Thriving in the Chaos

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ThinkOutsideTheWipe #CollectiveBias

Summer days are for playing in the sun, getting messy and making memories. Out of the last three places we have lived, Erie has definitely been my favorite for summer. There is an amazing waterpark and splash pad, endless beaches, and we even have our own pool! You guys know I love to be in the water when its sunny, so Erie has been perfect for me.

Kris and I are both very clean and organized people. And if you have ever met a kid, you know they are pretty much the opposite of that. It is easy to get stressed when you have less control over the state of your surroundings than you want. But over the past three years of parenting I have learned that messes happen and you have to learn to smile and have fun anyways. I have noticed that our best memories involved a lot of mess making. Whether we are doing crafts, building sandcastles or eating melting ice cream cones, there always seems to be more smiles when there is more mess involved.

Thriving in mess and chaos is a little easier for me, since I was the oldest of eight kids. I have lived in a crazy, messy, fun home…since I was born basically. Kris on the other hand was the youngest of four. He grew up in a much cleaner home, he never had a million younger kids running around causing disaster. Having stickiness and mess and disorganization be a part of every family outing is something that has taken some getting used to for him. But one thing that helps is always having wipes on hands.

It is amazing the messes that wipes can dispel. We never leave the house without wipes. Kris always checks to make sure I have some in my bag. You can just call him the wet wipe police 😉 I am sure he will love that. And I am sure he will love this picture below… I couldn’t help sharing it! Look how cute they are sleepy cuddling together after lots of play in the sun.

Today when we went to the pool, popsicles seemed like a good idea to bring along. It is sooooo hot out and we needed something refreshing. I underestimated just how sticky and messy the popsicles would be, but it didn’t really matter since we always have wet wipes on hand.

Am I the only parent who never stopped buying wipes after their kid was potty trained??? There was a whole year between Zoey being potty trained, and Zander being born, but we never took wipes off our shopping list. There are just soooo many things you can do with them. We go through baby wipes like candy, so our favorite place to stock up is Sams Club. The Huggies® One & Done® Refreshing Wipes are my favorite, they smell so good and are thick and soft.

Recently we have been using the Scan&Save option on the Sam’s Club Member app when we shop. You scan everything that you put in your cart as you walk through the store, and when you are done you hit pay. The receipt instantly shows up on your phone and you just walk out and completely skip the lines. This is so life saving when you are shopping with kids and need to get in and out fast.

Here are just a few of the many things I use my wipes for daily. Notice that none of them have to do with diaper changing:

10 Reasons I Always Carry Wipes

1. Sticky finger cleanup! A constant need with kids. This is definitely my main wipe need.

2. Cleaning my phone. Especially after Zoey uses it to play games on car rides. It seems like there are always fingerprints all over it…

3. Crumb clean up in the car. We try and avoid eating in the car altogether, but on longer drives that just isn’t possible. Wipes are great for crumb catching!

4. Accidental messes. Oh the accidental messes we see as parents… It used to surprise me, the things Zoey thinks are a good idea that end in total disaster. Not anymore. Wipes are great for all the spills.

5. Computer keyboard cleanup. Not kid related at all, but wet wipes are soooo great for this!

6. Keeping things tidy while feeding baby. My babies have a habit of getting baby food allllll over their faces when I feed them. Zander’s favorite thing to do right now is stick his hand into his mouth, full of food, and then smear the baby food all over anything in his reach. I always have wipes on hand while feeding for quick cleanup.

7. Wiping down plastic toys. I try and keep sticky fingers contained in the kitchen and during mealtime, but being 100% at this is impossible. When the sticky fingers escape, I follow behind with some wipes and wipe down the toys.

8. Quick clean the leather sofa. Growing up we were never allowed to eat on the couch. I let Zoey eat on the couch all the time because it takes her about 30 minutes to finish a meal and she won’t eat unless I am sitting with her…. I just don’t want to stay at the table that long most days. Wipes are great for leather couch messes.

9. Picking up dust around the house. Wipes are great for getting all the windowsills and shelves if you want to do a quick de-dusting around the house.

10. Removing makeup. This might be my favorite use of all. Makeup remover wipes are much more expensive, and I find them to be less gentle on my skin. I use Huggies One & done wipes to remove my makeup all the time!

Does kid mess stress you out? How do you deal with it so you can have fun and smile through the chaos? Am I the only one who uses wipes for other things, more often than diaper changes?

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