Less Mess, Less Stress...

It's been a while since I've published a guest post but this one spoke to me when I read it. I LOVE it when my kids get messy, we equate mess with fun to some degree, but I am always looking for hacks to make cleaning up faster and easier.

Alex Farley is a full time working Mum of two children, aged two and five years old.  She is a writer and co-owner of a small business, Superb Cleaning Services based in London and has collated some of her cleanup tips to share with you all.

Minimise the Cleanup after Crafting with Kids

- A guest post by Alex Farley -

Are you looking for ways to occupy your little ones but at the same time you don't want to spend a whole day cleaning up after them? I know that many parents are concerned about the degree of messiness that goes hand in hand with some craft projects, but there's no need to panic! Inevitably, there are some activities which can turn into a messy disaster no matter how many times you tell your children to be a little bit more careful, but this post will share with you, a number of tips to help you minimise the clean up after crafting with your children.

Always cover the playground

One of the easiest ways to minimise the clean up is to cover the area where your kids play. For example, you can use a table cloth, a blanket or even a shower curtain. Trust me, each and every of these works really well! The best part is that after your kids are done with their craft project, you can give the cover a good wipe or throw it in the washing machine!

Better messy outside than messy inside

If the weather allows, move the messy activities outside. After your kids are done playing or crafting, the cleaning up will be a lot easier. Of course, it depends on what they played with, but the messy situation will be further under control in contrast to what would have been if they played inside.

Use the bath for messy crafting or playing

When it is cold outside, my kids know that they do all their fun activities… in the bath. To be frank, a friend of mine told me about this tip. Formerly, I let my kids play in their room which was my biggest mistake as a mother. Yes, my kids were having a hell of a fun but they did not see the situation as I did (a gigantic mess to clean after their play). Ever since that friend told me that her children played in the bath, using it as a vessel, I took advantage, too. It is a fantastic way to contain all the mess and it is extremely easy to clean the surface. Once your kids are done crafting, run the water and all the mess will be completely gone in an instant.

Replace your art supplies with washable ones

You will thank me later. To keep your children's clothes from getting heavily stained during their craft projects, use washable art supplies! I replaced all previous ‘risky’ supplies with washable watercolours and washing the clothes has never been easier!

Limit the materials to prevent a massive mess

Give your kids materials in small amounts during their craft process. If they are into painting, give them a small amount of paint and if necessary, add to their supply. Believe me, this does minimise the clean up because kids only use what they actually need as opposed to overloading their paper or ending up with a surplus at the end of their project.

Keep their fun simple

There are many simple tips on how to prevent a massive mess. The place where children play makes a great difference. For example, if you seat your kids at the table and give them crayons to draw with will not be as messy as giving them the opportunity to choose where to draw because they will instantly see the walls as their canvas. If you are worried about the table getting drawn on, cover it with paper.

If no matter how hard you try, things are getting messy anyway, keep calm and try to have fun. If you are concerned about the mess you have to deal with after you are done playing or crafting with your child, you deprive yourself of all the fun. Enjoy your time with your little ones and make the best of it.