How to clean your house for a new baby
How do I prepare my house for a newborn? What needs to be done before baby arrives?
1. Prepare your cleaning kits: one for your bathrooms, one for your kitchen, and one for the rest of the house. Gather your cleaning supplies and tools, print out our handy shopping lists and checklists, and get organized! If that's a bit too overwhelming, then create ONE cleaning kit and store it somewhere convenient (within arm's reach) of where you usually hang out in your house.
2. Go shopping: you are going to need a few new things for your baby. Think of everything falling into one of two categories - house cleaning and baby cleaning / hygiene. Download our shopping list (with options for every budget) to make sure you have everything you need before your baby arrives.
3. Deep clean your home: Glisten Academy's New Parent Cleaning Guide explains how to clean your house, step by step, quickly and easily, using the secrets of the pros. Katie Pearse is the world's top trainer in professional cleaning and shows new parents how to deep clean their homes to get ready for their newborn baby's arrival. From bums to bottles, bathrooms to bedding, and everything in between!
4. Establish "baby zones" throughout your home: baby's bedroom isn't the only space you'll need to design and set up. Every room in your house will need a baby zone with the essentials (swings, bouncers, wipes, cloths, diapers, socks, bibs, pacifiers...). I even keep bottles of water and protein bars in my nightstand in case I am trapped and hungry/thirsty! The New Parent Cleaning Guide has room-by-room "Baby Zone" plans you can follow.
5. Relax and trust the process: Nothing can truly prepare you for your baby. Every parent ends up with their own personal routines and techniques. Our handy cheat sheets, checklists and guide will help you get ready for your baby, but ultimately you should enjoy your times before your baby arrives. Once he or she is here, you'll learn very quickly what works for you. We all figure it out once baby is here and you can get support anytime from us.
How can I keep my house germ-free for my baby?
1. Wash your hands: we all learned this during the pandemic, but using hand sanitizer and washing your hands often and thoroughly will do more to prevent the spread of germs than anything.
2. Disinfect your house: using a disinfectant that is proven to kill practically everything is a critical step in house cleaning. You can use bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and rubbing alcohol, or commercial products like Lysol and Pink Solution Disinfectant (non-toxic option).
3. Sterilize bottles and breast pumps: sterilizing is not the same as disinfecting. You'll need to sterilize your baby's bottles and your breast pump ALL THE TIME. There are a number of ways to do this, from boiling the parts in a pot on the stove, to investing in a microwaveable sterilizer (my personal fave), to UV light machines.
How do I declutter my house before giving birth?
This is my biggest struggle and I know I am not the only one. You have to be merciless when it comes to tossing things you own. We all have hoarding tendencies (read The Hoarder in You by Dr. Robin Zasio) and emotional attachments to our things.
1. Take photos: The best advice I got (from attending a hoarders' support group many years ago) is to take a photo of the item. That way you always have a record of the item, but don't have to physically store it any longer.
2. Make a keepsake box: buy or create a beautiful keepsake box / treasure chest / whatever you want to call it and store within it your most precious items. Print out the photos of the items you tossed and store inside as well.
3. Buy bins, label them, and stack them in storage: the only way I truly know how to organize is to buy a million bins (I order them from Walmart on Instacart so I don't have to lug them home) and label them with categories like "electronics" and "Christmas stuff". Nothing fancy. Just chuck it all in them, stack them up in your basement or garage, and voila! It's not a perfect solution, but it's quick and easy.
Grab your copy of The New Parent Cleaning Guide: From Bums to Bottles, Bathrooms to Bedding, and Everything In Between to learn how to prepare your home for baby's arrival and keep yourself, your baby and your home clean and sanitized, quickly and easily. The guide is packed with expert tips and advice from the world's top trainer of cleaning professionals, Katie Pearse. Included in the guide are checklists, shopping lists, plans and printables so you can learn quickly and stay organized before and after your baby arrives!
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