Nobody hands out an instruction manual with a new baby, so parents end up swapping tricks instead, and these 16 DIY parenting hacks are the good ones. A parenting hack is a small fix, often made from something already in the house, that saves time, money or a meltdown. A milk jug becomes a toy scoop, a cookie sheet becomes a car seat tray and a picnic basket becomes a diaper changing station you can carry upstairs. Other ideas are simple routines, like a toy jail that speeds up cleanup or a kindness jar that rewards good behavior with pom poms. Most cost a few dollars and take less than an hour. Pick the one that fixes your hardest part of the day, try it for a week and see how much calmer the house feels. Find more family ideas in life hacks and these cleaning hacks for busy moms.
1. Hang Accessories From Curtain Clips And Hanger
Little hats, mittens and headbands disappear in a dresser drawer, so this hack hangs them instead. Clip each one to a curtain clip ring and slide the rings onto a hanger with a bar, or use a towel bar with curtain clips on the back of a closet door if it is wide enough. Everything stays visible, so getting out the door goes faster. The same roundup of five mom hacks also uses Command hooks inside a cabinet door for bibs and an over the door shoe organizer for baby clothes.
Get the full tutorial at Our Handcrafted Life.
2. Cupcake Liner To Catch Popsicle Drips
A cupcake liner is the simplest fix for sticky popsicle hands. Cut a small hole in the bottom of a paper liner and slide the popsicle stick through it, so the liner sits like a little cup under the pop. As it melts, the drips land in the liner instead of on fingers, shirts, car seats and the sidewalk. Keep a stack of liners in the freezer drawer next to the box of pops so you never forget. Bright patterned liners make it feel like part of the treat.
Get the full tutorial at Penny Pinchin' Mom.
3. Portable Diaper Changing Basket
A portable diaper changing basket saves dozens of trips to the nursery. Take an old picnic basket (this one came from a garage sale) and stock it with diapers, wipes, powder, lotion, cream and hand sanitizer. Leave it in the room where the kids actually play, along with a spare changing pad, and every change happens right there. It took five minutes to put together. A lidded basket looks tidy out in the open, and a twist latch keeps curious toddlers from emptying it.
Get the full tutorial at Andrea Dekker.
4. Milk Jug Toy Scoop
A milk jug toy scoop makes cleanup feel like a game. Remove the label and wash an empty jug. Draw a line across the front and down both sides to the bottom, then cut off the bottom and follow the lines with scissors. Smooth the edges so there are no sharp points, and pull off the plastic ring around the top. Leave the lid on for older kids scooping tiny pieces, or take it off for big blocks. Let the kids decorate it with markers or Mod Podge paper.
Get the full tutorial at Crafty Journal.
5. DIY Road Trip Travel Tray
A DIY road trip travel tray starts as a large cookie sheet. Sand the nonstick finish lightly and prime before spray painting, or the paint will peel. Decorate it with craft paint and dauber brushes if you like. For the cushion underneath, cut one piece of fabric to the size of the pan and a second piece about 1.5 inches bigger all around. Sew 1.5 inch corner seams so the bigger piece forms a pouch, stitch the two pieces together, fill with bean bag stuffing and glue it on.
Get the full tutorial at Two Sisters.
6. Use Mesh Bags To Wash Toys
Grimy plastic building blocks can go through the washing machine in a mesh laundry bag. Zip the pieces into a large, good quality bag, since cheap mesh can tear on sharp corners and let pieces escape. Wash them in hot water with a little soap. It gets noisy, especially in a machine with a center agitator, but it works. Drying is the slow part. A mesh sweater rack spreads them out in a thin layer, or leave them outside in a basket for a few days and stir them now and then.
Get the full tutorial at Gettin' By.
7. Get Kids To Pick Up Toys Quickly
The toy jail trick gets kids picking up fast. Choose a crate or box as the toy jail, then warn the kids it is coming and give them a set amount of time to put everything away. When the jailer walks through, anything left on the floor goes into jail overnight. Do one or two rooms at a time so a ten minute deadline is realistic, and run it daily in busy rooms. Simple, labeled storage helps, because kids cannot put toys away if they do not know where they go.
Get the full tutorial at My Mundane and Miraculous Life.
8. Kids Chore Chart
This kids chore chart pays for the work it asks for. Each chore goes on its own bright paper tag with a dollar amount, like $1 to fold the laundry or $3 to clean the bathrooms, and real bills are clipped under fridge magnets right beside the tags. Kids can see exactly what each job earns. The DIY JOY feature points out that money is only one choice, and the same chart works with stickers, screen time or other rewards, since some jobs are just part of family life.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
9. Mess Free Sidewalk Chalk Recipe
Mess free sidewalk chalk goes into empty stick deodorant containers, so kids twist it up like a glue stick and never touch the powdery chalk. The idea came from a parent whose two children have sensory processing disorder and hate getting their hands dirty. The first test failed and the second worked. Because the chalk retracts, it can ride in a car or purse without leaving a mess. Wash and dry the containers well before filling, and let kids pick their colors.
Get the full tutorial at De tout et de rien.
10. Magnet Cups For Fridge
Magnet cups for the fridge cut down the pile of half used water cups. Super glue two magnets to the back of a plastic cup, press for at least 40 seconds and let it sit for 30 minutes before hanging. Each child gets their own cup on the fridge door right by the water dispenser, so they fill it, drink it and put it back. The supplies cost under $1 a cup. Hand wash the cups every couple of days, and pick a different design for each kid so nobody argues.
Get the full tutorial at Adventures in Pinteresting.
11. Stuffed Animal Chair
A stuffed animal chair is a giant zippered beanbag that stores the plush pile and gives kids a comfy seat. This version adds free printable pattern pieces in two sizes. The large chair is about 85 inches around, 18 inches high and 25 inches across, and the small one about 70 inches around and 12 inches high. Choose six fabrics or one, add batting to the lining and a 25 or 20 inch zipper. Stuff it with soft toys only, since hard toys make for a lumpy seat.
Get the full tutorial at Thread Riding Hood.
12. Kindness Jar
A kindness jar turns positive reinforcement into something small kids can see. Take a clear mason jar and a bag of pom poms (coins, beans or jewels work too) and explain that the family fills it together with acts of kindness. Talk through what kindness looks like: helping a sibling who falls, sharing toys, clearing the table, giving hugs or a compliment. Every kind act earns one pom pom, and a full jar earns a family reward, like a trip for cupcakes. It costs little and takes no prep.
Get the full tutorial at Playground Parkbench.
13. Snap On Cupholder
A snap on cupholder adds a drink holder to any stroller. Cut two 3.8 inch circles for the bottoms, two 12 by 7 inch rectangles for the sides and one 9 by 7 inch handle strip from laminated cotton. Fold each side piece in half, sew a half inch seam, then pin and sew a circle to one end. Nest one cup inside the other and fold the raw edges in. Turn the handle strip right side out, slip it between the cups about an inch down and topstitch the rim. Add plastic snaps.
Get the full tutorial at Sew Can Do.
14. Homemade Lemon Vinegar Cleaner
Homemade lemon vinegar cleaner turns leftover lemon peels into an all purpose spray. Pack the peels into a glass container and pour in enough white vinegar to cover them completely. Put a lid on it and let it sit for about two weeks. Strain out and discard the peels, then mix the lemon vinegar with an equal amount of water. The lemon softens the vinegar smell into something fresh. Use it on bathroom vanities, floors and windows, and save peels from a batch of lemonade.
Get the full tutorial at I Heart Naptime.
15. Busy Board To Entertain Toddler
A toddler busy board is a DIY activity center built from hardware store odds and ends. Mount door latches, locks, a chain lock, light switches, push lights and wheels on a big painted board, then add an old corded phone, a calculator with squishy buttons and a cookie tin that doubles as a magnet board for letters. Skip anything sharp, and leave off locks and latches if you would rather your little one not learn to open doors yet. Screw everything down tight.
Get the full tutorial at Today's Parent.
16. Mother's Milk Popsicles
Mother’s milk popsicles soothe a teething baby. There are two ways to make them. Freeze expressed milk in 1 ounce sticks in a milk freezing tray, then wrap a paper towel around one to serve. Or fill a clean ice tray with fresh breast milk, set a pacifier into each slot and freeze for a couple of hours, then pop out the pacifier pops and store them in freezer jars. Clip one to a pacifier keeper. Wait until baby is at least 5 or 6 months old, and always stay close.
Get the full tutorial at The Johnston's.
