The mess on the floor

B & C are 14 mths and take great joy in throwing everything on the floor from their booster seats. Even when they are being "good" and eating there is the usual mess but I'm getting so tired of cleaning the floor after every meal. I have the dog do round one and then I usually take the swiffer for round 2. Any suggestions or hints to make cleaning the floor easier? I thought of putting a shower curtain under their chairs - at least I could just shake that off.

 

I know BRU has round clear plastic things to put under highchairs. I cant stand the mess. I know this is so so bad but I feed them often because the clean up can take so long!

 

Mine are messy as well, and I have highly considered putting down plastic or something, but I never have... LOL

 

They actually sell something called a Splat Mat that you could use under their chairs. It's basically a piece of vinyl so I'm sure a small tablecloth would work too.

 

I thought about getting something to put under the high chairs too.....but then I thought, well I'll just have to clean that thing off! And if I don't get every piece of food, in about 3 hours I have a tiny ant hill over whatever scrap I missed. :angry:

I just ordered a Swivel Sweeper . My sister got one, off one of those infomercials & she kept telling me how much she loved it. Well, last time we went camping I borrowed hers to use in the motorhome & it did work awesome! I think it's not really for wet messes, but she did pick up Ramen noodles with hers.

Other than sweeping after every meal & snack, I'll usually take the washcloth I used from washing the kids face & then wipe it over the floor area. If anyone else has good ideas, I'd LOVE to see them!!

 

I'm a swivel sweeper too. I also didn't like the sheet/vinyl under the high chairs idea b/c of cleaning that (and the ants).

Here's my routine:
*I sweep every night after dinner and mop every other night.
*Between official sweeps/mops the swivel and baby wipes are my sweep/mop. After bfast/lunch I swivel and then grab a baby wipe and spot "mop" any little juice/food spills. The whole thing takes maybe 5 minutes.
*I also keep a dust buster close to the kitchen and use it for quick high chair clean up. This has saved me a TON of time/sanity.
*I dump the high chair trays in the sink and spray them off.
*The high chairs get a full detail scrub down about every week or so (depending on the funk factor) and the covers get run through the washing machine.

We have high chairs with wheels/brakes and I LOVE that b/c my boys do not get out of their high chairs after any meal until the dishes are done, dishwasher loaded/unloaded, and the kitchen 90% clean. I just wheel them over to the sink area and throw them an animal cracker. They are thoroughly entertained watching the process and really enjoy being up high and seeing all the action above the counter. I have been doing this since they were about 6 months old. It was our nightly routine to make a 24-hour batch of formula and pour bottles.

ETA: FYI, Target stocks Swivel Sweepers too.

 

We put plastic down under their chairs (they sit on carpet). The runner style plastic, we bought it at Lowes and have two rows of it tapes down with double sides tape.

They have gotten way, way better with the food on the floor thing though. It is quite rare that they throw anything on the floor nowadays. We've introduced plates, bowls, utensils, all that. I was scared all of it would end up on the floor but they are intrigued and it never gets tossed. So there's hope yours will grow out of it soon.

 

I have a dog

 

I tried the plastic, and didn't like it. I bought a Shark rechargable sweeper and love it! It pick up just about everything! Then I usually wipe up sticky or wet messes with a Mr. Clean wipe or Clorox wipe. We started taking their food away as soon as they started throwing. They have finally learned to hand you their plate/bowl when they are done. They still throw every once in a while, but it has gotten much better! We also started pushing their high chair/boosters up to the table. That helps with the mess too.

 

The dog gets about 95% of whatever they decide is not worthy of them...

We vaccum every night because of the dog hair (GSDs are horrible) and I mop every two or three nights during the week as well as Friday and Saturday because everyone is home on the weekend.

Unless we had carpet, I wouldn't waste money on a plastic sheet of any sort...those are harder to clean IMO than running the Dyson and mopping...

Alexis

 

I haven't tried it - but someone once posted on here that they put newspaper down and then just roll it up and throw it away after the meal.