8 Cleaning House Rules To Establish For Your Newborn

Your house can be the messiest place on earth after a newborn arrives. Instead, 'mess' is too weak a word to describe a home with kids. You are busy taking care of the child, and in the meantime, your house is turning upside down. With all the baby products, clothes and toys lying in the room, your house looks nothing less than a house of a hoarder.

But is it right to stay in an unclean house with a newborn? Definitely not! So, you have to make some extra efforts to maintain the sanity of your home. You can either hire cleaning professionals or do it yourself. Now, if you have decided to choose the latter, here are some cleaning rules you need to establish around a newborn.

Follow the ten-minute rule

Cleaning with a newborn is like shovelling snow while it's still snowing. You cannot achieve the goal of a perfectly clean house with kids and newborns in the house. So, to make things easier for you, I have a ten-minute rule that I think works perfectly for every mother struggling to keep her house organized. I came across this rule when my sister had her baby.

I could see her working steadfastly while the baby was asleep. She told me that she worked at least ten minutes a day to keep the house clean. The ten-minute rule worked really well for her, and it could work for you too.

So make sure you dedicate at least ten minutes for the cleaning activities. Look around and see what is essential. Usually, with kids, it is essential to organize and declutter little things. So, take out ten minutes out of the busy schedule and arrange everything accurately.

Keep everything where it belongs

I understand that with a newborn in the house, it is difficult to keep track of things. But if you are in the habit of keeping things back in its original place. You will never have difficulty finding anything. Usually, with a newborn, it is always best to keep a bag of essentials because you will always find yourself reaching out for baby diapers, wipes, baby creams, etc.

So, the best way to manage this problem is with the help of a baby essentials bag. Always keep that bag filled with all the necessary items and put all the things back in the bag as soon as you use them. In turn, your house will be free of clutter and all the messes that precede.

Don't procrastinate and clean up instantly

This is one of my favourite rules, and I have been following it for years. It is the rule of tidying up as you go. In other words, if you leave even the tiniest of messes unattended the mess will grow bigger with time. So, clean things as soon as they get dirty.

Because with newborns in the house, it will be difficult for you to tidy up things later on. Eventually, doing things right away is the real deal. As a result of this, you will also stay motivated to clean the house regularly.

It is worth noticing that with newborns, you will not have enough time on your hands. So if you see an unfolded blanket, fold it there and then. If you accidentally dropped toothpaste on the carpet, wipe it off immediately. Similarly, if you have clothes that need ironing, get it done sooner rather than later. Following this rule will help you achieve the desired goal.

Use the power of disinfecting

A newborn is sensitive to the surroundings. Your child will likely catch diseases if exposed to harmful bacteria. According to a study, the dirtiest places in the house are the sink, surfaces that you constantly come in contact with, and the toilet seat.

So, first, let's talk about the things your child can continuously come in contact with daily.

It can be anything from a bottle to a simple toy. It is worth noticing that small infants have the habit of putting everything in the mouth. Hence, it becomes more critical for you to keep the toys germ free.

So, boil the water at 100-degree celsius first and then after some time put all the toys in the boiled water. You can follow the same procedure for milk bottles and sippers too. The bottom line is to keep everything that could go into the mouth of your child bacteria-free.

Perform the tasks in chunks

If you follow the divide and rule policy, you will definitely go a long way. The idea behind this policy is to make your life easier. Especially in the case of a newborn where the most ignored tasks have to be immediately taken care of. For example, laundry and organizing. You have to do a load almost every day.

So, it is best to perform the tasks in chunks. You can divide the days and keep three days for washing clothes. Another way to perform tasks in pieces is through the management of time and the only time you will get to clean is when the child is sleeping. Subsequently, it becomes vital to manage time by dividing days into different task days.

Avoid using room fresheners

Technically it is not good to spray a room freshener where a newborn is sleeping or playing. One of the primary reasons is that a freshener contains phthalates.

They are proven dangerous for the baby's health and can cause a severe negative impact. Now, you will sometimes attempt to spray a freshener to hide the odour that prevails in your house. Instead, you can keep some plants in the room or spray freshener everywhere except in the newborn's room.

Multitasking will go a long way

Swipe the counter while you are talking over the phone or chop vegetables and fold the laundry while watching TV. In addition to this, infants need company all the time. In such circumstances, you can use the baby carrier and keep your hands free to do the rest of the tasks.

For example, stack the plates after washing, do the laundry and vacuum the floors. In turn, you will have accomplished two tasks, that of cleaning and tending to the needs of your baby.

Get help from professionals

This is one of the most convenient and best ways to get rid of all your cleaning problems. According to a survey, eight out of ten Americans use professional cleaning services. Instead, some of them even know how much to tip house cleaners. The tip is given in the form of gifts or just bonus cash at the end of every month. Though to tip or not to tip, the choice is entirely yours. But professionals will unburden all your worries while you attend to the requirements of your newborn.

You will never have time for cleaning with a newborn. It is an irrefutable fact that your child is primarily the centre of attention and household tasks become secondary. But if you establish some house rules like the ones mentioned above, you will definitely have a cleaner house than imagined.

About the author

Sean Roberts is a blogger at Zuma's Cleaning which is known for providing #1 Home Cleaning Services in NYC. He began writing when he was still in college. He has written on Home Improvement, Lifestyle, Fashion, and beauty. And he is always on a lookout for something new.

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Tags: Cleaning , Parenting , Guest Post