Cheap must-haves for baby and toddler messes

My husband and I have had to face a gruelling fact: HAVING A KID IS A MESSY AFFAIR! However, we have been able to save our home and favourite threads with a few cheap finds:

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
Like any toddler, my 18-month-old loves crayons. Thank goodness she stopped trying to eat them! But she does enjoy drawing everywhere - cupboards, doors, walls, you name it. Sure, we have colouring books and crafts, but do you think she wants to colour on those? Nope! So the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser has come super handy for rubbing off scribbles. You can buy a single eraser first to test it, then consider buying a two-pack. A two-pack is around $3 at Canadian Tire. Plus, you can find coupons online or in the newspaper, at 50 cents off.



President's Choice Soil & Stain Laundry Stain Remover

This is probably the best stain remover I've ever used. It has removed stains from purees, sauces, dirt, coffee, pop, crayons, diaper-related mishaps ... the list goes on. (No joke - a lot of my daughter's clothes are in great condition, even the white onesies.) Whenever I buy a bottle at No Frills, I've bought it for $2.99 (650 ml). Not sure if this is the regular or sale price, but even if it's a little more expensive, I'd splurge on this product. What I love too is that you don't need much to remove stains, so one bottle goes a long way.

Generally speaking, I am open to trying out new products. What I do here is store away samples for detergents, air fresheners, sponges, wash cloths, etc. - pretty much, the same method I use for baby-related samples. Usually, they come with coupons too, so that always helps.

What do you use for your kid-related messes? Feel free to sound off!