EASILY CLEANING THE BATHROOM

Yesterday I had said that I would share my system for cleaning the bathroom. I didn't get to it, so, sorry. Mother Nature threw a curve ball and my weekly routine was interrupted. We are being hit hard with snow and hubby suggested that I do our grocery shopping yesterday instead of tomorrow because there is a good chance I won't be able to get out. And, just in case you're ever snowed in - food is a good thing to have on hand. :0) So, here it is - a day late.



The bathroom has always been a major nemesis for me. I HATED to clean the bathroom. Now, it's a breeze thanks to my new simple FlyLady system. I clean it every day. Yep. Every day. The funny thing is, it is much easier than it sounds because this keeps hard water stains and soap scum from building up - thus, making it take longer.


As you can see, my bathroom is dinky. You can shut the door while you're sitting on the toilette. But, I still have a cabinet in there behind the open door. I now keep a roll of paper towels in the cabinet - along with a spray bottle I bought for a buck at Dollar General filled with nothing other than straight rubbing alcohol. It's a cheap, all-purpose cleaner and disinfectant. These two items never leave my bathroom.

Every morning once I'm finished applying my make-up and fixing my hair I get out my roll of paper towels and bottle of alcohol. First, I spray the mirror and wipe it down. Then, I spray the sink and wipe it down. Next, I take that paper towel that is already damp with alcohol and wipe the toilette handle and grab any stray hairs that have fallen on the toilette. (Sometimes, I think I shed worse than my dog!) By this time that paper towel is pretty well finished, so I grab a new one. But first, I dump a glob of shampoo (use could use body wash, hand soap or anything you have on hand) into the toilette bowl and give it a quick swish with the toilette bowl brush. Soap is soap, right? Lastly, I spray down the commode with alcohol and wipe it in this order; top of tank, seat lid, top of seat, underside of seat, rim and finally the bottom where the bolts are located.


This takes me all of a minute and I keep a clean bathroom - even while sharing it with two guys. I never get stressed over having to clean it. And, when company drops by, I'm never embarrassed.


The worst monster in the bathroom for me used to be the shower. I admit, I've had to compromise here. Every since my son was hospitalized for asthma, I have been on a mission to rid our home of chemicals. But, something about scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing the shower while I was twisted into weird, pretzel-like positions was rather unappealing to me. So, I just didn't do it very often. Don't judge - I'm just being honest, here. My compromise is in the cleaner I use. Every Tuesday, I spray the shower down with a Scrubbing Bubbles type cleaner, crack the bathroom window a few inches (even when it's 18 degrees outside) and shut the bathroom door. I tell my kiddo not to go in there until I'm done with the shower. I let it set for 10 minutes, then I hit it with the scrub brush I leave in the shower and rinse. The cleaner does most of the work for me. If it's not perfectly clean -well, that's OK. It's better than it was before, right? Consistently cleaning it every week makes is consistently cleaner. By the time I'm done, the smell has pretty much dissipated so, I can shut the window and open the door.

I would like to get to place where I can use a green cleaner for the shower again. But, I need to find one that doesn't require contortionistic flexibility. For now, I know I need to work on developing the routine of consistency. I'm sure I'll branch out again and try to clean it with something different. But, I believe that life is about give and take. We do the best that we can do and constantly strive to do better. For me, a clean shower with a chemical is better than a scuzzy shower with no chemicals.

So, there you have it. My easy peasy approach to a clean bathroom; clean the shower weekly and wipe down everything else daily. It takes all of a minute and a half, and I don't have to go hunt down cleaners because they stay in the bathroom. I hope you consider giving this approach a try. I think you'll be glad you did!

Happy Homemaking!

P.S. Tomorrow I'll share my favorite remedy for staying healthy this season. It works like a charm!