10 March 2024 , 11:00
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Potty training doesn't have to be nightmare, thanks to one mum's clever trick.
Joanne Buckley was trying to get her then two-year-old son Cameron out of nappies and onto the potty, but kept running into accidents.
While this is perfectly normal, if not inevitable, it left her carpets smelling rather funky. Unable to get rid of the unpleasant smell, she started to get creative and ripped up the carpet - but couldn't afford a new one.
Instead, she nipped to B&Q and forked out just £28 on ten packs of soft mats, replacing the flooring completely. It's safe to say - she hasn't looked back since.
She found the packs at B&Q for just £2.80 each (Joanne Buckley/LatestDeals.co.uk)Back in 2020, Joanne told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk "Cameron is nearly three and has been fantastic at potty training, however, a few accidents have occurred and some of those were on his old bedroom carpet! Despite trying to clean it, the smell alone made me take it up along with the lino, so it was bare floorboards with a rug until I could afford an alternative.
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"I was in B&Q just browsing as lockdown has been hard and decorating really helps with my mental health as I suffer from bad anxiety."
She added: "I saw the floor tiles half-price and I was drawn to their bright colour! I wasn't sure if it would work as flooring but for £2.80 per pack, it was worth a try. I bought ten packs and was hoping it would be enough.
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Cameron's room after (Joanne Buckley/LatestDeals.co.uk)
Cameron's room before the makeover hack (Joanne Buckley/LatestDeals.co.uk)"I made sure the floor was all clear and I literally got some scissors and started in the top corner. It's super easy to cut and very pliable as foam. I did consider using PVA to stick down but it was fitting together really well and tightly. I also was aware that if there were any future accidents I wanted to be able to remove a tile and replace it or even wash it.”
Joanne was pleased her £28 hack did the trick with no more accidents since she introduced the new flooring to her home. "The end result was amazing," she added. "I was so happy with it and my little boy even more so, saying 'Wow, mummy, cool!'"
"It's also educational, helping him with his colours, and he places his animals on the squares that represent blue for water for his sharks. Cameron won't let his little brother Oliver in his room anymore - he is super proud of it. Plus there have been no accidents at all since it's been down either." You can pick up a pair of eight mats for £18 at B&Q currently.
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: "Potty-training is never an easy process for families and accidents are inevitable. However, if your flooring is cheap, easy to replace and wipe-clean, it makes the prospect of accidents a lot less daunting. Joanne's amazing B&Q trick is super-affordable, fun for kids to look at and play on, and is perfectly accident-proof: a great hack for parents."