One of the most common questions that I get on the blog & over on my Instagram account is ‘How do you keep your home so clean & tidy with two children & a dog?’.
Young children can be like tiny hurricanes that create distruction in their paths within the home environment & it’s not uncommon for not just the everyday toys everywhere mess, but also the spills & stains that occur with them.
From the second you bring that little bundle of joy home from hospital, you’ll be faced with the reality of not only becoming a mother, but also a full time cleaner. You’re faced with vomit not only all down your back but also all over your soft furnishings & quite frankly, just about everywhere you can imagine. Combine that with ‘poonami’ explosions which can leave even the best of us scrubbing poo from up the back of our babies backs, popping whatever they were wearing in to soak or if it’s unsalvageable, the bin, & lastly whatever has also been affected such as play mats, bouncey chairs or what cream sofa you thought was such a good idea in your naive pre-baby state.
The type of spillages & stains change as they get older & turn from bodily fluids to whatever they can get their hands on & within 6 months you’ll start on the joys of weaning, especially if you’re braving the baby led approach.
They’ll be feasting on blended apples, pears, sweet potatoes & all sorts of weird & wonderful mushed up yuck which they’ll happily decide to they no longer like & throw the bowl all over the floor, or my all time favourite of ‘blowing raspberries’ resulting in a yogurt/spit combo’s over the walls. This probably doesn’t end until they reach about 3 & you can bribe them with pudding if they eat nicely.
Munchkin have helped this transition with these stay-put suction bowls which mean that your flooring will be saved from the dreaded entire bowl of dinner being launched off the side of the highchair.
As they get older, you’ll want them to move from the typical bottle to a sippy cup which will result in them finding out that if turned upside down they can play ‘poor the water/juice/milk all over the floor/sofa/their own head’ so it’s really important to go for something 100% spill proof. Munchkin’s 360 Miracle cups are the only things Rory will drink out of & have been put through their paces by him throwing them across the room & hitting his sister across the head with them…they really are spill proof. In fact all of their sippy cups come with an 100% spill proof guarantee.
For Autumn/Winter, Munchkin have launched a new green & orange version.
So, what tips would I give keep your home as spill & stain proof as possible?
- Keep eating to one area – preferably without carpet so a kitchen is ideal. Don’t allow your littles to walk around eating Cadburys buttons without ending up with chocolate smeared handprints all over your walls.
- Buy a dog – only joking…or not…they are the best under highchair hoover you’ll ever buy.
- Use a cheap/old shower curtain to collect any stray food underneath the highchair – we don’t need this due to having a dog who acts as a hoover but it’s a great solution. Once finished just shake it outside & wipe off anything remaining.
- Create good habits – it’s always a good idea to start as you mean to go on so that means rewarding good behaviour & scolding for any bad behaviour which comes to mealtimes too. It’ll soon become the norm & part of routine.
- To stop any clothes getting stained either strip them off for super messy meals or use a bib with a section at the bottom to catch any falling food.
- Let them feed themselves – so we practise this still with Rory whereby he has a spoon & will attempt to feed himself (badly…) then we feed him in-between. He eats so much better this way when he can get involved & it also teaches them how to eventually feed themselves. I’d really recommend this spoon/fork ‘spork’ combo for the transition.
- Clean stains ASAP in order to get them out effectively. The longer you leave it, the worse it’ll be. I always google the type of stain e.g. ‘how to get mud/grass/blood/crayon out of a sofa’, in order to know the best cleaning products to get the stain out & what way to do it. Some stains need hot water whereas others may need cold otherwise it’ll ‘set in’. This handy guide from the American Cleaning Institute is always handy to have bookmarked.
Lastly, just embrace the fact that you’ll never have an immaculate house again & your little ones will fill your heart with love almost as much as they’ll stain your carpet.
Love,
*This is a sponsored post