Since I became a parent, the thing I’ve come to appreciate the most is time, especially the free time I used to have. Although this article may seem different from the others and somewhat unrelated, I wanted to add a few things that will save you time and speed up your household chores with a baby. Actually, the best solution would have been to outsource this work to a good cleaning company (I know it’s expensive, but for the first 3 years, we decided to allocate all our resources to creating time for ourselves or at least reducing the workload). After trying and giving up on three different cleaning companies, we decided to take matters into our own hands by investing in a few tools. I’m including the tools we’ve been using for a long time and the ones we recently acquired in this article.
Let’s start by listing the problematic areas:
- Bathroom (especially every surface touched by water becomes incredibly limescale-ridden)
- Kitchen (I know I’ve been cleaning it three times a day since our daughter started eating solid food)
- Desire to clean with minimal use of chemicals
- Windows (one of the most challenging household tasks)
- Under the couches
- The car 😀 (even though it’s not inside the house, it gets dirtiest, so I had to include it haha!)
- Constant dirt accumulation throughout the day
Taking these areas into consideration:
- First, about 3 years ago, we acquired a good corded electric vacuum cleaner. We chose corded because we like things we invest good money in to be durable and low-maintenance. We don’t have time to deal with a vacuum cleaner that constantly needs recharging or changing batteries. We opted for a vacuum cleaner that collects hair in a separate compartment (makes a huge difference), can be cleaned with water, and, most importantly, can reach under the couch without us having to bend. Oh, and having open space under our couches also helps a lot for cleaning (not counting constantly rescuing toys that end up underneath :D).
- To ensure that the floors, especially the kitchen, are swept at least 1-2 times a day, we chose a budget-friendly robot vacuum cleaner. Although there are robot vacuums with many features like mopping and mapping, I went for something simpler, just a vacuum with a timer.
- To deal with both sudden accidents inside the house and the car (the baby car seat gets incredibly dirty, and I still don’t understand how), we chose a cordless, portable, yet powerful and easy-to-empty vacuum cleaner product. Easy emptying and strong suction were important factors for us.
- To minimize the use of chemicals on floors, toilets, and bathrooms, we opted for a steam cleaning tool. Among various options in terms of size and shape, we chose a product with multiple attachments, a handheld water tank, and relatively light to carry. We use it in many areas, from the shower to the floors, sink to the kitchen, and sometimes even on carpets. The power of steam quickly cleans stubborn stains, and I regret not discovering it sooner 😀
- Another tool we have is a vacuum cleaner specifically designed for cleaning windows. The most time-consuming part of cleaning windows is drying and polishing, and since we found a vacuum cleaner with a built-in vacuum, we can finish window cleaning up to 3 times faster without exhausting our arms. In fact, I decided to get one for my mom as well. Similarly, we chose the simplest version as we don’t believe that being more complex or advanced necessarily means it’s better; sometimes less is more!
I’ve included the brands and products we use in the article to give you some ideas. If you need specific recommendations about a particular product, feel free to reach out, and we’d be happy to share our experiences.
ps: we haven’t found a good solution for dust yet, we welcome your advice!
Good luck!
Best regards
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