How to deal with the housekeeping, when you have an infant?

The best way to do it summed in just a couple of words – make it simple! Clear the surfaces of tables, desks and cabinets in the house. Either way, you need to make them safe for the baby. If you are still pregnant, do a cleaning and discard of unnecessary items now. Decide which aspect of the neat and clean house is important to you and your partner and learn to be satisfied with this (for now). A phrase that you can remember is “people before things.” Your baby is small for such a short time. Your kids will remember the hugs, the walkings and the fun family activities. The messy house will not make an impression to them! It can be difficult to leave the house if it’s messy though if your parents were clean freaks. But admit it, taking care of the baby and to breastfeeding it can take many hours, every day. Something should be dropped out!

Include your partner in the household duties, even if so far they weren’t involved. Perhaps you will be the one who will have a baby and will be spending much more time at home. However, the childcare takes enough time and effort and parenting is often a full day (and night) job. Be realistic: The fact, that you’re at home with a baby does not mean that you will be able to maintain the house.

Use a box, which can go from room to room, in which you can put different items, toys and clothes. The rooms will look more organized. You can put the items on their places later on.

If your baby does not want to be left alone, wear it in a sling and learn to do some things together (you’ll be surprised how many things you can do that way).

Make a list of “to do” things and sort them by importance. When you remove even one thing every day, you will feel that you had accomplished something. Do not forget to write down the dozens of small everyday things – shopping, garbage disposal, etc., they also take time and effort. You will start feeling like you are a tenant in your own home,but that’s absolutely normal. If you feel like you’re getting overwhelmed simply book a one off or end of tenancy cleaning and start everything over

Don’t make huge plans yet. Find ways to do your work on parts – ten minutes each. If you are trying to do all things from beginning to end as you used to do before, it will be frustrating if your baby constantly interrupts you.

When cooking, stick to simplicity as well. When you have the opportunity and a little more time, cook double portions of food and freeze them. Use a pressure cooker or stew in which to cook on slow fire – so you can put your meal cooked in the morning when the baby is probably more pleased, instead of the last minute of the evening, when it can be nervous. Use recipes that are quick and easy to prepare. If you do not have the opportunity and the free time to cook that day, buy or order something over the phone – this could be a good option, not always low-cost, though.

Finally, do not be afraid to ask for help! You are a person not the “Super Mother”, and it is normal sometimes to “give up” for a while. If friends or relatives come to visit, do not deflect their questions politely, “Do you need anything” – accept their proposal to bring you something cooked or let them wash the dishes or to vacuum. Especially women, who already have children – they are fully aware that a baby needs care and will understand if you honestly admit, that you need some help. Domestic help can also be a great option for grandparents, who want to be helpful.

There are tons of helpful tips on how to make things easier for you and lots of them can be found on the MumsNet website. Tons of articles on making life easier for the stay at home mum have been written and there’s more information than you could imagine on the topic.