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As amazing as kids are, the concept of a tidy room simply escapes their free-spirited minds. And every mom is painfully aware of how much mess a single child can make, let alone a house full of little rascals running around.

In the evolution of momhood, every single mom, myself included, has had to find an effective strategy for cleaning and organizing her space. It always comes down to a few steadfast rules. If you want to save some time…then read on to perfect your tidying adventures for a family-friendly home.

Make it fun for the kids

If you can’t defeat them – join forces with them! If your kids are anything like mine – hyperactive – you will need to use your creative wiles to turn cleaning into a fun activity they will enjoy.

We have a morning ritual that involves playing a different upbeat song, during which the kids need to make their beds and get ready for breakfast. Until now, their absolute favorite songs have been Tutti Frutti by Little Richard and Elvis’ Jailhouse Rock.

I use the same strategy for teeth brushing, organizing laundry into the basket and dish-washing. When we have a family lunch to make, it gets even more exciting and we have several playlists ready to keep the spirit up even during the tedious tasks. It works like a charm, especially if there’s a piece of cake to look forward to afterwards!

Keep the air clean

If I kept every single knickknack or trinket we’ve been given in the past few years, we wouldn’t have a place to sit. However, having kids makes it almost impossible to have a minimalistic lifestyle, because there are always extra toys, books and clothes around. Instead, we’ve found an ongoing system to maintain perfect balance.

In addition to using long-lasting green cleaning supplies to dirt-proof our home, we have a few sturdy, low-maintenance plants strategically placed around the house. In addition to our kids’ artwork and photo frames, they are the only decoration that gives our home a simple, organic look, and they do a perfect job at teaching our kids responsibility.

A couple of high-quality Oransi air purifiers around the house – in the kids’ room and the living room – have been doing an amazing job at removing pollutants and allergens in order to keep our indoor air squeaky clean!

Become a meal-prep mommy

A significant portion of my time used to be wasted on daily cooking, baking and food making. However, if you want to have a versatile weekly menu, a never-ending supply of healthy food and much more time to devote to other relevant chores and tasks – start meal prepping once a week!

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Make sure you have plenty of containers, labels and markers, and set aside a few hours once a week (my personal preference is Sunday), and have a family meal plan for the week. You can chop all your smoothie, snack and salad ingredients and keep them in jars and glass containers such as Kinetic Go Green. Then, you can cook rice, and prepare meat for at least a few days in advance, or the entire week if you have a freezer.

You can also boil eggs, set aside your spices and herbs for every lunch, and the next time you need to make a meal, you will save yourself at least half an hour of mincing, chopping and arranging before putting the dish in the oven or on the stove. Meanwhile, you can talk to your kids, do the laundry or read a few chapters of your favorite book!

While you will have to let go of your inner perfectionist and settle for a semi-tidy playground home, you can use these time-saving tips to keep your space clean, kid-friendly and save hours of your precious time for many other tasks that momhood entails!

What other tips do you have to add to this list? Comment below!