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Keeping my house clean is a full time job in itself. Seriously, I swear to you that I will clean one room and in that time (I don’t want to name, names 😉 ) Blake has DESTROYED another. The struggle is real, like really real. However, I do my best and though it may not always be tidy, I really try to keep Blake involved. I think it’s important to introduce cleaning and tidying up now so that it sticks with her or at least she knows what it is. So today I’m teaming up with Lemi Shine and sharing five ways that I keep her involved and my favorite, safe cleaning products that I feel comfortable using around her!
- Toys. Toys are one of the easiest ways I can keep my (EXTRA BUSY) toddler involved in the cleaning process. There are two ways I do this. Number one, she knows how to put her toys away, so we sing the “Clean Up!” song and throw her toys in the bins. She actually loves it right now, so I’m enjoying that while it lasts. 😉 The second way I use toys is as a distraction. If I’m trying to clean something up, I’ll give her a toy that I know will keep her busy for 5-10 minutes. That way it allows me to actually get it done.
- Towels. She LOVES “wiping” things off. So whenever I’m actually cleaning the counter or in the rare occasion that I’m actually dusting, I’ll give her a cloth too! She will follow me around and “wipe” things off too. It’s actually the cutest thing ever.
- Pushing the buttons. Who’s babe doesn’t love to push buttons?! Well, this is the one time Blake is allowed to! I’ll throw everything in the dishwasher, the washer, whatever and she gets to shut the door and push the button to start it. For some reason she really loves closing doors too, so we add that in as well.
- Dishes. This is her favorite thing to help with! Most of my dishes go in the dishwasher because well–ain’t nobody got time for that. However, sometimes there’s a few dishes I have to wash by hand (UGH). So I’ll fill up the other side of the sink with water, add a couple drops of Lemi Shine Dish Soap and then hand her a sponge. She loves it. Sometimes I’ll even give her a little bowl to “wash”.
- Â Throw things away. Whenever Blake would find trash on the ground she would walk over and hand it to the husband or I. Well, I decided–DUH. That’s the perfect opportunity! So I slowly started teaching her that it goes in the trash can. Now she walks over to the pantry and hits it (to ask me to open it) and throws it away on her own! I love that she has to have me open the door because that means she’s not throwing random things away. Ha!
It’s all about teamwork at this stage and honestly, I think forever when it comes to keeping the house (semi) clean. We have to work together and teach our babies while they’re young.
Now, when it comes to cleaning products we love Lemi Shine because it’s safe for my babe and our pets. What’s funny though–is Marcus and I started using their dishwasher products when we were in college and now we still love them. Plus we use even more of their products.
Grab coupons for their products, here and learn where you can find their products near you, here.
Mica says
Great tips! My little man loves ‘helping’ too – he got a little baby broom from his grandparents and loves sweeping with it, and he adores playing in the water to wash dishes.
Hope you’ve had a great weekend 🙂
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