How Can I Stop My Child Being So Messy?

July 26, 2021 JayneLeave a comment

Although it can be normal for your child to make some mess, it can be frustrating when you know that, ultimately, it means more work for you. You may want to find ways to help them become a little bit more organised with their possessions, to cut down on the amount of fetch and carry, alongside wiping and other cleaning, that you then have to do throughout the day. No matter whether your child is 2 or 12, they can be taught to break their messy habits.

Bedroom Storage

One of the first considerations you may need to make when trying to get your child to be a bit tidier is the storage they have available to them. Items which are small, stiff, or even difficult to reach may prevent your child from tidying. An idea to resolve this issue can be to swap out their existing bed for a cabin bed, like those found at roomtogrow.co.uk, as this may have storage attached. A cabin bed is not overly tall, meaning your child will be able to reach the drawers and cupboards, as well as the under-bed space that they may use. This can also help to keep all items in one place, rather than you constantly going through a number of different furniture pieces to look for missing socks or other supposedly lost items.

Rules

A good parent knows that they cannot be fun all the time. Rules and boundaries are important for your child to be able to grow up with a good sense of morals, and know which behaviours are acceptable. You may have a list of rules within your household, that you expect your children to follow. Adding rules about tidying up can help them to understand that these tasks are important. If you choose to add penalties to breaking these rules, such as missing a day out, or no time on a games console, it is important that you stick to what you say, otherwise your child will think that they can continue being messy with no consequence.

Set an Example

Children of all ages can learn through copying any behaviours they have seen, which can either be useful or problematic. If your child sees you leaving mess around the home, they may think it is also acceptable for them to do so. Likewise, if your child sees you putting your books or clothes away, and helping out, they may think that is also what they should do. Setting a good example can be vital to your child’s development, as well as not allowing them to be influenced by any bad examples they may see from their friends, other adults, strangers on the street, or even via the media.

There may be a number of reasons why your child is messy, and each reason will vary from child to child. By finding ways to help promote cleanliness, and giving positive reinforcement for jobs well done, you may be able to replace these behaviours with those that promote a tidier and more hygienic lifestyle.

Cleaning

3 Common Areas You Might Miss While Cleaning The Home

August 24, 2020September 6, 2021 JayneLeave a comment

Nearly 3 out of 10 British adults have trouble finding the time to clean their homes, according to a survey commissioned by Beko in 2019. The reason given was that they were too busy to do so, with most simply cleaning as they go and as needed. This does work to keep the house just clean enough to not be uncomfortable. However, many people might still feel anxiety at the fact that dust and dirt may be building up right under their noses.

That’s why it’s important to commit at least one day each month just to clean up the house. However, there are some areas that we might not think to clean but need to nonetheless. The next time you set aside time to give your home a proper tidying, remember these 3 common areas you might miss while cleaning the home.

Hard-To-Reach Surfaces

There are areas in the home that are so commonplace that we forget that they’re even there. Good examples are doorknobs, door frames, windowsills, and light switch panels. Light switches and doorknobs can also be bacterial and disease carriers since everyone in the house touches them every so often.

To clean these areas, first, give them a dusting to get rid of loose particles. Simply spray some disinfectant cleaning solution onto a cloth and wipe away. Microfibre cloth tends to work best as it can pick up dust and dirt faster. Remember to get into the nooks and crannies of the doorknob to dislodge the dirt trapped in them.

Areas Behind Or Underneath Things

Picture frames that are so old they blend into the wall can hide a surprisingly resilient layer of dust underneath. The same goes for the microwave on your kitchen counter or the patch of carpet your sofa has occupied since you moved in.

Once we realize that those covered areas can collect an unhealthy amount of dirt and disease, cleaning them becomes more of a concern. When dealing with tough stains, choose the right carpet cleaner that will suit your needs. You can also create your own solution by mixing dishwashing liquid, vinegar, and baking soda to get rid of tough stains on walls and counters.

Rarely Opened Containers And Drawers

With a large build-up, dust may start spewing from even the smallest spaces. To prevent this, drawers and hidden corners in your monthly home cleaning. Take out all the contents, set them aside, and wipe down the interiors.

Use a natural cleaning solution if the dirt proves to be tough to remove. Then, let the area dry while you tend to other parts of the house.

Don’t fret if you happened to forget even one of these three hidden spaces. But while it has to be done, the reward in knowing that your home is dirty-free and well-maintained is what makes the task even more worth the effort.

Baby

First Time Parents: Keeping the Cleaning Simple

July 23, 2020 Jayne2 Comments

For first time parents, the first few months of your baby’s life is an absolutely wonderful time, but some of it can seem a little overwhelming and mysterious. In the lead up to the birth, your mind will be absolutely full of questions and worries, with preparations taking over the majority of your thoughts.

One of those pressing concerns is making sure that the house is clean and tidy enough to bring a newborn into, as well as being able to keep the place in order once your little one or ones are home, without sacrificing too much time with your precious new arrival. With this in mind, I thought I’d give you some tips on little things that you can do which will make things more simple for you:

Declutter in Advance

One thing on which most new parents will agree is that newborns require a lot of STUFF. Your usually minimalist space will suddenly contain dummies, muslins, toys, books, nappies, a million babygrows, teethers, wipes, changing bags, nappy bins…the list goes on! Something that can really help is having a serious declutter before baby comes along. This will ensure that your house isn’t full of unneccesary stuff that will just give you more to dust and tidy in the long run.

Keep it Simple

When you’re recovering from birth, looking after a baby and probably hosting a whole slew of family and friends, you want to make sure you get as much rest as possible. Grabbing 40 winks when the baby sleeps is one of the most important tips I can give first time parents, but once you feel rested enough to tackle the housework, just take care of the basics. No-one cares if your windows aren’t spotless or if your oven hasn’t been deep cleaned. Vacuuming, washing up, laundry, cleaning loos – that’s all fairy vital. Almost everything else can wait!

Use a Sling

When Sausage finally came home from the NICU, she did NOT like to be put down for very long, which made doing almost everything tricky. Then, I invested in a sling and suddenly, life was easier! Sauage was more than happy hanging around on my front while I did washing up, vacuuming, all sorts of stuff (although nothing involving chemicals or fumes, obvs!) and it was lovely to have that closeness. By the time BB came along, I was a pro and the sling was deployed straight away.

Accept Help

Everyone tells you to accept help if it’s offered, but so many first time parents are too proud or don’t want to be an inconvenience. But seriously, if someone is offering help, ACCEPT IT! Your parents, siblings and friends all want to feel like they’ve been able to help you, so you should let them. Something simple like chucking a wash in the machine, loading the dishwasher or pushing the hoover round will be a minor effort for them, but a big load off for you. It will also give you more precious time with baby.

Do you have any handy tips for first time parents? I’d love to hear your thoughts and advice!

Adulting

Services-To-Hire That Every Working Mum Should Know About

May 14, 2020November 28, 2022 Jayne2 Comments

There is hardly any doubt that working mums often feel overwhelmed with daily life. While it can be challenging to stay on top of a chaotic day, especially as a working mum. When you do not have a male counterpart to help you out around the house, there are a few hirable services that will help to make your life easier, and free up some time on your busy schedule:

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Cleaning

Top 8 Ways to Simplify Your House Cleaning

September 12, 2018October 28, 2022 JayneLeave a comment

Housework — Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

House cleaning is a necessary but stressful process for everyone. Generally, it starts off as a seemingly simple chore which becomes increasingly overwhelming as time passes by. And most of us wish that the process could be simpler and less tedious. Well, it could be, but only if you know how to make the process simpler and less stressful. This article focuses on eight ways to make house simpler.

Do a little daily

Staying on top of small daily tasks makes cleaning so much easier. Most of us prefer to do all our house cleaning in a single day, the main reason being the lack of time during weekdays due to work. However, doing a few small tasks daily such as wiping counters and washing dishes can make a huge difference. The aim here is to avoid building smaller chores into large ones.

Make a Schedule

Staying on top of things is not as easy as it sounds especially because there is a plethora of other stuff which occupies your mind and could cause you to forget that you have to do the dishes or wipe the counters. That is why it is important to have a schedule which clearly shows when you want to get some house chores done. Having a schedule gives you a clear-cut plan of action and prevents lagging or idling around when you have work to be done. This itinerary, together with all of the equipment that you need, such as the best handheld steamer for cleaning carpets, and upholstery, and a good mop and bucket for the kitchen floors, can really help to make your cleaning more efficient.

Make and implement rules

Sometimes, making a few rules could be just what you need to make house cleaning simpler and less stressful. This is especially necessary if people usually make a mess at your home which you have to clean up all by yourself. Some rules would go make it easier to do your job, especially if everyone does theirs. Consider rules like “no shoes on while on the carpet” which could help reduce the number of times you need to vacuum-clean your carpet. An important part of making rules is implementation of the rules since rules without implementation are nothing but words.

Decluttering

An important part of making cleaning simpler is organization. The main cause of cluttering at home is the fact that everything is kept everywhere. Have places for everything. If possible, label places where certain stuff should be kept like cups, plates, spoon/forks and other household equipment. This also applies to clothes, undies, and shoes.

Clean as you go

This technique is better and easier to use after decluttering. Once clusters have been reorganized, wiping becomes much easier, maybe even fun. Wiping bathroom counters and sinks after taking a bath could be easier after bottles and accessories have been moved out of the way. Also, cleaning dishes after meals make the sink empty which in turn makes wiping easy. However, not all chores are compatible with this technique but it is important to do those that are.

Be consistent

Consistency is important in making house cleaning simple. If you have work to be done, do the work. There is nothing worse and demotivating than being in work mode and then lagging only to continue later. Being consistent is also about doing a little each day without skipping. Doing some laundry for about ten minutes each day will reduce the overall amount of laundry you have to do during weekends.

Delegate chores

If dirtying the house is not entirely your fault, then, cleaning the house should not be entirely your responsibility. Make cleaning a family thing. Delegate some of the chores to the kids. Regardless of the age, everyone should be able to contribute in some way (except a toddler, of course). Being a mom doesn’t mean you have to carry the entire load of housecleaning.

Consider outdoor help

If the burden of work is too much for you, employ a maid or a yardman. Employing outside help will immensely lessen your workload and give you time to actually spend with your kids and train them in the way you would like them to be. However, if you think you couldn’t handle the workload, outside help is unnecessary.

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Liz is a part of the Content team at Best Vacuum Expert, sharing expert knowledge and best tips on how to have a clean house.