As I type out this title, I am laughing out loud. Deep clean indeed.
How to Deep Clean Your House With 2 Under 2
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Here’s the backstory:
A few weeks ago, we took Nugget to see an allergist. Turns out…
She’s allergic to dust mites.
A few things went through my mind…
1. OMG, WE NEED TO EVACUATE NOW!!!
2. What the heck are dust mites?!
3. My poor baby.
4. I want to throw up.
After consulting Google and learning about dust mites {insert gag face}, I felt an incredible amount of sadness and guilt. Hubs said it best: “You mean our kid is sick because our house is dirty?” Yep, pretty much.
Step #1 on how to deep clean your house with 2 under 2…discover your child has an allergy.
One of the best ways to combat the allergy is to remove as much dust as possible.
Apparently, dust is food for dust mites and their feces is the culprit of Nugget’s allergies. {insert another gag face}
Again, a myriad of thoughts flew through my mind:
1. ____________
Okay, so not really a myriad. More like me pacing the floor, trying to figure out where to even begin, coming up with nothing.
There’s a saying:
“Oh, just leave the cleaning. Your kids will only be little once.”
Well, it caught up with me. And now my little girl is suffering.
After I went through a tornado of emotions (guilt, anger, despair, sadness, shame), I decided to get to it. My little girl’s health depended on it.
1. Let go of all of the guilt.
Hubs and I are both clean, tidy people. We are! But, life happens. Motherhood happens. Life with two under two happens. When we know better, we do better. Time to move on!
Honestly though, sometimes it’s hard to get started, especially if you are in a funk. (To learn more, read about how to get out of the decluttering funk.)
2. Create a game plan.
I binge watched “Tidying Up” on Netflix in one night and felt so inspired! Of course, realistically speaking, I had to tweak it a bit to fit my “2 under 2 lifestyle” aka lots of interruptions and nursing breaks.
Our plan, in a nutshell, is to go through every single item in our house, donate/recycle/toss, and wash/clean every crevice. We need to deep clean our home! Sounds daunting but it simply must be done!
To me, deep cleaning entails the following:
- Decluttering
- Dusting EVERYTHING
- Washing walls, floors, base boards, vents
- Cleaning out cabinets
- Shampooing carpet
- Washing all toys
Everyday life cleaning includes:
- Dishes
- Vacuuming
- Laundry
- Cleaning bathrooms
A few of my favorite products:
3. Enlist help.
This was (and is) such a hard one for me. Other than Hubs and myself, we don’t really have any help. Family either live too far, are too busy, or are unable to help. Friends have their own families and lives to live. Still, I decided to ask a dear friend.
Sometimes, a small gesture means the most.
I literally kid you not when I say the clutter in my house was choking the life out of me. My friend came over armed with breakfast sandwiches and coffee and worked nonstop for six hours. I wanted to cry. Her kindness helped pull me out of my funk and got us moving in the right direction. We still have an ungodly amount of work to do but at least we started!
4. Set realistic expectations.
While I desperately want to get this done ASAP, the reality is…life is still going on. Diapers still need changing, meals need to be made, babies must be nursed. Rome wasn’t built in a day. I want this done and I want it done NOW…but it will have to fit into Nugget and Peanut’s schedule.
5. Do something every day.
Whatever room I’m in, that’s where the magic is happening. Back in the day, Saturdays were my designated cleaning and laundry day. Now, it must be done every single day, in bits and pieces.
6. Involve the littles when you can.
While I vacuum, Nugget uses her little toy vacuum alongside me while Peanut watches from her bouncy seat.
UPDATE: Nugget is now almost 3 and Peanut is 20 months old.
Both are fully engaged/involved when I am in the middle of cleaning. Both girls love wiping the table, chairs, walls, etc. One will vacuum alongside me while the other uses the mop to scoot along the floor. They help load and unload the washer and dryer (thank goodness for front loading!). They help throw away diapers and other garbage into the garbage can.
REALITY CHECK: Deep cleaning will not happen the way I envision it (unless we hire a cleaning service)…so I have to change my vision.
Ideally, deep cleaning (in my mind) would take place over the course of a few hours. BAM! Just knock everything out in one fell swoop, then you’re good for a few weeks. Realistically? Just not happening in this house. Solution?
Clean as you go. (As a result, the house doesn’t seem as clean as I’d like it to be but it’s the best I can do at the moment!)
If I notice a dirty baseboard, I might take 30 seconds to run a wet paper towel across the length of the room. I might pick one “deep cleaning” type item to do per week (like clean the mini blinds or wipe down the air vents). This, of course, is in addition to the regular maintenance items, like bathrooms and dishes!
7. When you can’t involve the littles, have a back up plan.
My back up plan is either Hubs, a friend, or an episode or two of Sesame Street. If someone else is engaging with my babies, I’ll do stuff like empty the garbage, change the sheets, or clean the tub.
8. Multitask.
I try to wash a few dishes or wipe the countertops while the girls are eating breakfast, have a load of laundry going while we nap, and dust whatever is in front of me in whatever room we are in. Laundry gets folded or mini blinds get dusted while we watch TV or play.
9. Get stuff out ASAP.
I am notorious for putting things into piles or bags “to be donated”…and then the bags get sucked into the vortex of clutter, only to resurface years later. As soon as you gather a bagful, put it in your car and get it out of the house! Makes it that much easier to donate.
Hope this helps you get started! What are some of your tried and true tips?
Like this post? Please share!
Need more inspiration? Check out What To Do When You’re in a Decluttering Funk.
Happy cleaning!
Help is the way to go in a situation like this. I try to tackle the worst if it the with my husbands help. Then multi task to maintain the home. Great suggestions. I am in the same boat so I can relate.
Solidarity!
LAWD knows I need to clean my baseboards and steam clean our carpets. Our carpets are the ones that were in the house when we bought it 3 years ago and I would rip them out with my bare hands if I knew we could afford to replace them right now!
I have also adopted the idea of “do something little every day.” I have even printed out checklists that I posted to the side of my fridge that tells me when to clean what room/ things, etc.
You’ve inspired me to go back and start “Tidying Up” my house again (I did it the first time after watching Marie Kondo, but now I want to do it again!). Thanks for the tips!
You’re welcome! I’m trying to do a little everyday but it’s tough sometimes.
Great post! Im sure we’ve all felt overwhelmed. I know I do! Great breakdown of how to get it all done.
Thank you! Now if only I could really get it all done…
I, at one time, had two under two. I know have a 2 1/2 and a 4 year old and it is still hard to clean with them. I will definitely use these tips to get my house in order.
It’s so challenging, isn’t it?
Oh no so sorry to hear about your little one! I love the part about Rome not being built in a day just gotta take one step at a time.Great tips. Good luck!
Thank you!