In our former lives dwelling in a house of nine people and a shaggy dog the size of a Harley, floors could get pretty dirty. I can think of about 18,274 things I would rather be doing than sweeping or mopping. (Vacuuming I don’t mind, since it involves chasing down a laughing six-year-old boy who double dog dares me to vacuum up his toes, so that qualifies as family bonding.)
As the great (and tidy) Benjamin Franklin once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Applied to floors, it means “Don’t get them dirty in the first place and you won’t have to clean them.” (Forehead smack.) Why didn’t I think of that seven children ago?
As my gift to you other forehead smackers, here are ten tips for keeping your floors clean without actually cleaning (much).
10 Tips for Clean Floors
Eat only at the table. This especially holds true if you have children or a hole in your lip (the most common excuse grown-ups use for spills). In good weather, shoo everyone outside to eat and call it a picnic.
Don’t wear shoes in the house. This at first appears to fly in the face of some theories such as the Flylady’s dress to shoes philosophy, but you can switch to house shoes when at home. Optionally, put comfy slippers on. Don’t wear your house shoes or slippers outside…unless the house is on fire, naturally.
Brush your pets daily…outside. It will significantly reduce the amount of pet hair on your floors…and in your food.
Feed your pets on a mat or outside. They might plead with those big brown puppy eyes to eat elsewhere, but resist. Resist!
Use one entrance to your home as much as possible. This confines the majority of the tracked-in dirt to one location.
Place mats on the floor near sinks and toilets. Better the spills and leaks go into a washable mat than onto the floor where they will get stepped in and tracked all over your carpet by a small child looking for Mama to announce “I missed.”
Cut back on floor clutter. The less you have on the floor, the easier it is to do quick maintenance cleans and prevent little messes from becoming ground in floor disasters.
Place floor mats inside each door and welcome mats outside of each door. This will trap a lot of dirt and debris. If you place a funky boot scraper/brush out there as well, people might (but no guarantee) use it.
Clean up spills immediately. It’s easier to wipe up the PBJ splatters right away than to scrub them out of your carpet and off your couch after someone steps in it…and someone will step in it.
Keep strollers and other outside “vehicles” outside. No parking the mini van in the family room. If tricycles and wagons must come in (and at our house, they must), run them over the welcome mat a few times, or pop shower caps on the wheels.
And a bonus tip: get a dog…with a big tongue…and name him Mop.
What’s your best tip for clean floors without actually cleaning (much)?
Linked up to Weekend Whatever, Teach Me Tuesday and Works-For-Me Wednesday.
Shower caps on wheels…simply genius.
It’s borrowed genius, I’m afraid. 😉 Companies used to sell wheel covers that were much like shower caps…only expensive. They have all sorts of floor savers in Britain, but I couldn’t find anything better than shower caps here in America.
Hahahahahaha! I think this is my favorite post of all time from you. 🙂 And I agree about floor clutter. Since we have staged our home, everything is gone and it’s a LOT easier to mop and sweep – and I like this way. Clutter, be gone!
AMEN! Clutter be gone! You’re speaking my language.
LOL! I want to name a dog “Mop” now! ;D
Me too! A long haired white dog…Mopsy if it’s a girl. (I’ve thought about this far too long!)
The dog named “Mop” was my eight-year-old’s idea. She’s got a touch of genius in her. 🙂
You guys are too cute! I love Mopsy 🙂
I just love your posts! I agree that floor clutter just makes cleaning harder. I also sadly admit that I don’t brush our dogs often enough…..ok I never brush our dogs 🙁
Thank you, Danielle!
That’s okay! Brushing our dog fell by the wayside when my daughter got sick last spring, and the hair gets into everything. I tried to teach him to clean up after himself, but there’s that whole thing about old dog and new tricks, so…I’ll have to assign a child or three to brushing again.
Very funny and very practical ideas! Just like you – funny and practical! I’ve got the clutter thing down (of course, on certain days, out the window it goes), the eating ONLY at the table – that is a big one we have to work on, and not just the kids (Daddy likes to eat in various places that do not include the kitchen table!)so this idea is a must for us! I love the “MOP” dog, I think MR.Weenie is so low to the floor that he could possibly qualify as a mop, ok, a dust-mop/swiffer 🙂 Love the post! Smiles!
Hi Tammy!!!
Couldn’t you strap some swiffer pads to Mr. Weenie’s belly and tail and let him handle the floors? Just a thought. 😉
It’s great to hear from you!
We do all of these except I’ve been letting the kids picnic in the living room (can’t handle sitting on the kitchen chairs for now). But I do find myself vacuuming most everyday. And people think we are weird for taking our shoes off. Silly people don’t know what’s good for them 😉
We do that, too! On a blanket in the family room. Great minds, Girl! 😉
I rely heavily on #1 — because I also don’t like to vacuum under the couch cushions or clean the carpets more often than necessary.
Great post; thanks!
There are better ways to spend the days than vacuuming under couch cushions — you’ve got that right! 🙂
🙂
Great tips! We live in the country so taking our shoes off on the porch is a must for my sanity. My tip for when the floors do get bad enough that you have to mop or risk having your house declared a health hazard: pirate music! If I bring out a mop and put on the sound track to Pirates of the Carribean I have kids lining up to “swab the decks”.
Ha ha! Love it! I’m going to try that with my deck swabbers.
Great ideas! I don’t have a dog but believe me my two children and husband can certainly still track in some dirt! I am going to get them going on leaving shoes at the door!! Thanks for posting!
Oh, I know what you mean! 🙂
A nice basket or small shelf near the door helps with the shoes off reminder.
Our dog gets let inside after every family meal to clean the floor. This is why I got a dog in the first place. He knows right where to look, too. Beeline for the high chair first, then under the kids chairs and finally around the kitchen floor because I am a very sloppy chef! I never thought to name him “Mop” though. Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
It’s a great reason to have a dog! 😉
Great tips. Too bad I can’t take the cats outside (apartment rules: only indoor cats). I like the no shoes rule though. Besides, who doesn’t like comfy slippers?
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