Baby Steps To Cleanliness: Hints To Keep On Top Of The Housework With A Baby In Tow ♥

When you're preparing to welcome a new baby, you start to look around your home and think about making it safer, as well as more practical. And for all of the will in the world, regardless of how much you do to prepare yourself for having a baby, it's always a shock to the system.

If you are someone who likes to have everything neat and tidy, you might as well get yourself used to the idea that there will be at least a little bit of mess in your life from here on in. But after having a baby, and when everything settles down, usually around the six-month mark and you've gotten into the swing of things, you can find ways to keep your home neat and tidy in between everything else you have to do.

What can you do to make your home feel homely and orderly again after having a baby?

Establishing A Base Level Of Tidiness
It's all about what you consider to be tidy, and possibly lower your expectations. Because a baby is more than likely going to have their fair share of sickness episodes, you've got to decide what cleanliness is defined as for you. A base level of tidiness is partly to do with cleaning as you go, but it's also about doing what you can to maintain a certain level with minimal effort. A good example would be the rug; if you find that you are forever concerned about the mess, sick, and other unmentionables, do you want to undertake a deep clean every single week?

Firstly, it's not feasible, and secondly, it's more than frustrating when you have just cleaned the carpets and your baby decides to throw up on it! It’s a far better idea for you to do a deep clean, but do it in major intervals. You may want to get a company like Devine Rug Cleaning to do it for you, so, at the very least, you can get all of those horrible smells out of the carpet. Once that carpet has been cleaned, you may work harder at keeping on top of stains and smells. It's always worth having a few quick fixes like stain removing spray, as well as a packet of bicarbonate of soda handy, so your rug can smell fresh again. As soon as you establish a base level of tidiness, this could provide you with a bit more motivation to keep it that way, rather than resigning yourself to the fact that the carpet is going to stink for years!

It's All About A Schedule
Sure, with a young baby, a schedule may seem impossible to stick to. But after the difficult first few months, and you've got the knack of the baby's leaps, you can start to work around the nap times. A schedule can be difficult to stick to but when you start to list everything that needs doing, rather than viewing it as one almighty task, it can help you to break down the problem and make it more feasible. A very good example would be the dishes; rather than waiting for the sink to pile up, doing a little bit here and there can make it a more accomplishable task. And then when you start to think about the bigger tasks like cleaning the bathroom, if you can break it down into smaller tasks, such as cleaning the toilet and the sink first, and leaving the floor until later on, this can make it seem like a more manageable workload.

It's also about using the time to your benefits based on the tasks you need to complete. A good example would be the vacuuming. There's a lot to be said about the white noise of a hoover putting your child to sleep, or at the very least, keeping them quiet. When you start to clean around the house, vacuuming little and often, can help. You may want to think about getting a handheld vacuum to make things less difficult. There is nothing more frustrating than carrying a bulky hoover around. And when you've got a screaming baby, even if they won't listen to the white noise, you can put them in a sling or a baby carrier and hoover.

I hope these hints help you out. When your baby is young enough so that they're not able to crawl just yet, you should be able to keep your home relatively tidy.

When they get older and they are into everything (this is when the fun begins!), this is when you may have to step up the operations somewhat! I know that it's difficult to keep your home clean after having a baby (I've had two and now that they're older the mess just seems to accumulate even more!) but if you can lower your expectation of tidiness while getting into a rhythm that suits your schedule with your baby, it will make everything so much easier.