I Hate Cleaning

Clean Away in a Safe Way, while You are Expecting

Spring is on its way and I just can’t wait… But I am not looking forward to the spring cleaning.

Blossoming trees, the fresh smell in the air and everything coming to life.

(We are lucky with our mild Australian winters, but the rain, high humidity and frequent storms truly get to me sometimes.)

With this letter like post, I decided to share my good news with you all, about the new addition that spring will bring into our family. My hubby and I can’t wait to meet our baby boy in October. We are just so excited, I can’t tell you enough!

And I just feel how my so loved blog may well veer towards moms & bubs topics, naturally.

But until then, and more precisely – before then, our house will have to go through a major spring clean, of course. To be honest, I genuinely intend to take it easy in this venture and my advice to you, expectant mothers, is to do the same.

So here are my “eclectic” spring cleaning tips, designed for you & me – the moms-to-be.

Declutter First to Save Time and Effort in the Long Run

Why even bother wasting time on wiping and dusting items that should have been long thrown away? Or does it make sense to wash the old curtain in the kitchen and deep clean the so hated carpet in the living room, when you’ve had strong doubts for a long time on whether to replace them?

Packed Unwanted Items

Holding onto things has been proven to be unhealthy for your mental state, so act now! Expectant ladies have enough on their plate and the last thing they need is to fret about what stays and what goes at the last minute.

My advice is to make a plan well in advance (I did) and take time to conjure up a three-column list:

1. Items to sell
2. Things to give away
3. Junk to get rid of

There is nothing wrong if you make some money in the decluttering process and put it to good use – invest in a pram or buy something else that you need for your baby.

Take Care when You’re Cleaning – It’s Two of You Now

Growing bellies simply get in the way, when we try to bend to tie our shoes, stretch to reach for the healthy cereal, tucked away in the top kitchen cupboard or attempt to fit through the door while carrying the king size duvet. Moms-to-be are more prone to falls, too, due to being slightly off balance. So what is to say about the cleaning?

Expectant Mom Cleans with a Vacuum Cleaner

1. Remember about planning ahead? There is no rush to scrub and polish your house in one go. Just schedule to do a room or finish a particular cleaning task each day over the space of a week.
2. Do not attempt to climb or stretch to clean hard to reach places. Make use of your vacuum cleaner’s extensions and attachments or get a telescopic duster. Now, it is not the right time to show off your feminist views and independence.
3. Don’t be shy to assign specific tasks to your husband, close relatives or friends. You would do the same for them, would you not?
4. Take precautions against the toxic effect of cleaning agents and their fumes on you and the baby by ventilating the place well. You can dip a cloth in diluted all purpose cleaning solution if you are scrubbing away in a small and enclosed place like the bathroom, rather than spray the surfaces every 5 seconds and inhale the noxious vapours.
5. Avoid oven cleaners as they are super powerful and dangerous. Ask someone else to do the oven or wait for a more appropriate time after the birth.
6. Use gloves and avoid skin contact with bleach and ammonia-based cleaning agents, as harmful chemicals can be absorbed through the skin. Never mix products, containing those. The smell can make you sick even if you were not pregnant.
7. Listen to your body! If you begin to feel sore, nauseous or your back starts to ache, it is time to stop and leave everything for another day. You’ve got time – I doubt that your due date is tomorrow!
8. Invest in some professional help with washing your windows or steam cleaning your carpets. Remember, you made some money when you sold a few unwanted items!
9. And finally, don’t overstress about cleaning and sterilising the entire house before your child’s arrival. Your newborn baby’s underdeveloped immune system should be protected only in the first couple of months and you can do this by keeping his/her immediate environment, the baby’s bedroom, feeding bottles and baby’s personal items, sterilised, fresh and clean. Later on, the baby’s natural development and health would strongly rely on the odd germs here and there.

Leading scientists have theorised that over sterile conditions promote allergies in young kids and make their immune system “out of sync”.

Decorated Baby’s Room

P. S. Leave the decorating of the baby’s room to your husband! Let him organise everything by following your explicit instructions on what colour the walls should be painted and on getting the particular furniture you wish for you kid.

You have done enough! You deserve a rest and some chill-out time! Go baby shopping with a friend and treat yourself to a delicious cake in a nice cafe afterwards!

This is exactly what I would do!

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Lana Jane Fox

Lana Jane Fox is a young, aspiring housewife, currently living in North Melbourne. At present her primary job is to be a good wife and a helpmeet to her husband and only after that she describes herself as a marketing executive and a blogger. When she is not knitting, cleaning, cooking, or experimenting with DIY projects, Lana is planning her next road trip, or spends precious time with her husband. She dreams of having a baby boy, a Welsh Corgi dog and a house with a fireplace and a garden where she can grow organic food.

Latest posts by Lana Jane Fox (see all)

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cleaning, expectant mother, pregnant woman, spring cleaning, Sydney