Hire a housekeeper too

You shouldn’t have kids if you’re that worried about a mess. Kids are messy

Anonymous wrote:Oh, hon. You’re gonna have to adapt.

Yeah

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clean freaks who live in an apartment shouldn’t get a nanny. It’s just too small of an area. I am a clean freak and that’s why I chose daycare. Similar friends have a huge walk out basement that they converted into a mini school for their preschoolers and nanny. It has a walk out to a playground.

Jesus, no. We are clean freaks and do fine with a nanny even though we’re still both working from home. I would never make any decision on childcare based on my neurosis.

+1. Don’t make your issues your kid’s issues. The idea of shipping your baby off to daycare because you don’t like mess is truly horrible.

Find art classes for them to go to.

OP the "lower your standards" comments are my pet peeve. It's not about lowering your standards. It's about not using your desire for the house to be tidy and clean 100% of each day to allow you to choose the iPad over the paints. It's also about realizing that kids come with gear, and lots of it, so you need to be ready to handle and store it.

Consider what daycares and nursery schools do. They build in storage, they rotate toys, they allot times to get everything out, the kids make a mess, and when they have finished, the kids help the adults to clean it all up (yes, adults can clean up faster and better, but the kids need to learn). You can do the same. Also, sensory bins are a modern invention. The old-fashioned version was digging in the dirt outside, etc.

OP art and sensory bins aren’t a big deal unless you do something crazy like glitter glue. You need designated space and a literal tarp.

But actual mess is a long way off. Sheet pans with some water in them are a wonderful “sensory bin” for at least a year. Splash splash. Hooray!

If you really have anxiety about mess, for the immediate future I highly recommend these waterproof sheet for your bassinet and crib. You can layer like three on there and it makes them fast to peel off. Ely and Co on Amazon. You’ll need a lot if you’re not willing to just turn the baby away from the spit up.

I would also stock up on 3-fold cloth diapers. You don’t use them for diapering, you use them as burp cloths and everything cleaners.

Finally, I assume you are already laundry pros but you’re going to need a LOT of oxiclean and a bucket for soaking stuff. I also recommend a shop vac for unwashable things like stroller parts. Soak with soapy water, extract with shop vac, rinse, extract, dry.

Anonymous wrote:Clean freaks who live in an apartment shouldn’t get a nanny. It’s just too small of an area. I am a clean freak and that’s why I chose daycare. Similar friends have a huge walk out basement that they converted into a mini school for their preschoolers and nanny. It has a walk out to a playground.

Jesus, no. We are clean freaks and do fine with a nanny even though we’re still both working from home. I would never make any decision on childcare based on my neurosis.

Clean freaks who live in an apartment shouldn’t get a nanny. It’s just too small of an area. I am a clean freak and that’s why I chose daycare. Similar friends have a huge walk out basement that they converted into a mini school for their preschoolers and nanny. It has a walk out to a playground.

I find this sad. You care more about your clean house than your kid's fine motor skills and brain development.

Anonymous wrote:You should definitely forego sand, play dough, paint, water activities, playing in dirt or grass, and anything else that can dirty your house. Just keep your kid locked up inside and have them watch stuff on the iPad. No mess.

Yes, poor kid will be sickly and have food allergies.

You should definitely forego sand, play dough, paint, water activities, playing in dirt or grass, and anything else that can dirty your house. Just keep your kid locked up inside and have them watch stuff on the iPad. No mess.