WILD CHILD: Managing the mess

Autumn is amazing. We can have hot, cold, windy, wet, and muddy weather all in one day. It’s a chance to roll in leaves, splash in puddles, and get MUDDY!!!

With a little bit of planning, clean up after muddy or wet adventures can become a smooth process. After all, those layers usually keep the mud on the outside. There is a mostly clean kid under all those layers!

The large reusable bag:

This tip came from one of our amazing Wild Child families. After an adventure have your child stand (boots and all) in a large reusable grocery bag or tote. Starting at the top, peel off the muddy layers into the bag, then lift the mostly clean child out leaving all the mucky gear behind.

The laundry basket:

As you head outside to play place a laundry basket and towel at the front door. As children come in, use the towel to dry off and drop all wet or muddy gear straight into the basket ready to be cleaned up.

Give rain gear a shower:

Rain coats and rain pants can get pretty messy, but you don’t have to wash them every time. For smaller messes simply let them dry off and dust off the muck outside. For larger messes put the gear in the shower and spray off the mud, then hang the gear up in the shower to dry for your next adventure.

For mitts, put the mitts on and rinse them quickly under running water like you are washing your hands. Then hang to dry (or even use a hairdryer if you have one).

Finally wet gear just needs to dry, hang it up in an airy place (or toss in a dryer if you have one) and you should be ready to play again soon.

Written by Tandy Morton, WILD CHILD Playgroup Facilitator