10 Steps To A Cleaner House: Preventing Messes, Part 2
This post is Part 2 of Preventing Messes. Read Part 1 here.
Today, I’m sharing some more useful tips for preventing messes around the home. Any mess you can prevent is one less thing to clean up later!
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When feeding babies, don’t lay sticky messy food all over their high chair trays. I have had enough children and grandchildren to know that there is no way you can feed a baby or toddler without having some mess but there are a few things you can do to help keep it under control.
- Feed gooey, extra messy things to babies yourself. Let them practice feeding themselves with the less slimy things first.
- Start teaching them to use plates or bowls as soon as possible. That doesn’t mean to give them Spaghetti O’s the first time they use a plate. Instead start with something like a cheese sandwich.
- When they first start feeding themselves, start out with things like dry Cheerios and continue to feed them the chocolate pudding yourself.
- Always fill children’s drinking glasses half full. Then, if it spills, they only spill half a glass and not a whole one. This makes easier cleanup and less waste.
- Don’t let anyone eat off of the table. How many times do your children make sandwiches and then just take them to the table to eat? If you don’t want to dirty a plate, have them at least put the sandwich on a napkin. This saves you from having to wipe down the table every time someone eats something as simple as a cookie or a sandwich.
- When you are sitting in the family room or someplace other than the kitchen, don’t place glasses with liquid in them on the floor. You are the only one that knows that the glass is there (if you remember) and the chance of a spill is nearly 100%. If you decide to allow drinks in the family room, make sure you have enough end tables and such for people to conveniently set them. If you let kids have drinks in the family room, you will almost certainly have more spills.
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If you seem to be cleaning up the same messes over and over, look at what you are doing and see if there is a way to change it. For example:
- I love using talcum powder after my shower but I would always get powder all over my dark rug. It was a mess. Then I figured out if I dried myself off in the shower and powdered myself before I got out of the tub, all of the mess stayed in the white tub and would be rinsed out with the next shower.
- If your kids keep tracking mud into the house through the back door, a few well placed stepping stones might prevent mud from getting in.
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Does someone spill a drink at the table every night? Do you then have to jump up run for a towel trying to get back before it spreads all over the table and down onto the floor? Often mom or dad are yelling “Why can’t you be more careful?” the whole time and it messes up the whole meal.
I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t have this problem when my kids were young and then it dawned on me — I used cotton tablecloths at every meal. When something spilled the tablecloth absorbed most of it. Even with a bad spill, I could still take my time getting a towel or rag because the tablecloth would hold until I got back. It was much easier just to toss the tablecloth into the washer than to try to wipe up a sticky spill.
- If you don’t have or want to use tablecloths, you could do what my daughter did. She rolled some small hand towels and placed them in a basket that she kept on or near the table so that they were always handy when there was a spill.
Again, you may find that it doesn’t work well for you to use all of these specific examples. The point is to try and think of something different you can do that will work for you. Every little thing that you can do to make your home function better will make your life easier.
-Jill
For more easy cleaning tips to make your life easier, check out our How To Organize And Clean Your Home e-books.
photo by: cookylida
To avoid spilled drinks at the table, we used short, wide glasses rather than tall, skinny ones. The short wide ones are much more stable.
Annie Kate
We just always drink water, including the kids. Then if there is a spill, it’s no big deal. We just laugh it off as “tonight’s spill” and clean it up. The kids aren’t spilling on purpose, after all! The tablecloth is a great idea. We also don’t allow anyone under 12 to take food or drinks out of the tiled kitchen/dining area. The 12 and up kids are big enough to clean up their own messes. If they don’t, then they lose the privilege of eating/drinking in the living room and school room. No food or drinks in the bedrooms at all.
Dear Tara,
RE: spilled drinks at the table.
Like your suggestions. We have another one. In our family, we use short glasses, and the tall glasses we have are heavy-bottomed rootbeer mugs. It drives me nuts that many glasses are top-heavy or unstable, just asking for trouble. When I go out, I often ask for a shorter glass, knowing I’m likely to wave my arm and spill something. People laugh, but there are fewer messes!
Growing up we never had drinks at the table. With the dinner dish passing it was all too easy to have an accident and with 6 of us there it really congested the tabletop. We would all eat dinner (note: not fill up on a glass of milk and then be hungry again about the time the kitchen was cleaned up!) and the first child finished would pour everyone a glass of milk if they wanted it. We do it this way with our kids now.
Eating and drinking at the same time are a habit, and it is not necessarily good for digestion either. Forgo the drinks at the table all together for a month or two and count anyone who dies of thirst, and also count how many spills you have to clean up!!
It was probably a year ago that I first read the table cloth thing and said “Duh!” to myself. Our eating table is also our school table and has a large world map with clear plastic over it so it is a great solution to just throw on a cotton table cloth for meals, however I can’t seem to find large absorbent cotton table cloths. The ones I can find are usually circles and I have to use 2 to cover our large oblong table! I’d love to know where to find large cotton ones that aren’t paper thin and that don’t cost a fortune!(even finding cotton ones is hard most seem to have polyester in them!)
Sherri, I see that somebody suggested cotton sheets for tablecloths for your oblong table, which is a great idea, especially flannel ones, which would be thick and absorbent, but still flat enough that glasses would be stable on it. Also, my aunt used to use big beach towels as tablecloths–colorful, absorbent, and easy to throw in the washer.
Years ago they sold terry cloth tablecloths. You could find them everywhere then polyester became so popular and they stopped making them. I loved my terry cloth ones. Of anything I used for a table cloth they did the best.
Use flat sheets from the thrift stores for your large table.
I love all the great ideas! As a mom of 4, g’ma of 14,
and great-g’ma of 7, I’ve learned all these things over the years, but love to know that young moms like I once was can get ideas an EASIER way–by your column!
A couple other ideas–give little ones SMALL glasses–some moms give their kids what would be the size of a quart jar for US to try to hold/drink from, If you have glasses that have a texture/pressed glass, it helps (like the old cheez whiz came in, 4 or 5 oz. jars). My grandson Jed always wanted the “glass with the bumps” and never spilt or broke any–they were shaped like a little vase–wide bottom, sloping in a bit, half-way up.
Blessings to you all and congrats on your move!
Sherri, you might try a fabric store that sells 60″ wide fabric. You can have it cut to the length you need and then hem the ends or use iron-on hem tape. Napkins to match can be made by fringing edges of proper size squares.
What a great idea about using cotton tablecloths. I just switched to a banquet hall quality tablecloth and I have noticed the difference already after my daughter spilled milk and my husband spilled coffee. It’s much easier to wash a tablecloth than to mop the whole floor! Thanks :)
You might want to look for a neon type sign business in your area. The one here has lots of wooden pallet type things and wooden crates. You can strip the pieces off or use the boxes as they are. I live in the country and have made pet shelters from just the boxes, in the barn during the winter. But, they throw out lots of wood, several 2×4’s and plywood. So, you may want to contact one and see if you can haul it away. Saves them from removal expense!!
You can also use a hand towel or decorative dish towel, like one with pumpkins for Halloween, as a placemat for young kids. They are more absorbent and if there are no spills, there will surely be crumbs. Crumbs can be shaken out of the cloth over the trashcan and tossed into the wash.
We always wait until everyone has been served to pass out the glasses of drink. That saves about 80% of spilling opportunities.
After having two kids of my own, and two grandkids, I discovered early on to save my old tablecloths to use under their highchairs at mealtime. I could just simply wipe down or shake out the tablecloth for a quicker clean up.
Great idea. I always threw a large flat sheet on the floor. I always buy white then I could bleach the heck out of them and nobody seems to care that they have stains. Because they know what it’s for and think its a great idea. I even lay two of them across the sunroom floor for bad weather like the spring when it rains. I have three dogs and shoes that come in it helps to absorb a lot more and I just throw them in the wash every week bye thanks
RE: spills at the table…Sippy cups, anyone????? For older kids, Learning Curve makes plastic “take and toss” cups with lids and straws.
Like most kids, ours are extremely messy eaters. To avoid having to srubbing the spindles on the chair backs every night, we put pillow cases on the backs of our kitchen chairs. That way when they get dirty we just throw the pillow cases in the washing machine.
For Sherri – you could use a cotton sheet as a cover for your oblong table. : )
I always give my toddler just enough in his glass for a few mouthfuls. He can always have more. When my husband asked me why I gave him so little, I told him that’s all I wanted to clean up! lol
Liz, Love the idea of using kitchen towels for placemats. Never thought of that. I have quite a few kitchen towels that were favs of my mom (she is gone now) and I just couldn’t bear to toss them but too nice for rags yet. So they have been taking up a lot of space that I don’t have in my kitchen. I will start using them as placemats. They are not too thick so things will stand up on them but they are really cute. I know we will enjoy them now that we will be able to see them everyday.
When I was living at home, mom had metal cups that we used for dinner. There were 6 of us and we all had our own color. They were sturdy and not easily knocked over. For breakfast, we had juice in the old grape jelly jars that were really glasses with cartoon drawings on them. The lid was a pop-off and it help about 6 oz of jelly. It was the perfect size of juice or milk. I still have a few of them and my “grands” love to see Tom and Jerry or Woody Woodpecker on their glass.
For a tablecloth, you might try an old bedspread as long as it doesn’t have designs that stand up a little higher. Some of the old chenille spreads are pretty flat and work well.
Good ideas Maggie. I had some dish towels my mom had embroidered before she was married and never used. I didn’t want to mess them up but they were so pretty.I had a long blank ledge above my kitchen cabinets in one house so I hung them in a row along that ledge. They looked like pretty pictures all lined up there. I also made some towels for Tawra. She has a shelf with a really cute display on it and across the bottom it has like a wooden rod so she hung them across the rod for decoration. She has all kinds of cute things from grandmas, great grandmas kitchen that she uses all over instead of keeping them packed away.
Instead of napkins or paper towels we use coffee filters. They work great as a little bowl or plate for kids and are super cheap :)
We used to put an old shower curtain under the high chair when our son was in that phase of life — afterwards, we’d either shake it outside or put it in the washer (but not the dryer).
: )
I agree with the comment about not serving drinks with meals. My sister who is going through a hard time recently moved with me. She has a 4,3 and 1 year old. Dinner was always a struggle getting the kids to eat. Normally they would only eat half of their food and drink their entire glass of water or juice. Than, a couple of hours later they would all be hungry again. Which meant. Reheating, rewashing, taking time away from doing other things. As u can imagine that is frustrating. Now. She just serves food during a meal with the promise that if they eat everything on their plates than they can have their juice or milk( usually watered down in half). And the kids are now eating everything and no worries about spills!
Just stumbled on a easy solution to those black marks that some shoes leave on your bathroom or kitchen floors. I was removing my makeup with baby oil and noticed a black shoe mark on the floor. Since I usually use Mr Clean Magic Eraser and didn’t have one handy I tried a little baby oil on a tissue and voila – easy clean up.
As for the tablecloths we all know that they are a little expense especially the nicer ones..But if you think about it if you pay a little extra for them they will last you for years and they wash up so well…I have three nice ones that I use for everyday and they are probably 4 or 5 years old…Love them….:o)
Just like Jennifer said….we have an oblong table. I use twin size fitted sheets on it. That way if I want to use a pretty tablecloth, it doesn’t slide around because of the one underneath. I also can pick from all different colors and designs!
For a tablecloth, how about a cotton blanket?? Or a flannel sheet??? You could also try to refill (juice/milk etc) a water bottle w/screw on cap for each person and sippy cups for the little ones.
you could also throw a few towels on the floor under the table for ‘damage control’
When working at the counter I always make sure the drawers are fully closed. Then crumbs and spills can’t get inside. It is surprising how clean the drawers stay.
We always made the kids use sippy cups. This way they could have their drinks and if it did spill very little if any would come out. We always preferred ones with the straws in them.
Yes in most of the recipes we post you can interchange canned, frozen and fresh peaches in them. Sometimes you may have to adjust the sugar slightly for your own taste is all.
I love to use travel mugs for drinks at a meal. Unless there is company.
The ice stays cold for drinks and hot coffee and tea stays nice and hot.
They don’t spill as much and they come in great colours and you can start a person on the mug in the morning and it follows them through the day.
For younger folks I use salad forks as they are easier to maneuver from the plate to the mouth and smaller bites make for less mess.
I started using travel mugs when a regular mug was too hot or too cold for my hands and found the children like them as they are adult sippy cups. So I decided to go with the flow.
I also use salad forks all the time for my meals as my hands shake and I look sometimes like I have never even tried to use a utensil. So smaller means neater.
just a couple tips I have picked up over the years.
My sister got a free mug at a PetsSmart demo a few years ago (10 at least) and she gave it to me. It holds about 30 oz and is really sturdy. I can put some ice and a drink in the fridge in it and the ice will still be there the next morning. A great mug for keeping a drink cold. It is wonderful. I wash it on the top shelf of the dishwasher Too bad she didn’t keep one for herself. We drink a lot of iced tea – all year long. My grands also use the salad forks when they visit and I do, too, sometimes, if the meal is a salad type meal. My salad forks have a slight indent in one of the outside tines so the little kids say they have a “special” fork.
To avoid spill from spreading use hand towels or those small holiday towels you find at yard sale as placemats. The spill will be absorbed and the towels are easier to wash than a tablecloth. Also, always have a damp washcloth on hand for wipe those sticky hands.
you can buy tablecloth pads at fabric stores. They are sold by the yard and you cut it to fit your own table. It is plastic covered foam and it protects a wood table from everything including spills. I use tablecloths and cloth napkins, but I didn’t want my wood table wrecked and the pad has worked wonders. It is cheap to buy at Joann’s or Hancock Fabrics–just ask the sales lady and she will help you find the right stuff.
I discovered that in our house, placemats caused spills because of their uneven texture. I avoid them. I like the idea of pouring the drinks after the food is served. I, personally, don’t drink with the meal. Sometimes water. The rest of my family drinks milk, but I limit that… Or try…
I think a pretty tablecloth with clear plastic over it works! Just don’t use a scrubby sponge on it. If you use cloth napkins, you are all ready to attack any spills that happen!
I agree that limiting drinks to water at mealtime limits spilling, and even minimizing messes when the occur. Also, you want them to eat nutritiously, not fill up on juicy sugar water, or milk for that matter.
Try flannel sheets for a tablecloth. Look in a catalouge to see how wide them are made and purchase the appropriate size for your table. I would bet that you need a twin size. You can buy them at a thrift shop or new.
Hi Jill, One thing everyone does in my home is when you are finished eating you take your cup plate etc and put it in the sink and if you have trash that needs to go in the garbage can you take care of that too. If we teach them young it will be easier when they get older and it teaches them responsibility also
Please be careful with using things like baby powder or baby oil in the tub or on the floor! I know it sounds trivial to the able bodied but–
Anyone can slip and FALL on oil residue OR baby powder residue. This AM I had to get my handicapped self into the tub–which means climbing OVEr the side of the tub off a wheeled scooter–and some one had not fully RINSED the tub floor of SHAVING CRAM the grand kids had played with when they rinsed off the toys that had been used. Now I was thrilled that the grands had so much FUN with the shaving cream project–it was my idea after all!!!!–but NOT so thrilled when I SLID on the left over and had to slam my knee onto the side of the tub and then try and get back upright to get onto the shower chair. Having two good legs is not a guarantee either that this can’t happen!
USe the baby powder and the baby oil–just CLEAN it up afterwards! Ditto shaving cream paint! LOL
There’s another great place to use sheets! When we go to a park for a party, we use the fitted bottom sheet on the picnic tables. The elastic helps keeps the table cloth from getting blown around and those tables aren’t so wonderfully clean usually. The sheet does a quick cover up for a cleaner surface! The twin size seems to be just the right size.
I know people like to use their heirloom tablecloths, but not get them dirty. So they put a clear vinyl table cloth over the heirloom to keep it clean! It can also even out the texture of the surface to help the spills from happening.
I like the idea of having that basket of towels at the table. It sounds cute and practical!
We use placemats that are quilted. They are really absorbent. I buy a lot of them. I put them over the the tablecloth. A table cloth is much more expensive to replace if stains don’t come out.I find I can soak them in with other laundry much easier.
After having two boys, I decided to get a piece of glass cut and beveled and put over my wooden table. Spills are easy to wipe up and I don’t have to worry about water rings from cups left over after a meal.
A preschool I worked at used terry cloth towels as placemats for the kids. After they finished, they put away their dishes and wiped up their spots with the dish towels.
Cloth napkins go a long way in cleaning up spills, and you can find them at garage or estate sales regularly, or make them yourself. I used to teach it as a beginner sewing project, a set of four to six will cover all of the family easily. Tip: don’t serve dark juices, or use paper napkins on spaghetti nights. Thus, saving your cloth napkins from some staining.
Random comments:
1. If it leaves the kitchen, it goes on a tray.
2. No food/drinks other than water in a bottle with a screw cap are allowed upstairs. This also prevents infestations of insects and rodents (I once found a nest of RABBITS in my upstairs library, how they got there is beyond me), as well as spills. We have the FlyLady bottles.
3. My husband’s aunt says the best way to keep the kitchen floor clean when you have little kids is to have a dog.
4. Because of a medical condition, I have to drink water when I eat.
5. I prefer cloth napkins also, especially if we are having messy food. I got a bunch of them (along with 5 unfinished crib quilts) in a bin I bought at an auction, sight unseen, for $1.
6. We take a flat sheet when we go to Knoebels, to put on the picnic table. When my kids were little and we would go to the opera in the park, we would set up on their Sesame Street comforter. It was easier to find in a sea of red and green plaid blankets after visiting the bathroom or playground.
Years ago a friend would come to visit with her three year old we had a lot of spills with her drinks.
I began to notice that she would deliberately let her juice glass fall and splatter. The next time she came
and spilled her drink, I handed her a large rag and told her to clean up the mess and her mom backed me up.
The little girl was very surprised. I think she enjoyed disrupting a visit with her antics and the commotion
caused when we all scurried about to mop up her mess—she seemed to love the attention. I know that most spills are
accidental, but this tactic works when they are not. Just a thought from years ago. Tommie.
I realized that too many spills st dinner we’re from using lightweight plastic cups for the kids. I used heavy glass tumblers and the spills stopped. Also used a laminated tablecloth or oilcloth on the table—easy wiping ?