebook throughout the week. :-)Visiting from Ladybug Blessings. ~Stacy @ Stacy Makes Cents
Ann Jones
Thursday 11th of July 2013
I agree about baking soda and vinegar, they are awesome for cleaning just about anything!