When you have a baby your alone time and your social life will both have to wait a while as being a parent to a newborn is a full-time job in itself. Unfortunately, we also have other tasks that we have to carry out no matter how tired we are or how much our babies cry and scream. Tasks like cleaning your house. Nobody wants to live in a messy and untidy home, which is why cleaning and tidying is important.

Dirty homes can breed germs and cause sickness, and mess and clutter can create choking or tripping hazards. Then you also have food to prepare, pots to wash, clothes to wash, paperwork to see to, bills to pay, emails to answer, etc.

It’s easy to become overwhelmed but that isn’t an option with a newborn. Instead you have to learn how to juggle both sets of responsibilities. Here are some tips to being productive at home with a new baby:

When your baby is settled and secure think about cleaning

Once your baby is settled and secure during the day, you can then think about doing whatever cleaning you can. Put a load of new washing in, wash the pots, dust the shelves, prepare dinner for the evening, whatever you can think of doing, do it.

Be prepared to upset your child

Sometimes, you will need to use electrical items that make a lot of noise like electric blenders, food processors in the kitchen and vacuum cleaners. As these make a lot of noise, your baby might become upset and may cry and scream. If they’re hysterical then of course go see to them and resume cleaning another time. But if they seem to be dealing with the noise well, carry on as quickly as possible.

Create a to-do list

One thing you can do to help you be more organised is to create a simple to-do list of jobs you need to do for that particular day. Arrange them based on their importance, placing the most important ones at the top of the list. Once you complete each task, cross it off your list and get as many ticked or crossed off as you can.

Bring the jobs to you and your baby

If your baby is settled in the front room, use this to your advantage to do any quiet jobs you can think of. Perhaps bring the laundry in and begin folding and stacking it in the same room as you and your child. You could even do the ironing. Just make sure that your child is in a secure place and far from the iron and the electrical cord that could potentially harm your child. You can set the ironing board up on the other side of the room and still keep an eye on your child while you work.