Toddlers are excellent at making messes. They leave toys scattered everywhere and want to get into things that they shouldn’t. This can be extremely frustrating for exhausted parents who cannot keep up with the disaster control that their toddler requires. Here is how to stop your toddler from making a mess.
Reduce the Amount of Toys
Chances are, your toddler has way more toys than they can actually play with. Keep their favorites accessible, and consider storing away some of the rest. Put excess toys in plastic tubs with lids and store them in the garage, a shed, or a closet. You can swap toys in and out, and your toddler will suddenly have a renewed interest in them.
It might be a good time to weed out some of the baby toys that your toddler has outgrown. Store them away if you think you will have another baby. Or, consider donating them to a thrift store.
Toddler Proof the Cabinets
While there are some companies that make accessories that you can install on cabinets to make them too hard for toddlers to open, actress Drew Barrymore has a better idea. Use a hair elastic instead. If you have long hair (or someone in your household does) there are probably extra hair elastics somewhere in your home.
Simply loop the hair elastic over the cabinet knobs. When your toddler tries to pull open the cabinet, the hair elastic will stretch and prevent the doors from opening. This not only stops your toddler from accessing cleaning products, it also prevents them from pulling out pots and pans.
Turn Small Bookshelves Around
Toddlers are very good at pulling down everything that is on a shelf and dropping it on the floor. Many toddlers are not interested in picking things back up again. This leaves parents with a constant mess to pick up.
One way to solve this problem is to turn small bookshelves around so the back faces the room and the shelves face the wall. Bring out one tub of toys from the shelf, or a few books. It’s an easy way to give your toddler plenty to play with and to reduce the size of the inevitable mess.
Secure the Toilet Paper Roll
Toddlers love to spin the roll of toilet paper and unwind it all over the bathroom. One way to prevent that is to put a hair elastic around the toilet paper roll. It prevents the roll from unspooling. Your toddler can still spin it, but they can’t make a mess with it anymore!
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