If you have a toddler like me, then you probably also have food all over your floor underneath the high chair and dining table. The next time you get down on all fours to pick up pieces of food, take a look around. What do you see?
Last night for supper it was tomato hand prints trying to escape the chair. This morning it was the yogurt spoon thrown across the room leaving white dots. And for lunch today, it was the chunks of chicken nugget we decided we were done with.
I guarantee you will see food, spots, spills, stains, and much more. Food is drawn to the floor like a magnet when you have kids. In spite of constant discipline, the food and utensils are thrown across the room providing ample time to splatter, stain, spill, and hide. Kids excuse themselves from the table before you have an opportunity to wipe thus making hand print art on all your furniture. Crumbs somehow miss the bib and fall to the floor as you clean up. It never ends....unless the cat finds it and then, well it just finds its way back to the floor.
I would love to hear how you combat this battle as a mom. Clearly this is one of those moments when you can say, "You know you are a mom when..." For me, I try to do regular wipe downs of the floor, high chair, wall, table legs, and anything else that becomes a target.
Lately, I have resorted to Judah picking up the food as part of his punishment for throwing. Still, though, I have to assist him before the cat arrives on site. I start with the obvious, clean up the kid, take off the bib, and wipe him down despite tons of protests and whines. After each meal, I wash off the high chair tray and seat knowing that if in a bind at the next meal or snack time, they are ready to go. If the bib is really dirty, I rinse it off before taking it to the laundry room for a good washing along with the high chair cover. First check mark!
Hopefully most of the food fell onto the mat we have down. My husband cleverly decided one day to turn our clear plastic office floor mat into a carpet shield protection underneath the high chair. All I have to do then is take the dust buster (yes, they still make them and they are a godsend) to sweep up all the crumbs and mop down the spills with my Swifter Wet Jet mop.
Check Done!
Then occasionally we scrub down the wall adjacent to the high chair trying to remove all caked on food and stains. The Magic Eraser works wonders on old food. Even a soapy wash cloth or sponge helps wash down everything on their level like table legs and cupboard doors. Another check!
Finally, the carpet gets cleaned. Instead of having it professionally cleaned, a couple of times a year we rent a steamer. These carpet cleaners can be rented at a professional rental place or even at Lowe's and Hope Depot. Buying the soap and doing the labor yourself limits excessive costs. Be sure to set aside a day to use and dry. Check! Check!
Tackling the food issue is almost impossible with kids. However, utilizing similar simple measures will at least keep things at bay. Good luck with this dirt magnet!
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