The New Mum's Home Guide

Are you a new mum (or expecting to be)? Congratulations! One of the concerns you’re likely to have (aside from the biggies, like nurturing a human life, getting enough sleep and keeping up with the bills) is how you’re going to keep your house in order.

Not because you’re a 1950s housewife, but because you’ve poured love and effort into your home! Here’s a guide to keeping it organised with your little one around…

First, be kind to yourself. Keeping an organised home during the baby and toddler years is the toughest stage you’ll experience. So don’t expect too much from yourself, or your home: if it’s safe and habitable, it’s ok for it to be a little rough around the edges! If you’ve got too much ‘stuff’ knocking around, considering putting some of it in temporary storage using a company like Ready Steady Store. With less in the house, there’s less to have to keep tidying away.

Second, prepare what you can in advance. Cook before the baby arrives and freeze meals for when you’re desperate (and once they’re here, get well-acquainted with the slow cooker… dinner will practically cook itself). Do an online grocery shop for dried goods that can be stored for a long while ahead, and bulk buy things you know you’re going to tear through, like nappies and baby wipes. Having the essentials in the house will help you stay on top of the day to day errands and chores.

Third, ignore well-meant (but bad) advice. For example, 'do the chores when the baby’s napping!' suits only a few. What should you really be doing? Napping! You’re probably pretty sleep deprived, so grab some shut eye while they’re snoozing too – besides, the mess is less likely to reduce you to tears if you’re not exhausted.

Another good idea is to focus on one task at a time. Try to assign a specific job for specific days, such doing the laundry on Mondays and Fridays. Do what you can on these days, and resolve to leave what you don’t finish until the next time it appears in your ‘schedule’. That way, you can alleviate some of the stress of not having everything clean and ironed (laundry is always an unending job, but more so with a newborn). Buy plenty of baby grows, and lots of underwear for you so you can both survive between washes.

On that note, when you’re choosing tasks to focus on, don’t aim too high. It’s unrealistic (and unfair) to demand that you, 'make the whole ground floor look like it used to!'.
Instead, aim smaller: have the dishes done every night so you can wake up to a clean kitchen. Completing small tasks are empowering and encouraging because you get to feel the success of a small victory every day, rather than the crushing defeat of failing one big mission.

In order to get more done, some new mums choose to wear their baby in a sling, wrap or carrier (see here for inspiration). If baby wearing is something you’re happy to do, you’ll find you’re able to do more in the way of housework, shopping or even just walking in the fresh air, as ‘fussy’ babies who like to be close to you will stay calm and settled.