Thinking again about yesterday’s topic and “The Messiest Home in the Country” got me thinking about cleaning routines. I don’t think of myself as a great housekeeper, but no one is likely to call the health department on me either! When it comes down to it, my major goals are to keep the kitchen and the bathrooms fairly clean. Sweeping, vacuuming, mopping, and dusting of the rest of the house occurs more on an as needed basis, but the kitchens and baths are on a fairly regular cleaning schedule.
The kitchen routine occurs pretty much daily. Everyone in the house is responsible for clearing their own dishes and putting them in the sink or nearby on the counter, though sometimes I have to go on a scouting mission and pick up some plates and glasses that have been forgotten. Usually after dinner and sometimes once during the day if needed, my husband or I load and run the dishwasher. I usually unload the dishwasher first thing in the morning while I am waiting for coffee to brew. I have timed it a few times and find that it only takes a couple minutes! Other than that, the counters are wiped down whenever I notice crumbs or spills, and everyone knows to wipe up any major spills as soon as they happen, though sometimes smaller spills and smudges get overlooked. The kitchen table gets wiped down before it is set for dinner and after it is cleared. Really not much of a routine, but it works for us.
Now that the kids are older, sweeping isn’t as much of an issue. Dog hair is the real problem and running my buddy Roomba (the robotic vacuum cleaner) about once a week takes care of the worst of that. Appliances, sinks, cabinets, etc. get attention whenever I notice them looking grungy. For a while I was using Guardsman Spray on the cabinets since it came with them when they were installed, but lately I have found that a slightly damp microfiber towel works as well or better and I am not having issues with trying to get all the spray wiped out of every little crevice.
My bathroom routine involves a weekly cleaning for each bathroom. I also have installed a Scrubbing Bubbles automatic shower cleaner in the main shower, which the last person to shower will run every day. I find it keeps most of the grunge down in the shower so that I only have to go in once a month or so and give it a good scrub.
I can clean the rest of a single bathroom in about 15 minutes. Usually I do the powder room on Saturday and the upstairs bathrooms on Sunday. I start by spraying the whole outside of the toilet and both sides of the cover and seat with an all purpose cleaner. I let that sit while I completely clear off the counter and spray the sink with all purpose cleaner. My powder room counter is granite, so I usually don’t spray that, but just wipe it down with plain water. Once a month, I clean it with the recommended granite cleaner that we received from the granite yard. My laminate counters upstairs get sprayed with all purpose cleaner each week when I do the sinks.
I use a paper towel to wipe all the cleaner off the toilet and also swipe dust and hair off the floor around the toilet base. If there is still dust or dirt on the toilet or floor, I will use a disposable cleaning wipe to go over everything again. I keep something called a “Johnny Mop” (bought mail order through Don Aslett’s cleaning supply company) in a caddy next to the toilet. I bought only the mop and use a cheap plastic vase from the dollar store as a caddy.
http://www.cleanreport.com/p1027/Johnny-Mop-or-Bowl-Caddy-Set/product_info.html
I like it because it easily plunges most of the water out of the bowl and makes good contact for swabbing out the toilet. First I push some water out of the bowl with the Johnny Mop, then squirt some cleaner under the rim all the way around and let it sit. I used to use regular toilet cleaner but have since switched to stuff from the health food store to try to move toward more natural cleaners. Currently I am trying Ecover’s bowl cleaner in one bathroom and Biokleen Soy Blend in another. Both work well. I like that Ecover has the conventional angled spout, but it has a slightly overpowering pine scent. The Biokleen comes in a regular bottle with squirt top and tends to drip a tiny bit when you close the spout, but has a nice peppermint scent. I bought them both on sale and they were still slightly more expensive than the standard brands, but worth it to me to use something more natural and I only buy the stuff a couple times a year anyhow.
While the toilet bowl cleaner sits, I wipe down the sink and counter with a sponge. I plug the sink and fill to the top with hot water, letting some run down the overflow holes before opening the drain. I read somewhere that a good bowl full of hot water down the drain each week helps keep the drains clear. Unfortunately I still have to take everything apart once or twice a year and fish all the hair out the drain, yuck!
I spray the mirror with cleaner and use a lint free towel to wipe it clean, also spraying my stainless trash can in the powder room and wiping it down as well. I use that towel to dry the counter and dry out the sink, then use it to wipe down anything that goes on the counter before I put it back. I’ll also run the damp mirror towel over the towel rack, TP holder, mirror and picture frames, etc. to catch any dust.
Last step is the swab out the bowl, flush, wring on the Johnny Mop (it has a piece on it to do this without touching the mop itself) and then drop the mop back in the caddy and the bathroom is done.
There you go. Aside from the day to day routine in the kitchen, I spend less than an hour a week on the bathrooms and while they may not be perfect, I am not embarrassed if surprise company needs to use the rest room.
One other piece of advice for easy housekeeping – we have a pretty strict rule about no food upstairs in the bedrooms. That eliminates the whole issue of crumbs, old dishes, or grungy old food hanging around. If someone is sick in bed, the rule is relaxed to allow crackers, broth, etc. and I do occasionally bring up a snack while I am reading, but clean up and take everything back downstairs immediately when I am done. Kids are absolutely not allowed to have food upstairs unless an adult gives it to them when they are sick. This rule might seem strict but it’s been in place since we moved into this house and no one even thinks about it anymore.
Enjoy your 4th of July. It is raining here and I don’t know if we’ll get a chance to grill or go see fireworks, but we’ll play it by ear. For now, I am off to clean a bathroom!
Best regards,
Lynn
