Jen at
Absolutely Bananas asked for
Housekeeping Tips. Well, I have plenty, I have tips compiled from years of FlyLady and every other housekeeping guru out there including Martha, Cheryl Mendelson (my favorite!), Sandra Felton, Abigal Van Buren, Ann Landers, and many others... While I have tons and tons and tons of tips, how many of them really work? Well, different tips work for different people, but this is what keeps my bathrooms clean and presentable with the least amount of effort on my part:
Cleaning is always more time consuming when you have to work around things, so put every away first. In my case, I have individual containers in the bathroom drawers and instead of keeping toothbrushes and toothpaste on the counter, I keep it in a container in the drawer. If you have no other option but to have items out on your counter, try to corral it all in a tray or basket so you can just move 1 tray instead of multiple individual things. If possible, to keep the container clean, line the tray or basket with a handtowel or washcloth, so whenever you change out your towels, you can change out the handtowel as well.
A few things I've done that makes my life much easier:
My shower curtain liner is a nylon fabric rather than plastic, it is easier to keep clean and washes well in the washing machine, it has lasted for 4 years so far. (I got mine at Bed, Bath & Beyond, but you can buy them other places as well.)
My toilet brush has a ceramic container that I keep 3" in the bottom of water with antibacterial cleaner in it. I rinse it out and replace it once a week or so. I keep one of these in each bathroom. (This is not a good idea if your kids are toddlers that would get into this!)
I keep a spray bottle of cleaner and a cleaning rag (really cheap washcloths!) under the sink in the bathroom, and something to scrub with (I like coarse cheap scrubbing mitts) in the shower. You want 2 of each of these per bathroom so you can swap out easily, and they are always right where you need them. Also, a spray bottle of ShowerShine (or water with vinegar) by the shower. If the items you need to clean aren't conveniently available, it's easy to skip it.
My cleaning arsenal, (top) things that make my life easier, (bottom) my cheap cleaning tools (the cheaper, the coarser, the better):
Every day (about 25 seconds!):
Scrub down 1 wall of the shower/tub (I keep a scrubber in the shower and it gets thrown in the wash with the towels), each day moving to the next wall, then do the tub bottom, then all the ledges, the all the fixtures (faucet, drain, etc.), then all the containers in the shower. Start over again the next week. It takes about 10 seconds and the entire tub is cleaned each week with minimal effort.
Spray down the walls of the shower/tub with some sort of ShowerShine or water/vinegar solution each day. (5 seconds)
Wipe down the sink after I'm done using it with that days washcloth. (5 seconds)
Use the toilet brush to scrub around the bowl (5 seconds)
Whenever you swap out towels:
Throw all your towels and washclothes and shower scrubby in the basket. (15 seconds)
While all your surfaces and fixtures are empty, grab your rag and spray and quickly spray down all the surfaces. I use a multi-purpose antibacterial spray that can be used on everything: mirrors, faucets, counters, toilet tank and seat, etc. Let the cleaner sit about a minute. (if you have more than 1 bathroom, go spray down the other bathrooms now too, it lets the cleaner sit a bit and do the work for you)
Now go back and wipe everything down, starting with the mirror, then the towel bar... finishing at the toilet tank, then seat, then bowl. Basically you want to move from the cleanest and finish with the toilet. (2-3 minutes)
Now I do a quick spray on the floor, and depending on what your rug is like (or use a cheap washcloth), I just turn mine upside down and use it to quick wipe down the floor, then throw it in to be washed. (30 seconds)
Put fresh towels on the towel bar, and as a basket/tray liner. New scrubby in the shower, and new rag under the sink. (15 seconds)
Twice a month:
Wash the shower curtain liner with the towels
Once a month (20 minutes at most):
Wash the shower curtain with the towels
Clean the window treatments (a good dusting, shake or a vacuum) (1 minute)
Wash the floor and get in all the corners. (5 minutes)
Wash the counters and get in all the corners. (2 minutes)
Wash down the toilet and get in all the corners. (5 minutes)
Wipe down surfaces, cabinets, etc. (5 minutes)
2-4 times a year:
Take down the window treatments and wash them.
The best part about all of this is by "cleaning" for 25 seconds every day and 5 minutes 1-2 times a week the bathroom is always clean and never becomes a "gross" job to do. The once a month stuff actually goes faster on each additional bathroom because a lot of the time is in the setup (finding the bucket, filling it with hot water and soap). The daily and swap out towels things are intended to be very quick and don't have to be completely thorough, because the spot you miss today you can get tomorrow or 3 days from now. My timeframes are all approximate, I do things when they are needed and not on a really rigid schedule, if the floor needs a good washing sooner (especially during the summer) it might only be 2-3 weeks, but during the winter when we aren't outside getting all dirty it might be 5-6 weeks.
I hope this helps, the every day quick wipe down/scrub is really the key to all of this.
Where I need help is in the kitchen... I need a good routine like I have for the bathrooms...
