How To Clean Up Messy Play In Less Time

Parents worldwide have one question that no one seems to have a decent answer for – how can such a tiny human, like a child, make such a huge mess sometimes? It comes as an unspoken part of the deal when having kids, and parents need to accept the fact that they’ll be doing some cleaning up for a few years to come.

Most will do it with a smile, knowing their children are happy and having fun. It’s especially true for activities specifically designed to be messy. Children learn through activities they do with their hands, and sensory play should be a big part of their younger years.

However, a few tricks parents can implement will make playtime easier to clean afterward. Below are some suggestions to get parents started, but ultimately, they should decide the best way for them to clean up messy play in less time:

Lay Down A Disposable Tablecloth

One of the best suggestions is to go to a local party store and buy a few disposable plastic tablecloths. They are cheap enough to use once and then throw in the trash, which means they are perfect to use for messy play.

Parents can lay the tablecloth over their table or on the ground and let kids have it with their messy items without stressing about spills. But kids will be kids, and some things could get onto a surface it wasn’t supposed to be. Parents can use Hudstone Home Eco Friendly Cleaning Products or anything similar to clean off the missed spots.

Have The Activities Outdoors

The best place for children to play and explore messy play items will naturally be outside. There’s less risk of something of value being in an accident with a paint pot. It’s good news for parents worried about the carpet, their sofas, or other items in the home that they would have to clean when the kids are finished with their paintings.

Give Each Child A Tray To Use

Another perfect solution for catching those dribs and drabs of glitter, glue, and messy things is giving each child a tray to use. They can move the tray around on the table, take it outside, look for mom to show their progress, or hold everything together. Quick, simple, easy, no-fuss cleaning!

Clean Up With Old Linen

Old towels, bedding, or other linens make for excellent mop-up equipment. Mom can wipe all the spills, put the linen in the washing machine, and save it for the next messy play session. The use of these old items prevents the use of newer cleaning products, and they aren’t serving any other purpose but to sit in the cupboard anyway.

Do The Activities In The Pool

As strange as this may sound, a kiddies’ inflatable splash pool is great for letting kids do their messy play. Of course, it’ll be an empty pool without water, but the kids can move around and have a blast with their playtime inside or outside the house.

Teach Kids A Clean Up Song

Kids love to sing and rhyme, so why not teach them a clean-up song and have them share the responsibility of cleaning the mess? This way, they learn valuable life skills while having fun doing it. Children of any age can help, even if they only throw items in the dustbin, pick up and hand the supplies to mom or wipe some of the spills.

Put A Bucket Outside For Clean-up

In summer, the outside is lovely on warm sunny days, making it perfect for a washing-up area. Set up a bucket or similar container with water and a little soap for the kids to clean themselves up after their messy play. If winter comes around, schedule playtime before bath time so they can go clean up straight after.

Use Disposable Containers For The Crafts

Instead of having a paint palette or a new container, use disposable plastic cups, plates, egg cartons, polystyrene or foam holders, or other items parents can chuck in the garbage. Sometimes it’s not worth spending hours cleaning containers up, and parents should consider recycling these unused items for crafts.

Gathering It All

Messy play shouldn’t be a headache for parents, and they should instead be as creative as the kids when finding solutions for keeping things clean. Seeing the smiles on those adorable faces and hearing their belly laughs as they stick their fingers and toes into a blob of paint is well worth the effort of cleaning up after them.