Wednesday's Cleaning: Room by Room Series: The Bathroom

And we are here. This is the conclusion of the series "Room by Room" where I highlight cleaning tips found on Melissa Ringstaff's page A Virtuous Woman. For the past few weeks (months, really, because I've not been so great at doing this every week), I have been going through Melissa's Household Notebook and highlighting some of the tips she has for cleaning each room.

If you are new to this series or you think you missed an entry, here they are:
1. The Introduction
2. The Kitchen, part 1
3. The Kitchen, part 2
4. The Kitchen, part 3
5. The Bedroom
6. The Bedroom, part 2

And today we are focusing on The Bathroom. Click here for the link to the entire list. Remember, I only highlight some of the tips.


The Bathroom


Care for the Bathroom: Monthly highlights 


1. Clean under the sink. I actually really like that she has this as something to do every month. Just last week I was trying to find something under my bathroom sink, and I realized I had a few half-empty bottles of shaving cream waaayyyy in the back. Those got thrown out immediately, and I realized that the underside of my sink really needed a good cleaning. Once a month will do just fine.

2. Throw out old medications and old make up. This is really important. More and more experts are starting to express their concern for people keeping old medicines and make up. I have to admit, since I don't wear a lot of make up, I have some that dates back to high school. Yes, high school. I really need to just toss it. How about you? Have you checked the expiration date of that tylenol you keep in your medicine cabinet? When's the last time you used that mascara? Uh huh. Toss it.


Care for the Bathroom: Weekly highlights


1. ...Dust the baseboards as you go. Ew! Baseboards in a bathroom are pretty gross, especially if that bathroom is used regularly by boys. As a mother of 2 boys, I cannot tell you how incredibly gross a boys' bathroom is. I actually have my boys clean the baseboards in their bathroom twice a week. One of those days (Mondays) is the "deep cleaning" of the baseboards (soap and water), the second day (Thursdays) is just maintenance. As for my own bathroom, my husband and I shed hair like crazy. If I go 1 or 2 weeks without swiping the baseboards, it fills up quickly. NOTE: she also gives tips on how to deep clean the baseboards in her step 11.

2. Dust the vanity light bulbs. I forget this step all the time! I really need to make a check list of things that need to be cleaned in bathroom, like they do at restaurants, and just make sure this gets done. Because once the dust gets really settled on the light bulbs, then you have an icky, sticky mess.

3. Clean around the top of the the toilet, working your way down the sides. Oh the top of the toilet. Right now on the top of our toilet is a basket of magazines. I tend to dust around that basket on a weekly basis, but there are times when I venture below the basket. Take it from me, just do this. I have my boys clean the top of the toilet twice a week, and it looks great! This is a great reminder in case you forget it or are lazy like I am.




Care for the Bathroom: Daily highlights


1. Rinse tub after bathing. Cute story here: a few of my friends and I were out on a girls' weekend and the topic of cleaning the bathroom came up (yeah, most of us are moms). We all confessed to cleaning the shower while we were still in it. I keep one of those Mr Clean sponges in the shower and swipe it as I go. I thought it was kind of weird I did that until I realized that I'm not the only one. I had to start doing that because my husband has the weird knack of really getting the tub dirty. And I'll admit, in the summer time, when I do the weekly mowing, I do my fair share of making the tub icky. So if you get in the habit of doing a daily swipe, it makes the deep cleaning days much easier.

2. Clean mirror after everyone has brushed their teeth. I don't know why or how a mirror gets so dirty after a round of teeth brushing, but it does. So it's a good idea to just do a quick swipe every morning after everyone is done. I tend to keep an old baby wipes container with homemade mirror cleaner nearby for those quick cleanings. Look here for a further look at what I do.

3. Spray air freshener and leave the room. Voila! Just like that. Just spritz and leave. Really, this list for daily is pretty short. It should only take a few minutes to get in and get out. And what better way to leave than to just spray and go.


So that's about it. I really, really hope that this series has helped you to get organized with cleaning the house. Melissa does a great job in giving a list of daily, weekly, and monthly tips. Honestly, the best thing to do is the make a checklist of things that need to be done every day, every week, and every month. I sort of did this when I made my New Year's Resolution, and it has really helped me stay on track with getting the basic chores out of the way. And if you haven't checked out Melissa's links, please do. She really is a wealth of knowledge.

Happy Cleaning everyone!

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