Childproofing your home can get quite expensive if you resort to buying childproofing tools from the store. If you’re on a tight budget, there are many ways you can childproof your home with items that you might already have, or otherwise buy for cheap. Here are the most affordable ways that you can childproof your home are as effective as store-bought measures:
1. Weave fabric through railings
Prevent your child from sticking their head through the balustrade system (or worse, falling through the gaps) by weaving a piece of fabric through the slots.
2. Install tennis balls on corners
Sharp corners can lead to painful bumps and hours of crying. Don’t wait for that to happen to your tot. Install makeshift corner guards on your furniture using tennis balls or any other kind of ball soft enough to prevent a painful bump to the noggin.
3. Secure toilet paper rolls with rubber bands
To babies, there’s just something about toilet paper rolls that make them so fun to unroll and spread all throughout the house. Are you tired of re-rolling entire toilet paper rolls after your kid has had their fun? Secure the roll with a rubber band or a hair elastic instead of buying expensive toilet paper guards.
4. Slip pool noodles on doors
With a few cut up pool noodles, you can protect your baby’s fingers from getting slammed between doors. Simply cut a pool noodle lengthwise and put them on the door so that they don’t close completely. When you have to close the door, remove the pool noodle, and ensure that no little fingers are lurking before you close it.
5. Make a DIY baby gate
Baby gates can be pretty expensive, and you will only ever use them for a couple of years or so. Instead of buying a baby gate from the store, make one of your own by slipping a piece of fabric through tension rods and installing it in front of your stairs.
6. Cover electrical outlets with tape
Those plastic electrical outlets at the store can still be removed by persistent fingers. Use duct tape or electrical tape instead to cover outlets. Not only is this a cheaper option, but tape is harder to remove by small fingers.
7. Slip meter sticks through drawer pulls
Fit a meter stick through your drawer pulls to prevent your child from opening and closing your drawers and possibly getting their fingers jammed. When you need to access your drawers, you can simply pull up the meter stick and then put it back through the pulls to secure them.
8. Create makeshift doorknob covers
Keep your baby from wandering around the house by childproofing your doorknobs. However, you don’t need to buy expensive doorknob covers to do this. Just take your old Tupperware, cut a slit on the lid wide enough to push it through the knob, and then screw on the bottom to the lid. Your baby’s small fingers won’t be able to unscrew the Tupperware at least for the first few years of their life.
9. Place playmat squares in front of fireplaces
Playmats are relatively inexpensive and can be used to keep your baby from going near the fireplace. Create cubes using these spongy panels, and then create a barrier between the living the area and the fireplace by placing the cubes side by side.
10. Put cookie cutters on cabinet pulls
If your toddler has a bad habit of opening cabinets, keep them closed by placing a cookie cutter over both handles to secure them. The more complicated the shape is, the better so that your baby won’t be able to remove the cutter.
11. Remove stovetop knobs
A child accidentally turning on the stove is one of the worst nightmares for a parent. Luckily, you can prevent this from happening with a simple hack: remove the stove knobs and store them out of reach. When you need to use your stove, pop them back on and then remove them again afterward.
12. Lock your fridge with hooks and a rubber band
Prevent your kid from opening the fridge (and making a huge mess) by sticking hooks on the side of the fridge door and the refrigerator itself. To keep it from being opened by little hands, secure a thick rubber band over the hooks.
Diapers, formula, doctor bills, clothes, and other baby needs are already expensive enough. You don’t need to add to your expenses by spending a fortune on babyproofing needs. You can keep your child safe at home using random items that you probably already have or things you can find at the dollar store.
What other frugal childproofing tips can you share with other parents? Let us know in the comments!
