Things for the Home That Make Life Easier When You Have a Big Family
There comes a point in family life when you realize your house is no longer just a house.
It is a restaurant.
A laundry facility.
A daycare.
A storage warehouse.
A snack distribution center.
A lost-and-found department.
And, occasionally, a place where someone is allowed to sit down for approximately 14 seconds before hearing, “Mom?”
When you have a larger family, the little things around the house can make a huge difference. I’m not talking about turning your home into some perfectly organized Pinterest museum where every basket contains three neatly folded beige blankets.
I mean the stuff that makes you think, “Why did I not buy this five years ago?”
Because when you have multiple people constantly using the same spaces, convenience is not a luxury. It is survival.
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If your family is anything like mine, laundry isn't a chore.
Laundry is a never-ending lifestyle.
Thankfully, three of my kids are now responsible for their own laundry. But, when they weren't, I loved this laundry sorter because it gave each kid their own space and their own color so no one ever got confused and put their clothes in someone else's bin. Oh, and bonus points because it has wheels.
Having separate hampers for different categories can save a ridiculous amount of time.
And if you can get everyone to actually PUT THEIR CLOTHES IN THE HAMPER?
Congratulations.
You have achieved the Mom equivalent of a Nobel Prize.
2. A Second Freezer
A second freezer is one of those things you don't fully appreciate until you have one.
With a larger family, buying in bulk makes sense. Frozen meat, waffles, chicken nuggets, frozen vegetables, pizzas for those nights when cooking dinner feels like an unreasonable request from society...
It all adds up.
Having extra freezer space means you can stock up when things are on sale instead of making seventeen grocery store trips every week.
And let's be honest, anything that reduces the number of times I have to take everyone grocery shopping is basically a luxury appliance.
If you have kids, you already know that not only do they tend to somehow lose shoes, but they also get them incredibly dirty and you already cleaned the floors.
We have a “no shoes in the house” rule – because I am not cleaning my floors six times in one day.
What we do have are three of these shoe organizer cabinets right inside the front door.
Everyone has their own cubby. Come inside, put your shoes away. Period.
Do all the shoes everyone owns fit in the cubby? No. They keep the rest in their closets.
But does it keep things in a spot out-of-sight and keep my floors clean?
Yes.
Add to cart.
At some point, every device in your house will be at 3% battery simultaneously.
Phones.
Tablets.
Headphones.
Gaming controllers.
Random electronic toys you forgot existed.
And somehow there will be zero available chargers.
Also, none of my kids are allowed to have phones or tablets after 9PM, so this is a great place for them to put them to charge overnight without an unsightly mess for me to look at because I don't trust them to charge them in their rooms (they've proven they can't be trusted LOL)
Let's be honest - with a big family, the floor is basically under attack at all times.
Crumbs.
Dirt.
Pet hair.
Goldfish crackers.
Tiny pieces of paper.
Things nobody can explain.
A robot vacuum won't completely replace cleaning, but it can handle the daily maintenance while you're doing other things.
And honestly, watching it quietly vacuum the floor while you're sitting on the couch drinking coffee feels like having hired help.
Even if it gets stuck under the couch 20 minutes later.
I vacuum and mop once a day. That’s it. I’m not doing it again. I set my robot vacuum for 9PM to re-clean the main areas of the house (kitchen/living room/hallways) so I can go to sleep without the anxiety of dirty floors.
(I did not purchase a brand new one. Expensive things like this I usually purchase refurbished because I just can't stomach all that money on one item. I've had this one about three years with zero issues!)
Okay, maybe this isn't technically a home item.
But hear me out.
If you have a big family, everyone needs a water bottle.
Most of the kids need more than one, because someone left theirs on the bus and someone else forgot theirs at football practice yesterday so they need another one for today.
Everyone in our house has a designated color. Mom’s is white, Dad’s is black. One kid is gray, another is blue. You get the idea. Because God forbid someone drink out of someone else’s water bottle *insert eye roll here
I never jumped on the Stanley bandwagon. I am an avid Iron Flask lover, and that’s what everyone in my house has. Also highly recommend the storage shelf for them inside the cabinet!
You cannot have too many storage bins with a larger family.
I don't care what anyone says.
You need bins for toys, seasonal clothes, blankets, sports equipment, craft supplies, school supplies, random cords, board games and all the things you aren't emotionally prepared to throw away yet.
And please don't feel guilty if your organization system isn't beautiful.
If the bin has a lid and I can close it, that's organization. I just like these ones because they're relatively decent-looking in the realm of storage bins. I'm also a sucker for anything bamboo.
When you have a larger family, your dining table needs to work.
It needs to handle meals, homework, crafts, birthday decorations, grocery bags and whatever random object somebody decided to leave there.
A sturdy, roomy table gives everyone a place to sit together.
And honestly, those chaotic family meals are the moments you're going to remember.
Not whether the table was perfectly styled.
Not whether the centerpiece matched your curtains.
We built our own table from these plans because it's WAY cheaper than purchasing one. We put a bench just on one side and have three black chairs on the other side/ends.
9. A Designated “Stuff” Basket
Every family needs one.
A giant basket where you throw things that belong somewhere else.
Because apparently nobody can walk five feet to put something away, but everyone can successfully put it in the mystery basket.
At the end of the day, you can carry the basket around and put everything back where it belongs.
Or you can leave it there for three days and pretend it's part of the décor.
No judgment.
When you have multiple kids, activities, appointments, school events, birthdays and work schedules, your brain eventually says:
“Nope. I'm done.”
A large family calendar keeps everyone's schedules visible and syncs with your phone calendar.
Because nothing says “family fun” like realizing at 7:42 p.m. that someone was supposed to bring cupcakes to school the next morning.
Sure, you can spend hundreds of dollars on the “official” calendars – but that wasn’t for me.
Instead, I found Mango Display which I pay a minimal fee for (there’s also a free version). I bought a cheap smart TV that was capable of downloading the Mango app, mounted it to the wall, and there you have it. Family calendar.
The Mango Display is fully customizable, so ours has a daily chore chart, the monthly calendar, and the weekly dinner menu. No excuses for anyone not knowing what’s going on in the house.
Anytime I hear something like, “What’s for dinner?” or “Are we doing anything tomorrow night?” – my response is “go check the calendar”. Done!
When you have kids, eventually you’re going to get up in the middle of the night because someone peed the bed, puked in bed, got a runny nose in bed, etc. Maybe more than one kid on the same night. Oof.
It’s not glamorous, but that’s the way it is.
At 2AM, I do not want to be rummaging through a linen closet to pull out a set of sheets only to realize I grabbed two fitted sheets.
I need grab & go because I want to go back to bed.
Hence, bedsheet organizers.
Grab the pack, make the bed, done.
Oh, and don’t forget to grab the “puke bowl” while you’re up.
12. A “Drinks” Fridge
I know.
It seems crazy to have a second freezer and fridge.
If you have a larger family, you know.
We go through at minimum six gallons of milk every week. I don’t have space for six gallons in one fridge. I’m not making multiple trips to the store because I don’t have space.
My husband needs his Coca-Cola.
The baby needs Apple Juice.
This kid love lemonade.
This kid wants Sweet Tea.
This one needs Gatorade for football.
We keep bottles of water for when they’re outside playing.
You get the idea.
A second fridge lives in our garage just for drinks, and it’s amazingly convenient.
The Bottom Line
Having a larger family doesn't mean your home needs to be perfectly organized.
Honestly, I think that's an impossible standard.
Your house is going to get messy.
Someone is going to leave a cup on the counter.
Someone will forget their shoes by the door.
There will be laundry.
There will be crumbs.
There will be toys in rooms where there should absolutely not be toys.
And somebody will inevitably ask you where something is while standing directly in front of it.
The goal isn't to create a home that never gets chaotic.
The goal is to create a home that handles the chaos a little better.
The best home products for a large family aren't necessarily the fanciest ones. They're the things that save you five minutes here, eliminate an argument there, make cleanup easier, or keep one more thing from becoming your problem.
Because when you have a lot of people under one roof, anything that makes life even 10% easier is worth celebrating.
And if it gives me some semblance of sanity at some point during the day?
Put it in my cart immediately.
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