Top hacks to reduce the mess of new mum life!
If you can’t beat them, join them. This will be a hard one for the A-type personalities who thrive on order, space and clean floors, but the reality is that beyond reducing some of the mess of #mumlife, the fastest path to joy is acceptance. Life will never be as clean as it once was and that’s ok. Embrace your inner mess monster and remember that everything will come out in the wash… or maybe in this case the soak!
Use the onesie & other clothes to their full power
One of the most absolute guarantees you have during #mumlife is stains, and poo and vomit ending up on all of your darling little ones clothes. And at some point, one of these will be a poo-splosion of epic proportions. To be prepared especially for when it happens in public (because it will) it is best to create an easy exit plan with all of your baby’s outfits.
Most newborn clothes have nifty features to support you to be able to reduce the spillage, like the shoulder flaps on the onesies that make the head opening bigger, so you slip it down over your baby’s body. Before dressing your bundle of joy, take a few seconds to check that you have a poo-scape plan so that when it hits you are not left in the sh*!… literally.
The diaper place and switch
To easily and effortlessly change bubs nappy (cloth or not) simply follow this process:
Prepare a fresh nappy and pop next to bub
Gently wipe away all the mess and place dirty wipes in current nappy
Lift the nappy filled with wipes out of the way
Replace with fresh nappy and secure – this will save time and if you have a MR it will also stop the chances of him peeing on you
Dispose of the soiled nappy or if you have cloth nappies throw in a bucket (maybe the Strucket) to clean later. From Soaking to Stripping and Sanitising the Strucket is the perfect solution to prolong the cleanliness of your cloth nappies.
Use a Laundry Basket (or the Strucket Strainer) to make bath time easy & safe
Finally, bub can sit on their own and you feel a sense of freedom… kind of. Then you go to bath them and realise that they could slip, turn and tumble into water… it is a little more scary!
If your bub can now sit up on their own use the trusted laundry basket or something like the strainer basket of the Strucket to keep them safe while they enjoy water play. The basket will work as a catch-all for toys and bubbles, but the water can flow freely in and out
Be ready to wipe
Babies are messy. Kids are messy. No matter their age if you want to save time, sanity and feel like a good parent ALWAYS have wipes on hand. From running noses, to vomit, poo, sticky hands and the rest #mumlife will be messy and wipes are your best friend!
"Never mess with a mum who's cleaning"
- someone wise
Keep bibs at reach
It is the age-old adage that you can’t always get what you want and when it comes to bibs nothing is truer. You will find in the first months that when you need something it just doesn’t seem to be where you thought it was. That’s why we love the high-chair bib hack we read about… simply attach a sticky hook to the back of your high chair and hang them on there
The contained laundry carry
You will realise very quickly when you bring home your bundle of joy that your life is now an endless montage of one thing, LAUNDRY! You will be amazed at how much clothing, wipes, nappies, bibs and bedding this little sweet cherub can destroy with stains and dirt! You will also realise that having dirty clothes hamper in their room is a blessing.
So, when it comes time to soak, wash and dry simply empty the dirty items onto the sheets fold up all the sides and carry it to the laundry like you are holding Santa’s sack of presents! Imagining you are Santa could well be all that keeps you from crying… Yes, there is that much dirty washing!