Instead of being irritated by the clutter in the living room, the food stuck on the counters, and the laundry piling up, it’s time to take action! Here are some great ways to keep up with the mess before it takes over your life.

1. Create a Routine
   Because everyone’s schedule and family routine may be a little different, cleaning schedules for working moms and dads should be based on your family routine, work hours, and fun time.
2. Stock Up On Supplies in Advance
   It is frustrating to get hyped up to clean your house only to discover that you are out of bathroom cleaner. Do a monthly supply inventory check of which cleaners you have and which you need to buy so when you are ready to clean, nothing will stand in your way
3. Pick Up a Few Times a Day
   Here is another good cleaning tip for busy moms and dads: divide your home into three working zones and spend 10 to 15 minutes a day picking up and decluttering each zone. This creates a slow and steady decluttering process rather than a major cleanup at the end of each day that will leave you exhausted.
4. Touch Something Once
   The rule is a simple one: put away what you take out. Teach your children the “one touch” rule, which is the philosophy of only touching something once before putting it away. For example, if you take crackers out of the pantry to eat, put them away as soon as you’re finished. This simple exercise avoids messes piling up in your home throughout the day.
5. Do Laundry Every Day
   How do you incorporate a load of laundry every day into a busy mom cleaning schedule? The truth is, if you have a busy household, then doing at least one load of laundry each day is more manageable than six loads on the weekend. Not only is doing all of your laundry in one day overwhelming, it’s probably not how you want to spend your weekends either. Instead, keep up with the laundry by completing one load a day during the week and save your time off for fun. After each load is clean and dry, don’t wait, fold it and put it away the same day. This will keep it from piling up at the end of the week.