The prospect of cleaning with children is about as laughable as attempting to ‘enjoy’ a relaxing grocery shopping trip with them in tow. Sure, it would easier if you could just do it yourself – but that’s not always an option.
If this is you, then fear not – there is still hope. Here are some really simple and useful tips if you fancy getting your spring cleaning jam on.
1. The old bucket trick
This simple trick really works. Grab an old bucket, take it into a room with you and place anything that doesn’t have a designated ‘home’ in that room, into the bucket. Then set a timer for five minutes and put away as much as you can from within the old bucket as possible. There! Doesn’t the room look better now?
2. Attack one room at a time
Speaking of rooms, it’s way easier to tackle one room at a time when spring cleaning. Don’t spread yourself too thin, especially if you have a small human (or two, or three) ‘helping’ you. Attacking one room at a time is your best bet for efficiency and results.
3. Get them involved
For the best chance of success, it’s a great idea to make sure your little human has a special job they can do to help you. If your child feels involved and important on your spring cleaning mania, she’s more likely to cooperate and let you get on with stuff. A simple idea is to give her a dusting mitt so she can help dust, or separate a small space within the room you’re in for her to ‘help tidy’.
4. Aim for parallel play
For the grotty or hard-to-reach jobs that you, as the adult, really have to do but your little human can’t, it can be helpful to set up some sort of activity nearby. Whether it be playdough, painting, craft, sticker books – whatever. Having an activity nearby for your child keeps her close while you get stuck into whatever you need to do. Teamwork!
5. Embrace the baby carrier
When it comes to spring cleaning with smaller babies, things can be a little trickier. Babies love to get into everything and the whole spring cleaning idea ends up being – well, an even bigger mess, which can be stressful and counterproductive. A helpful tip here is to embrace babywearing! Learning how to back carry a baby from about five months onwards is liberating and allows you rock on with whatever it is you need to do. And you’re nearby, so they’ll be happy as a clam, too.
6. Turn on some tunes
If in doubt, boogie it out! This tip can be utilized with all the other suggestions above. Somehow, putting on some music makes everything seem more fun and can completely change the mood of a home. So whether it is The Wiggles or whatever, pop on some Spotify and get dancing while you clean. You’ll be amazed at how much you get done without realizing it!
Hopefully, these tips will enable you to embrace a little bit of spring cleaning, alongside your little one. I definitely do not recommend ignoring it all until it becomes unbearable and you end up throwing out everything within reach … *ahem*.
A little bit each day really can make the biggest difference, and who knows – you might even have fun together, too!
