A couple weeks ago, I said I would start a series on loving what you’ve got. It’s a series to help keep me in the right frame of mind when it comes to the apartment I reside in and will most likely still be residing in for a couple (maybe even a few?) more years. So these are tips I have come up with to make it more livable. I am trying to write them in a positive light. For my own emotional benefit. After all, I’m supposed to be Loving What I’ve Got. But it ain’t easy sometimes…
So last time I mentioned I use a door mat to keep my kitchen mess from being tracked into my CARPETed dining room.
And I may have also mentioned that I think it’s CRAZY TO PUT CARPET IN A DINING ROOM.
*Deep Breaths*
Quick, what’s a positive for a carpeted dining room?
Warm feet on a cold winter morning.
(Don’t remind me that an area rug on a hardwood floor would also do the trick.)
Anywho. I have a toddler. A toddler who really could care less what kind of mess she makes at the table (the table on the CARPETed dining room floor). I spend most mealtimes telling her to Please turn around. Please put your legs in front of you. Please keep your dinner on the table.
I also have a baby. A baby who, as soon as I put him down on the floor, rushes as fast as his little hands and knees can take him over to the glorious feast laid out for him under that high chair.
So I needed a way 1) keep Olivia’s dinner from staining the carpet and 2) keep Benjamin from eating foods that the Baby Book tells me he’s not old enough to eat.
And I found my answer in a bath towel.
(Can I just sing the praises of bath towels for a minute here? They keep the carseats level. They keep the cold air from seeping through the cracks on the sliding door. They keep the crib mattress flush against our bed. They even *gasp* dry me off after a shower.)
And now, the bath towel has found another purpose in our house. Thank you, Lord, for our plethera of bath towels.
Here’s is our bath towel solution:
It catches the crumbs and spilt juice. I fold it up in 1.2 seconds flat, take it outside, give it a good shake, and then lay it back down again. Good as new. And when it gets too dirty to put back under the chair, it just gets tossed in the wash. (Make sure it’s always a dark-colored towel.)
Yes, I know you can buy mats to go under the high chair. But you have to sweep and wipe them. And they can’t go in the wash (or can they?). And I would have to buy them.
So I use a bath towel. Works for me!
I too love the bath towel. My kids are older and I use them to keep my fabric covered dining chairs protected.
Hi! The bath towel idea is good, but I use a clear plastic shower curtain liner. It’s one we used in the bathroom but replaced. It’s folded under the high chair in the main “splash zone”, and it blocks the solid and the wet spills.
On the rare occasion we bring the high chair into the living room to eat we put newspaper down under the high chair. It’s a great use for all those old newspapers we have in a box under the desk.
Thanks for the reminder–we did this with my first baby but I had totally forgotten the towel trick!
Great idea!
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We ended up doing the same thing — only with a dark beach towel (little man has a pretty big splash zone). 🙂
What a great solution! We have one still in a high chair, but I think my other 3 are almost as messy (especially the 7-year-old!). We own a carpet cleaning company, which means we never get around to cleaning our own carpets! My hubby will REALLY appreciate this idea. Thanks for sharing!
That is an excellent idea!! Now why didn’t I find this post when I had carpet????? Would have saved many a headache!!:)
i very much prefer bath towels that are made of cotton or polyester, they are very soft and easy to dry,“
If you have a small dinning table like mine you would probably find this useful as well. Try using a chair mat/office mat, they are clear (so they don’t look hideous) they are made out of a plastic material, you can sweep them or wipe it off with a paper towel. They cost about $45 the most and yes I know it’s $45 expensier than the bath towel but you don’t need to worry about the hassle of taking it on and off under your toddlers and baby’s chair. It covers most of the dinning table area.
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WIsh I could see this picture. For some reason it’s not showing up. I just wanted to know what your towel looks like in the dining room. What I’m picturing in my head, it would seem a little odd in the dining room. However, it sounds like a great idea.