Cleaning up during a pandemic
With hand washing becoming more frequent than it used to be, to disinfecting grocery items and just about anything that comes from the outside - all these adding up to the list of things to clean is taking a toll.
What's it like for us parents who're already constantly cleaning up after their kids? It's A LOT. Managing a household prior to this CoVID-19 pandemic was tiring enough - then comes additional things to ensure safety for the entire family - while everyone being at home!
LIFE PRIOR TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
With my family, we've always been around each other. My husband and I have been working from home for quite some time now and so we're together all the time along with our 3 year old daughter.
We're not the type to clean the entire household everyday but at least tidy up so it's not too messy to live in - you know picking up toys our daughter throws here and there, making sure the dining table has space enough to eat on, and the bed ready for sleeping.
I used to be the type to get easily irritated when things aren't properly cleaned up after (likely something I picked up from taking BS-HRM from our Gastronomy class). I'd be fuming mad if my husband didn't clean his part of the dishes, throw trash properly, or even make the bed - but as time went on and our now 3 year old was growing and needing more attention, I had to put things into perspective so I wouldn't go stir crazy. I've learned to put my sanity and well-being first over the "many little things" that would drive me mad. I'm glad that I came to that moment in my life back then, otherwise, I'd probably have spiraled down into insanity today.
CLEANING A HOUSEHOLD WITH A TODDLER AND A NEW BORN DURING THIS PANDEMIC
Gladly it hasn't been too much of an adjustment for us, given how we're usually at home and together all the time. I do miss eating out - saves having to use and wash dishes! The biggest change really is having my 2nd daughter now since I gave birth to her during this pandemic. With a new born around, I'm more wary of disinfecting and sanitizing things.
I have a 3 year old to constantly clean up after, especially now since she's found more use of her toys (since there's nothing else to do!), although she does clean up after herself but she's not able to keep everything away quite timely, so we help her to speed things up. As for cleaning the entire house, there definitely has been an increase with cleaning and disinfecting. Things that go out or come from outside and are brought inside are usually wiped down with alcohol but when the kids are asleep we have time to wash them with soap. Going out isn't something we look forward to or even want to do because having to prepare the kids stuff alone takes so much time - then there's the added thought that when we come home from being out, we have to wash up and clean after everything we bring in - and it isn't such an easy feat. with having 2 kids, especially one that's a newborn.
When we clean around the house, It's always 1 or the other between me and my husband. It's never both of us cleaning together. One has to watch the kids while the other cleans. On the rare occasion that we are able to clean up the house together we barely have time so not much gets done. I used to clean up when everyone would be sleeping - but with a newborn, sleep is just too priceless. We sleep whenever we can - we've even resulted to ordering majority of the time because we'd rather rest and there's just no proper time to wash the dishes. Our kitchen sink is always piled up - we end up just washing what we need for the moment when we need it and leave the rest. We're comfortable this way. I believe this is what's best suited for us rather than constantly being stressed.
CHOOSING TO BE HAPPY AND CLEAN
It's definitely possible to keep a house clean everyday but if it ends up compromising your well being - think of this, your kids need a happy and healthy parent over a clean house. You don't need to have the house absolutely spotless. Clean when you can and rest when you can. I know this pandemic has brought about unwanted stress to everyone but remember - we need a strong immune system to help us fight this virus. If you end up stressing more, you're contributing to downgrading your own immune system. The house can always be cleaned up later.
How has it been for you? Was there a huge adjustment? Is everyone being at home a big help with cleaning the house?
Originally written and posted on July 27, 2020.