With the path in front of you at times fraught with uncertainty, one thing is certain: you need support. Support can come in many different forms, and today we’re talking about the support you get from your ordinary household appliances. Here’s our recommendations for the must-haves for new mums and dads.
Laundry
Regardless of how many children you have, you will be doing laundry. You will have laundry at various stages of cleanliness on the go all of the time. Now is the perfect time to upgrade your washer and dryer. My advice, based on my personal experience, is to go big. If you have the space for it, get at least a 9kg washing machine so when you need to wash all of your baby’s clothes (and there will come a time when you have to do this) you can wash all of them at once. For a dryer, get one that has a high energy star rating so you can think about more important things than your energy bill, with a large capacity to match the washer. I’ve got just the ones.
LG 9kg Front Load Washing Machine with Steam WV91409B in Black Steel Finish
This model comes with the Steam feature, choose the Allergy Care cycle and the Steam feature will remove up to 99.9% of allergens (dust mites, bacteria and pollens), keeping them away from tiny baby noses. It also uses a combination of 6 different motions which are based on different hand-washing techniques to wash your clothes.
When you choose the wash cycle, the machine will automatically select the best combination of wash motions so your clothes are clean yet the fabric is still treated as delicately as it needs to be. This is perfect for those super soft baby onesies and leggings, as well as all of your favourite pairs of track pants which will also be covered in various fluids.
Other Parent-Friendly Features
- Big 9kg capacity is perfect for washing large loads of soiled clothes
- Uses a combination of 6 different motions which are based on different hand-washing techniques to wash your clothes perfectly and carefully
- Hit pause and add items up to the spin cycle
- Remote start and monitor progress using LG ThinQ app
- TurboClean function to wash half a load of lightly soiled clothes in 39 minutes
LG 9kg Heat Pump Dryer with Inverter Control in Black Steel Finish
With a 9kg capacity and 9 star energy rating this dryer is the crown jewel in every new parent’s laundry setup. Heat pumps work using a gentler heat than a vented dryer, so you can take your laundry straight from the washer and pop it in the dryer every time without worrying about your clothes being damaged, and without worrying about running up the power bill. Depending on the brand of cloth nappy you could even dry your MCNs in here without worrying about damaging the elastic or fading the print.
Other Sanity Saving Features
- Eco Hybrid technology - dry it fast or conserve energy, you decide
- Remove common household allergens with Allergy Care
- Auto Cleaning Condenser maintains optimal performance
- Sensor Dry automatically controls drying time to prevent over drying
- Track energy consumption, download additional drying cycles and more with LG ThinQ app
Kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of the home, and as a new parent you will learn to appreciate the smaller appliances in your kitchen. Anything that makes your life even 1% easier is the vibe here. Scroll down for some of my favourites.
Crock-Pot® Express Easy Release Oval Multi-Cooker
Crock-Pot is a brand so well-known there’s a chance you refer to your slow cooker as a crock pot regardless of what brand it is. There’s a reason for that: Crock-Pot is legit.
This particular model is a very versatile multi-cooker which can take the place of 9 separate appliances: pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, saucepan, fry pan, steamer, yoghurt maker, steriliser (useful for bottles, dummies, some breast pump parts) and warmer. Many multi-cookers you see are round in shape. This one is an oval so you can fit stuff in better for more even cooking.
More things you’ll love:
- 15 one-touch pre-programmed meal settings
- Easy Release Steam Dial for safe pressure release
- Glass lid included for non-pressure cooking
Pressure cooking function cooks up to 70% faster - 5.7L capacity and dishwasher safe.
Russell Hobbs Addison Digital Kettle - Matte Black
Not all kettles are made equal, and you need something you can rely on to make your coffee or boil water for bottles. This one has LED illuminated buttons with 5 variable temperatures (70°C, 80°C, 90°C, 95°C, 100°C) and a Keep Warm function.
Other cool bits:
- Removable, washable, anti-scale filter for max hygiene
- Decent 1.7L capacity for many, many cups of coffee
- Push button lid for easy filling
- 2 Year Warranty
Hisense 125L Bar Fridge
If you pump breastmilk and want to store it in your bedroom, or if you frequently get nap trapped by a baby and are desperate for a cold drink, this compact 125L bar fridge is all you need. Offering temperature control and a removable wire shelf to accommodate your snacks, bottles and bags. Kids grown? Hide your special treats in there away from teens with seemingly bottomless stomachs. Hide a tray of brownies. A whole birthday cake. A beautiful cheese platter. I believe in you!
A new TV - go with an LG OLED
This one is a bit of a fun one. No, you don’t technically need to have a new TV when a child comes into your care. Maybe you want one though? Treat yo’ self. An LG OLED TV puts out a lot less blue light than a normal TV, meaning if you were up in the middle of the night feeding and wanted to catch up on your Netflix list, you won’t interrupt bub’s melatonin production as severely as a regular TV and they’ll be happier to go back down after the feed.
Other benefits of OLED
- Bold and vibrant picture quality
- Clearer motion with less image blurring
- Wide viewing angle
- Sky high cool factor - show all of your mates and bask in their envy
Loads more in store
These are just some of the appliances you might find useful on your parenting journey - others include a Bluetooth speaker for playing white noise all night long, microwaves for quick and easy cooking, vacuums for easy cleanup of crumbs, heating and cooling for the perfect nap cave temperature, a dishwasher for cleaning all of the hard plastics that fit in it (I use mine for toys often), the list goes on. Come in to your local Bi-Rite and get kitted out with the best new appliances for your parenting journey.
