How to Keep a Baby Busy While You Houseclean

If you learned to juggle in your previous life, before you were a mother, then you learned how to watch three things zooming through the air at the same time and keeping track of them all. Now that you're a mother, you're doing this all the time, except there are 17 things, and you are responsible for making sure everything stays safe and sane. Good luck. Housecleaning is usually the first thing to fall through the cracks when you have a new baby in the house, but if you lower your expectations a little bit and opt for an orderly house as opposed to a perfect house, you'll be more satisfied with the result. Here are some tips for cleaning up while juggling that little baby at the same time.

Instructions

1. Put out little boxes of safe baby toys on the floor of every room that you will be cleaning. That way when you get to a new room, the baby will have a new box to look through and discover.

2. While you clean nearby, let the baby play in an area that is usually off-limits--like emptying out a trashcan of papers or tearing up old magazines, for example. The baby will be so thrilled to finally get her hands on something previously illegal, that it will keep her busy for a longer stretch of time.

3. Give the baby a basket of dominoes or a stack of kid books that she can open and close. If you have a rolling toy, give her a toy that she can roll back and forth. Even a baby that can only sit will be fascinated by the rolling action.

4. If you're doing laundry, load the baby right into the laundry basket, or on the floor next to the pile of laundry. She will be very helpful in assisting you by unloading all the laundry from the basket! Playing peekaboo with blanket will also keep her entertained for a good amount of time.

5. Surround a low stool with pillows or blankets. Let the baby practice pulling herself up and sitting back down while you clean the room around her. If there's a safe closet nearby, let her crawl in and make herself at home.