HA HA this is not a joke

HI LADIES

We had speggetti for lunch (yummy).....but its all over my floors who has a quick and easy speggettinni clean up tip?



Seriously :)

I usualy take a humid piece of paper towel and ''wipe the floors'' until they are almost all picked up, then I will use the broom... ( after most of the sauce is cleaned up!)
and then swiffer to finish cleaning!

I have 2 messy boys.... I'm getting good at picking food on the floor!

I have a dog...

I bring out the dogs after lunch is over to do the preliminary clean up.

at least they ate, I had 4 kids and not one of them ate anything on their plates.

boo to that momofnerds.......... I just spent 30 minutes cleaning up what a disaster.....

there is always the option to putting the child up for sale! that's what i'm about to do with my 18Mo!
Just kidding! :laugh:

I serve pasta with red sauce almost every week once, so I know what you mean. I switched to a penne type pasta as it is easier for them to eat and easier to clean up. Still end up with a bit of sauce clean-up, but I think it's worht it for the nutrients they get (I pack my red sauce with veggies and tofu and then puree it so they don't know...every one of them loves it).

great idea sunnydays with the sauce! I will have to try that.

I have the solid plastic bibs with a pouch that I put OVER the full arms smocks. It does minimize what gets on the floor ...But I do get some in the hair and all over the face, ears, neck ... ;0) They are all also in booster seats ... I find the mess are better contained than in high chairs.

I swear everytime I serve Spaghetti or Rice that I will never again...and yet I keep doing it!

One of the first things children learn at my daycare is No Food On The Floor. That's a big no-no because I have a large rug under my dining room table. It doesn't take long for them to learn to be careful and I never have a problem. A small amount of food ends up on the floor of course, but nothing drastic. Teach them!

Same here as Momof4. They do not throw food on purpose or spit it out or meal is over. Everybody knows better... My son just tried to spit his food all over a few days and lunch was over. He was starving for afternoon snack, but he learn his lesson.

No clean up tips, but maybe next time make macaroni instead, or the "butterfly" noodles are a big hit with my kids. And I agree - rice is THE WORST thing to clean up!

i'm with you on this issue, Momof4 and artsand! It's amazing how even very young children can be transformed in a very short time to know that it is unacceptable to purposely throw food on the floor, or spill water on the table. accidents happen, of course, but my pet peeve is sippy cups being banged upside down on the table to make puddles to "play" in! i always have to sweep the floor after lunch, but it's never anything major...not even with rice. the key to cleaning up rice, (my son and i have it fairly often), is to let it dry a little then sweep it. trying to sweep while it's still 'wet' is a disaster! probably works the same with noodles, but they would definitely take longer to 'dry'.

My philosophy is that some foods are best left for parents to serve. My kids love pasta but they get it boiled with celery seed for a hint of flavour - no idea why of all the spices I tried they like this one the best - and a hint of butter and that's it.

And yes totally support the dog method - I so miss how much she helped get the crumbs from under the table.

For pasta I serve the butterfly ones too, forget what they are called, heehee, or penne or the rigatoni (spirals) with a touch of tomato sauce or just buttered as playfelt mentioned. I agree with her philosophy for food as well. I don't serve soups or stews, but I do serve chili and my tuna/rice/cheese casserole was a hit last week but the cheese kept it all stuck together for less mess. However, I had to change the pants of the 2 year old because she lost a spoonful on her lap and I didn't want her smelling like tuna all afternoon. I do serve yogurt about 3 times a week because it sticks to the spoon well, but I feed applesauce to the under 2's myself and don't even serve it often. They can have apples!