Let’s talk about cleaning up after kids when you’re trying to sell your house. Selling your house always has enough stress on its own, let alone chasing down littles and wiping up sticky fingers and wondering what in the world… that… is. So we’ve listed a couple of mini-catastrophes that can come at the hands of two-year-olds… and how to beat them.
Cleaning Up After Kids (And Still Selling Your House)
The Crayon Catastrophe. Cleaning up after kids when they’re little artists is hard. Guaranteed at some point in your parenting career you’ll find a neon, wax-based masterpiece on your living room wall. Heaven forbid it’s when you’re trying to sell the house. But should that happen, don’t worry. We’ve got a quick fix.
- Take a damp washcloth and dip into baking soda. Work over the crayon with your fingers. Wipe off with damp washcloth. NOTE: don’t rub too hard! While you want the crayon to come up, you also don’t want to overwork it and take paint off too.
Ink on Cloth. My mom used to use this trick when we got pen on our clothes, but it works for any cloth-based item, like your couch pillows. There are two things you can use: hairspray or rubbing alcohol. They bond with the ink, making it easy to lift up with a paper towel.
- Spray the ink with hairspray or dab with rubbing alcohol. Let sit for a moment, and then press and lift with a dry paper towel. Repeat as necessary. The ink should start dispersing in an almost purple color, and come up after a few rounds. Quick and simple.
The Dreaded Sharpie. If you didn’t choose to throw away every permanent marker in your home when your baby started crawling, you may find Sharpie just about anywhere – furniture, walls, your wood coffee table… you name it.
- Sharpie reacts similarly to ink, so on fabric surfaces, hairspray or rubbing alcohol similar to the above instructions. For wood, pay attention to the finish. You don’t want to take off the varnish. Some other options are using regular (non-gel) toothpaste or peanut butter, and rubbing gently with a damp paper towel until the sharpie comes up. Keep in mind this will probably take a few minutes of continuous rubbing, since it is a gentler form of cleaning.
Hopefully these tips can help you relax when you’re cleaning up after your kids, even if you are trying to get out the door for a showing. We get it. Because we’re faith and family oriented – just like you. We’re a Christian Lender with a small family team – so if you’re looking for a mortgage, or have any questions throughout the process, give us a call. We’d love to help!
Best,
Audrey
The Christian Mortgage Mom
