It's soon the start of the school holidays, which means your kids will be home every day for 2 weeks. This also means they'll take over your house with 3 tonnes of Lego and 50 new pets (some of them real, some not). So how can you prepare your house so that it (and you) will still be standing by the end of it?

1) Prepare lunches ahead so you save time each day.

This is especially important for those days when you have to go to a meeting or run errands. If you spend some time at the beginning of each week bulk prepping and cooking then each day will be much easier.

Here are are few of our go-to lunches:

• Sushi - It freezes really well and can be made into cute shapes with a rice shaper. My son just loves sushi teddy bears. Just defrost them overnight in the fridge or take them out at the beginning of the day.
• Frozen sandwiches and wraps - Make in bulk, freeze in individual bags and toast them when ready to eat.
• Lasagne, spaghetti, soups, stews, and curries are great for making in bulk and serving up as needed. Especially in winter when a hot midday meal is as good as a nice warm hug.
• Homemade cheat pizzas - buy wraps and use them as bases - no flour, less mess, and faster cooking. The kids can even put the toppings on themselves.

House Design Note

This is one of the reasons why I advocate for including a chest freezer in new home designs. Large freezer storage helps save time and money when you are bulk buying or preserving foods.

2) Give the kids one space to be messy

Let your kids have an art space in the garage or away from the house in the backyard. If you use water based paints, crayons etc then being out of the house makes it easier to hose down at the end of the creativity.

House Design Note

Another reason why garages should be 6x6 minium. They are used for so much more than just parking cars and storing things.

3) Toy rotation

Mix the toys up into different boxes (they could even help you do this, so they get to make some decisions). Each box has to be packed away before a new box can be taken out. This leaves less mess to pick up and they are more likely to play with something they haven't played with for a while because it feels like new.

House Design Note

Long, full-height wardrobes are more useful here than walk-in robes or large open storage (like under a set of stairs). Storage tubs can usually fit within 500-600 deep wardrobes and can be placed up high and out of sight. If your wardrobe is not full height then the kids can still get to the tubs and all your hard work is done for.

4) Libraries are awesome.

Go to the library and get books and take part in their activities. Lots of local libraries have fun things to do during the school holidays and most of the time they are free. The best part is they are out of the house!

House Design Note

We have a "hutch" cube storage located in an active part of the house. This has one space for each person and a hook for each person. This is where all our bags, keys, library books etc are stored. If the library books are kept separate from the rest of the books then they will be easier to find once you need to give them back.

5) Create a gaming/building space

The lounge room, dining room and outdoor patio can be used fro more than just eating or watching a screen. Transform one of these spaces into an epic gaming space of "Do or Die Combat". Get out all the board games, playing cards, and anything else that involves sitting down together and having fun without looking at screens.

Home Design Note

Adaptability is key here, if you are using the dining table, can you sit at the breakfast bar to eat? If you are using the coffee table, is there enough room to sit comfortably on the floor? Think about the priorities of each of these areas and allocate more space to where it is needed.

6) Create a big project to work on together.

Something that will last the entire holidays. It can be something creative like building a doll house yourself. Or it can be something physical like going out bushwalking every day, each day doing a bit more of the big hike you've planned. Maybe even making their bookweek costume.

Home Design Note

This is where a designated 'messy' space is the best. I often think that a formal lunge should give way to a workshop or sewing room specifically for this reason. Unless you entertain every weekend, it is likely you will get more use out of a space where you can create something over the course of a few weeks and not have to constantly pack it up every night just so you can eat dinner or watch TV.

There are many more things you can do, but here's just a few to get you started. If you're thinking of designing your new home, consider including some or all of these little design tweeks—it will make everything much less stressful and more fun!