Parenting Pointers: 5 things you never cleaned before having a child (guest post)

 If you are a parent of a young child or more than one, you must at least vaguely remember the good old days when cleaning was done quickly and easily. It was basic, you knew what you had to do, you had a schedule of daily and weekly cleaning chores and you had the time to do them all, right? Well, all of us parents, now know better. Oh, how we thought cleaning was not our favourite chore back then because it took time and effort. And of course you only appreciate what you have had after you have lost it.

Having kids makes cleaning much more...um...interesting. There are just so many new things that you need to figure out a way to clean that you have never before thought about cleaning. Sometimes it feels like it is a child's job to find a new way to make a mess. Every day is a surprise. I had already made my peace with the knowledge that I would have to do laundry every single day, sometimes even a few times a day, even before the baby came. But now there are so many other things that are a surprise every day. I used to think some things at my house were to be cleaned only when I spring clean...ah, the good old days.

1. Windows – this is something that has never occurred to me to clean regularly. Adult take no interest in windows, we do not touch them. We clean them once or twice, may be three times a year and that is it. But now... I have to clean my windows almost every week. I do not understand the kids' obsession with kissing and licking windows. There are always fingerprints, smudges, stains... Now I have switched to a safer eco window cleaner because with such a regular cleaning and my kids regularly licking the windows I cannot keep spraying them with store-bought ones. https://pixabay.com/en/child-toddler-boy-rainbow-chalk-885831/

2. Art and walls – Yep. No, not pictures in frames on the walls. Actual art on the walls. My 3-year-old loves drawing. And even though she has everything she needs to create masterpieces on pieces of paper from time to time, when no one is around her for longer than 10 minutes she starts drawing on walls, on floors, on doors... what can I say... as angry as I am I clean her art with a heavy heart. I hope at least she grows to be a famous artist one day. Glitter is another major problem at my house. My 7-year-old daughter loves using glitter in all of her paintings and crafts. One day of play with glitter equals one week of cleaning for mum. Just as I think it is gone, she uses it again and the circle repeats itself.

3. Stickers – just like drawing that end up on the walls, stickers love to go on all pieces of furniture and appliances at our house. Both my kids express their creativity by putting stickers on everything. I have scraped and cleaned many a stickers and I just pray that this period will end soon. This is something that I have never ever thought I would have to clean. And here comes bubble gum as well. They chew it and spit it anywhere. I have scraped a lot of gum as well.

4. Bodily functions – Everyone who has taken care of a baby has had experience dealing with them – poop, pee and vomit are always around the baby. But when your kid is a toddler they can get creative. And they do not stay in one place so that everything is easier to clean. No, no, no. They walk around and it gets everywhere. Then you walk around and find where it is to clean it.

5. Bathtub toys and toys in general – We have all clean our kids plastic toys and stuffed toys. For the plastic ones full home cleaning n10 usually just fill a bucket with soap and water and wash them there. But I had never thought that I would need to clean bathtub rubber toys. Because you would think that since they are in the water they do not get that dirty, right? Wrong! I usually do this once or twice a week – I soak them in a bucket with water and white vinegar then rinse. Because since they are in water all of the time they can easily become home of bacteria and mildew, and then they go in your child's mouth. So, better make sure they are as clean as they can be.

Now we long for those simple basic cleaning chores, right? But we should cherish even these kinds of messes because sooner than we want to the kids will grow up and move out and we would be back to the mundane cleaning chores.