Let's Save our Houses from our Babies' Mess! :D

Date: 24.Feb.2020

Preparing a baby-proof house to receive a new baby should not only be from safety standpoint but also, from the MESS one too! Since with kids on board comes the "all busy all the time" house AND parents who are always trying to catch up with the growing exploring, imagination, creative, …. skills our little ones are continuously working hard developing and they are doing so during their early years of life when they can’t yet do everything by themselves. So, you all of a sudden find yourself always on an urgent call to either clean the mess, save them from hurting themselves or save your house from them. Lol

But good news is, with some amendments, re-organization and re-prioritization, you can at least contain it somehow and help your self and mind adapt to the new life style and journey now becoming a Parent. And here is the How:

First thing you should start with is to re-visit your definition of ‘Tidiness’, as honestly speaking; that house that you used to see everything in is in place and where all counter spaces are free and clutters almost don’t exist will no longer be the same :(

Here are my tips not for a completely mess-proof house because let’s be honest, that will never happen with kids around but at least, for a less messy easy to clean house ;)

1. Contain it:

There has to be certain places assigned for each activity you do at home like there is one place we eat at, one place for playing, one place for studying and so on. So, eating is not allowed in the reception for example and playing is not allowed in the kitchen and so on. You would also need to close the doors of all rooms where you don’t want the mess to reach like the bedrooms, the bathrooms and kitchen.

I have done something in my house that helped me and my girls a lot and that is, I got rid of my reception and dining table and turned that space into a play room for the girls where all their toys are and where they sometimes eat as well. Doing that did not only help with relatively containing the mess but, I was also able to create a better play/educational environment for my girls to play at and get to discover and explore their interests, not to mention the benefits of having that space available for friends coming on play date ;) and if you are like me, not at all pro the idea of playing in the bedroom and eventually growing up isolating in it from the rest of the family, this will also help big time keeping yourself and your kids away from that act.

It’s also very important that your kids understand the concept of playing with one toy at a time. If they finish playing with one thing and want to get another, they should put it in place first to be able to play with the other. And from here comes my other sub-tip which is that everything in the house should have a home so, it’s very helpful to help your kids put their stuff in place from the beginning until they get where the home of each thing is and eventually, start putting each item in place by themselves without your help.

2. Easy Out, Easy In:

It is extremely helpful to store toys following the “Like with Like” rule. So, puzzles are gathered in one place, blocks in another, crayons, drawing and painting books, stories, cars, stuffed toys, each are stored together separately which will make it very easy to find that home of each thing discussed in tip no.2 above ;)

If you are wondering about what to use for storing toys; I highly recommend using boxes/bins, zip locks and plastic or cloth storage bags/drawers. Using those makes it easier for your kids to access and get what they want and also helps putting everything back in place after each play fast and easy.

3. Teach, Teach, Teach:

I'm a true believer that teaching our kids about the right values will always bring better if not the right actions. And what else does a parent need other than seeing his/her kid making the right choices and taking the right decisions in life :) Thinking about it, I can't really tell which is more important; teaching them about teamwork and the importance of helping one another or being proactive or taking responsibility in our actions. Honestly, all are as important.

Each family is considered a team in this bigger system of life and each member of that team has a role to take care of and be responsible for no matter the age, so that the whole team is well synchronized and happy and thus the rest of the teams :D

This has to be ingested at a young age as an investment for a better generations of older age :) Once your baby turns One, they can start learning a lot very easily and at a very fast pace. It’s just the perfect time to make use of that little sponge that can absorb so many things at that young age. You can start teaching them how to do simple things like putting the dirty diaper in the garbage bin, taking their dirty clothes to the laundry basket, making their bed when they wake up, cleaning up after each play, …

As your baby is growing, start assigning bigger tasks like putting their dirty dishes next to the sink after each meal, helping you with vacuum cleaning, putting their dirty clothes in the washing machine/laundry basket, helping with putting laundry on the drying rack or putting folded clean clothes in the right drawers/wardrobes, clean dishes in place from dishwasher, ….

4. Less is more:

Here comes the donation or purging part where it is essential to let go of some stuff that might have outgrown your kids’ age or that they’re not using anymore and the best way to do so is by assigning a big box somewhere in which you collect the unwanted stuff as you go. Best timing to re-visit your kids’ stuff is on birthday’s and whenever you buy a new toy so that, you’re following the concept of ‘One in, One out’. I highly recommend that you involve your kid in the decision of which to go and which to stay, explaining the concept of donations and why you’re doing this from time to time :)

It’s best to have few valuable and useful toys than many unused or not very useful ones that are only taking storage space, disturbing the vision, increasing the mess and wasting more time cleaning or maintaining them ;)

Other household tips:

Don’t settle for any crayons for your kids but, the washable ones only so that, if any accident takes place on clothes, walls, furniture … you can just wipe them in no time.
Let all your clean clothes dry on hangers on the drying rack so as to minimize the ironing time to almost 0 ;) and if you already have a dryer, try to fold the clothes once it completes its drying cycle, that will also help a lot in not having to iron everything.
Why dry the dishes when you can just leave everything to air dry! :D save yourself the time and effort to do something else that is more important and more urgent, like resting for example ;)
Make sure to have a pack of wipes in each room your kids have access to in your house so that, in case they spill anything or …. You can find wipes right next to you to grab one and clean everything in no time before the damage gets bigger.
Once your baby starts crawling and becoming on the move, it's better to replace all breakable items in your lower kitchen drawers with unbreakable plastic items until baby is more predictable and learns how to handle your kitchen with care :D

Please share any other tips you have that can make a difference in other Moms' lives. You can drop me a message here and I will feature it for you in this article ;) Thanks for reading :)

Naila Bahgat

From an Engineer to a Marketer at a Multinational company to a Mom who has decided after witnessing how tough Motherhood is, especially to a new mom; not to stand watching more new moms go through the same hassle again, being lost in the endless first times without the right guidance to the right knowledge, expectations and practice ahead. The first certified Newborn Care Specialist in Egypt, the owner & instructor of NewBornians. Certified Lactation Counselor and Toilet Learning Consultant as well :)

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