Moms know how quickly ick can pile up. If you feel like your family tracks dirt into your house all day every day, you need these tips for keeping dirt out of your home ASAP!
The saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers,” but someone failed to mention that April showers also bring mud. And dirt. And gross.
All into my house.
Between taking the boys into the backyard to play, letting Cooper in and out all day, and having a yard that definitely needs some better grass coverage, dirt and mud always seem to find their way into my house.
Thankfully, I’ve found a few different ways to keep the dirt from taking over my home!
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #allfreeclear #CollectiveBias
Tips for Keeping Dirt Out of Your Home
Choose your “landing space.”
Where in your home will all of the dirt go? You need a ground zero to go to after getting dirty!
We have a back room with a door leading to our backyard that houses our washer and dryer and makes a perfect landing space. It’s where we let the dog out, as well as the door we all go through when the weather is gross.
If you have a mud room then that’s the perfect landing space for you! But if you have a small house like we do, just allocate a small area.
Make a space for dirty shoes.
And make sure they don’t make it past that spot. Since my home is so small, I don’t waste space with a door mat or shoe caddy and instead, use a folded towel to put our dirty shoes on.
It saves space and I can simply toss it into the wash when it gets too dirty.
Take off any dirty clothes and throw them into the wash ASAP.
Have you ever watched a toddler play outside? If there is a dirt patch, Ryan will find it. A pile of icky leaves? He’ll make a beeline for it.
I’ve come to accept this and have adopted a “boys will be boys!” attitude about it. But that doesn’t mean I’m okay will all of that ick coming inside.
Right when we come inside, I strip Ryan of whatever dirty clothes he has and toss them straight into the clothes washer, add in our favorite all® free clear detergent.
Keep wipes for hands close by.
In our backroom, I keep a container of wipes so that we can wipe off dirty little hands before they start touching all of my nice, clean walls.
A way to clean up dirt quickly and easily.
No matter how hard I try, on rainy days, our back room ends up looking like this from Cooper coming in and out.
I love a spray mop that I can use to quickly wipe up all of the dirty paw (and shoe!) prints so that the dirt doesn’t get tracked elsewhere into our home.
Wipe the dog!
My last tip is to wipe the dog’s paw when he comes in on a messy day. Cooper won’t let you wipe his paws without a lot of work and struggle, so doing it multiple times a day is kind of out of the question.
Instead, I came up with this simple trick – line the doorway with a towel. As he walks through with wet and muddy paws, the towel will sop up the ick so the majority doesn’t get tracked through the house. You’re welcome.
So tell me – how do you keep dirt out of your home this time of year? Does your toddler make a beeline all things ick like mine does? Let me know in the comments!
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Gretchen | Gretchruns says
Great tips! I’m definitely going to work on keeping my new house clean 🙂
Morgan says
Thanks Gretchen! And yes, I feel like that’s the best part abut a new place – clean slate!
Debbie W. says
Great tips. I’ve never tried All and I’m married to a mechanic or rather and engine builder. Your neighbor today at Women With Intention.
Morgan says
Thanks, Debbie!!
Robin Masshole Mommy says
We take our shoes off as soon as we come in the house. It definitely helps.
Morgan says
It really does! I have to constantly remind my husband to do it, but it’s worth it!
Lawrence Hamilton says
Not an easy task at my house. My son has his crew and they do God knows what. There’s me with the Basketball. My wife has actually burned my sneakers. Working on this now with mixed results.
Morgan says
Oh man! Sounds like these tips are much needed!
Trish Delgado says
That folded towel tip is such a good idea. I live in a small apartment too and I have some clumsy children (they take after their mom) so a floor mat is not an option for us, but the towel would work wonderfully.
Morgan says
The folded towel is my favorite – keeps mud off my couch and floors and God knows where else!
Carolyn West says
We always have to wipe our dog’s paws when he comes inside or else we get dirty paw prints all over the house. I do like the idea about a folded towel at the entry door. Plus, my kids are always losing their shoes so if they have one place to put them, it’s a win-win. #client
Morgan says
Gosh, I WISH my dog would let us wipe his paws! Occasionally I’ll do it, but he hates it so much I usually end up scraped and bruised, ha!
Michelle Gwynn Jones says
First rule, don’t let anyone into your house – wouldn’t it be nice if it were that simple?
Morgan says
ha, if only!!
Cindy Ingalls says
We have a carpet by the back door so the dog won’t track dirty paw prints in the house. We also keep a towel handy incase it’s rainy to wipe him off. Of course he doesn’t like to get his delicate feet wet, so getting him to go outside at all is a challenge.
Morgan says
Too funny! I wish my dog didn’t want to get his feet wet – he runs circles through our muddy lawn!
Ana De- Jesus says
It is not easy to keep our home clean either but it is important to keep the home clean and I like your idea od grouping dirty clothing/shoes.
Morgan says
It’s definitely so importatn! I live with a bunch of boys, so dirt doesn’t bother them as much, but it drives me nuts!
Liz Mays says
This is great advice. Our space by the back door seems to accumulate dirt. We need to make some changes!
Morgan says
It always shocks me how much can come into my house in such a small amount of time! Hope these tips can help you!
Elizabeth O. says
These are awesome ideas for keeping the house clean. It’s good to have a landing space so that the rest of the house is much easier to maintain. Thanks for all of these tips!
Morgan says
Yes! That’s my theory. I’d rather have one place that needs a lot of cleaning than an entire house that needs a moderate amount!
Amy Jones says
Great tips, personally i dont allow shoes in my house, it really DOES help a lot, it is something that Asian people are used to, sometimes my guests raise their eyebrows whenever i tell them to take their shoes off, but eventually we all laugh and appreciate the Cleanness in my house! 😉
Morgan says
I think it’s so worth it! Sometimes my husband gives me a hard time about it, but I remind him that I’M the one cleaning – if he wants to clean, he can leave his shoes on 😉
Kristy @ Southern In Law says
LOVE this! I am a neat freak so I am always finding ways to ensure our house stays clean!
Morgan says
I was NEVER a neat freak by any means until I got my own house. Now it drives me insane to see messes!
Emma white says
Brilliant tips, I have two Young boys and as you can imagine they love playing in dirt! I have a small section at the bottom of my kitchen near the patio door that I use to clean them up before they take a step further! Brilliant tips here! I love the towel idea, gonna use that myself 🙂
Melissa Bernardo says
A lot of great tips here. It’s so hard to keep my house clean with two boys running around 🙂
Morgan says
I only have one boy mobile right now, but he’s enough work! I can’t imagine when both of my boys are running around!
Esti Berkowitz says
Love how you make cleaning so fun and meaningful. Also, we use this type of All in the home since my hubby has allergies! Thanks for sharing:)
Morgan says
Oh, thank you so much, Esti! We really do love all – it’s such a great product!
Laura Starner says
Great post. I also buy that same detergent in bulk.
Morgan says
Nothing I hate more than going to to a load and having no more detergent- buying in bulk really helps with that!
Christine says
This is awesome! I have that problem in my entry way. I’ll have to try this!
Morgan says
It’s such a pain to keep all the ick out, but so worth it!
Dana says
Great tips! With two boys and a huge dog I’ll take all the tips I can get to keep my home clean! Baseball cleats, football cleats, muddy backyard – it’s so frustrating!
Morgan says
Oh man, I’m not looking forward to when my boys get older – bigger boys = more dirt!
Katy-ashadeofteal says
My dogs are always the problem with keeping my floors clean. Great tips!
Morgan says
Dogs are so fun but man are they dirty! Even when there’s no mud out, my dog still tracks it in!
Ana Fernandez says
Awesome tips! Hate when my hubby just bring all the dirt back in his shoes after I have clean all the house
Jessica Harlow says
I love the idea of having a “ground zero” for dirty clothes/shoes. Tracking in mud and dirt especially during the spring months is a nightmare at our house!
Nikki says
Such a clever tips, were also need to schedule our general cleaning at home. So glad you shared it and it gives me idea.
[email protected] says
Amazing tips you have here. They can surely keep dirt outside of my home. Could be really useful for the apartment too!
Rosey says
My biggest housekeeping challenge is neighborhood children, lol and that is year-round, but April showers don’t help…lol
aziel says
These are a really great tips, now I am going to clean our home.
Kendra says
With two boys and a huge dog, these tips sure will come in handy! Thanks for sharing!
Claudia Krusch says
Love your tips! So important to keep it out of the home! I have a tray by the front door for shoes and school/dirty clothes are always in the hamper!
Colette S says
I definitely do not like dirt inside. I try to keep it as clean as I can, with mops and sweeping.
These are very good tips! Thank you.
Mardene Carr says
Well no dogs here to worry about. I have wipes all over my house. It is my go to for everything dirty
Lisa @ Fun Money Mom says
Great tips! I’m always looking for new hacks to keep the dirt out, though with two kids it can be kind of hard!!!
Morgan says
I only have one mobile kid and a dog, but I can sure see how it’s only going to get worse when they’re both running around!
sherry says
I love these tips. I have a boy and a boxer dog, and I need all the tips I can get!
Morgan says
Oh, I understand you! I’m a boy mom with a lab! There’s no hiding from dirt here!
Ashleigh says
Awesome post! These tips are really thought out and helpful!
I would love it if you would share this on my weekly link party : )
http://www.twentysomethinginthe2010s.com/peace-love-linkup-002/
Sandra Garth says
Even with just the Mr and I dirt still comes in. I have a shoe tray in the hallway that leads to the outside, and the mud closet is there with the broom, mop etc. You just have to stay on top of things and do your best to keep the ick at bay. We go through lots of handy wipes, mop cloths and static dust towels.
Hannah Adkins says
I definitely always have to wipe my dogs paws whenever we come inside after its all rainy and muddy. Otherwise theres mud and dirt everywhere.