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It only takes ONE child getting sick in bed ONE time to make you wish you had a mattress protector on – and, thankfully, when the unfortunate occasion popped up the other night, we were good to go since we have one of THESE on every bed in the house.
While I was home with said sick child, I wanted to round up a few household essentials you may need, all from Amazon!
10 Must-Have Household Essentials for Families on Amazon
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1 // Mattress Protector
Mattresses are EXPENSIVE and kids are a disaster – even if you’re past the potty training accidents phase, spills and sweat and illnesses happen, so we have one of these on every bed in the house. WELL worth it to protect the mattress and they top is waterproof but has a soft cotton feel so it’s not crinkly. Toss in the washer whenever you need!
2 // Our Favorite Pillows
These soft pillows have slowly taken over every bed in our house, which is fine with me because the price is SO good, they machine wash well (!) and everyone in our family loves them. Note the King are softer and end up a bit less full than the Queen so if you don’t want that but have a King bed, 3 Queen pillows fit across!)
3 // Kids Slim Velvet Hangers
Velvet hangers SEEM overrated until you consider that clothes don’t slip off easily as someone (aka a child) is rifling through their closet and tearing off half the clothing in the process AND they’re nice and slim which is great for smaller spaces. Baby and kids’ size hangers available. Mom Tip – get each child a different color so you can hang stuff in one spot & the kids can easily tell where it belongs.
4 // Messy Eater Stain Treater
This stuff works on blood, fruit juice, baby food, formula, ketchup, ink – all the stuff kids love, ha! Get the pack with the wipes in it and stash one in your car, purse, diaper bag, big kids’ backpack, etc.
5 // Enzyme Cleaner
If you have pets or kids, this enzyme cleaner is a MUST – works for pee, poop or puke which is pretty much the worst trio I can think of! Amazing reviews too.
6 // Barf Bags
Forget the popcorn bowl or an old Target bag when your kid is sick – these are easy for kids to use, super portable (keep one in the car + any time you travel by plane), and are easy to tie & toss out. A mom must have.
7 // Swedish Dish Cloths
If you’re still using paper towels & sponges, PLEASE try swedish dish cloths! Basically half reusable paper towel, half scrubber sponge, these are both washable (toss in the dishwasher or washing machine) & eventually biodegradable as well.
8 // Umbrella
We have a big family trip coming up and I want each of my big kids to have their own umbrellas so we added one of these for each member of the family. Great for travel, the car, backpacks, purses, etc and TONS of colors, great reviews.
9 // Multipurpose Kitchen Mats
I was VERY pleasantly surprised by how often we use this – it includes 2 different sized silicone mats (several colors available) & I keep them in our microwave to act as a hot pad for removing hot dishes and in place of a paper towel when microwaving anything that may splatter but they also work as a trivet to protect surfaces from heat and scratches, a gripper for opening tough jars, a non-skid and easy to clean placemat, a holder for grasping hot pan handles AND as a utensil holder for messy utensils while cooking. Super easy to wash as well.
10 // Art Mesh Bag
These are one of my all-time best-sellers – nothing fancy but VERY effective! I bought each of my kids one of these 19×25 heavy duty art bags for their school art projects & priceless treasures ;). It’s big enough to fit binders, notebooks & books in as well + large artwork. The quality is fabulous, too.