There’s a problem that homeowners all throughout the UK face: their house has been taken over by their kids. It starts out innocuously enough; perhaps a stray toy left in the living room, or a plastic submarine sitting on the side of the bath tub. Then the problem spreads – more toys, more noise, and more mess. Whilst that’s not necessarily a bad thing if you like to sit down to a jigsaw puzzle in the middle of the kitchen floor, if you prefer a bit of order and organisation in your life, you won’t want things to progress to this state! So if you want to save your home from the clutches of your children, try a few of the tips below:
Create a kiddie free zone
There are some places in the home that your kids just don’t need access to; the master bedroom suite is one of these. Keep at least one area just the way you like it – a lock on the door will handle this task perfectly. In London, loft conversions are popular for creating an entire floor of the home that belongs to the parents; they usually include a bedroom, walk in wardrobe and an en-suite bathroom. So even if you can’t stop the rot elsewhere, you’ll always have your own slice of heaven upstairs!
Get more organised
Sometimes all you need to do is enforce a little more order into the family home. By having one room specifically for the kids, you might find that the problem solves itself naturally. A snug or a playroom would be ideal for this; preferably somewhere you can close off when you have guests around to your house. However if you don’t have the advantage of extra space, try to be more organised by using storage solutions. Wooden toy boxes can double as a seat if you pop a cushion on the top, and it would be easy enough to run around collecting toys and dumping them inside if you were having people around.
Consider gifts at Christmas
Electronic toys are often at the top of Christmas gift wish lists, but consider the consequences in the months to follow. Will you be able to tolerate the noise all the time? Things like Furby may lead you to despair, so try and buy the things on the list that won’t result in you getting a never-ending headache. Items like games consoles are actually more preferable and convenient as they simply sit on the shelf; they will also support headphones and headsets so the rest of the family doesn’t have to listen to the sound effects.
Create rules for parties
Your own kids might be stressing you out now and then, but someone else’s kids are likely to be a whole other ballgame. Crazy birthday parties are enough to swear you off them for life, but you want to make your kids happy so try and put in a few rules instead. The best choice is to limit the number of children who are allowed to come to the house – bigger parties could be held in leisure centres or playgrounds. It’ll save you from worrying about drinks and food being dropped all over the floor and furnishings!