Today was the bathroom/laundry room. I chose to do this room today because it's also my laundry day and laundry burns me out regardless of what else is going on. Remember how it looked 2 days ago? Not too bad.
I want to say one thing before I start. If you are doing this, please remember you're not spring/deep cleaning. You're just getting things to a functional level.
With bathrooms I like to start with the toilet. There' just something about a clean toilet. No, I didn't take pictures. Because I had to stand so close to things I really couldn't get many pictures that actually showed anything. So I'll just walk you through it.
Toilet: clear off anything on the tank and anything near it on the floor. It's much easier to clean that way. I'll leave it to you how much to clean. I wiped mine down with Lysol wipes today because Saturday is my Bathroom Sanitizing Day and that's the day I clean everything with my steam cleaner (I LOVE my steam cleaner). Normally I don't like these wipes (I don't like things you can't reuse), but I keep them around for when I need a quick cleaning. Wipe the seat, lid, and lip and clean the bowl. You can live with just doing that. I needed to sweep the floor too. If you have time then feel free to do more, but since I was tired from laundry I didn't include it with my house reset. 7 minutes on toilet area.Once it's clean replace anything that NEEDS to go near it. Like a garbage can. No clutter!
Next I did the sink area. Pretty basic, just remove everything and clean the surface. Put away anything that belongs somewhere else. I mean put it in it's place, not just put it on the kitchen counter! Replace the minimum number of things that go near your sink. I also refilled the soap dispenser and changed hand towels. 5 minutes.
Nice and clean!
I did the shower last. I leave it last because visitors don't use it and I want the toilet and sink clean so I'm not embarrassed if anyone uses my loo. If you have a guest bathroom, I recommend doing that one first. It relieves a lot of stress to know people can use the bathroom comfortably. Then do your own and then your kids. It's like an oxygen mask on an airplane. Secure yours first, then your child's. I used to leave my room for last and then it never got cleaned. So that has now become one of my rules.
For the shower, I put away all bath toys, tossed empty shampoo bottles and wiped under the other with a sponge. The tub itself has a slight ring and the doors are pretty clean, so I didn't worry about cleaning them. If yours aren't though, take 10 minutes and clean them. I prefer non-toxic cleaners for the bath because I'm really sensitive to chemical smells. I like to use my steamer. But I also know when a shower/tub is really bad, sometimes you just need to save time and just spray it down with lime-away.
One secret I learned a few years ago was to put Rain-X on your shower door (I also use it on the tile) after it had been cleaned. I don't have space for a water softener so doing this has SIGNIFICANTLY lowered hard water build up. I simply wipe the walls with a squeegee or dry rag after showers and everything stays nice and clear. I have to do this about every 2 months. Anyway, 10 minutes for shower. I also spent 5 minutes sweeping the floor.
So I spent just under 30 minutes cleaning the bathroom today. I want to remember that anytime I don't think there's time to clean the bathroom. There is!! Most of it is just putting away random items and wiping the surfaces. This was great because it was also laundry day and I wanted to plant some seeds as well, plus I had a church meeting. When you know your day has a lot of activities, either take a break, or just do something small. Put away things in a box or do one surface. Or even just maintain the rooms you've already done. The whole point of this is maintaining sanity.
Tomorrow I'm doing my kids' rooms. They're generally pretty clean so it wont be very dramatic (I think my kitchen was the worst room), but it will feel good to be done!Labels: Reset The House
