Cleaning!

I know, you have been waiting for this week! Who doesn’t love and look forward to cleaning. Other than, oh…just about everyone. I do love a clean house, I’ve seen them.  Every now and then I have one…and then I move, or breathe, or make dinner and poof. No clean house.

Cleaning is an ongoing never-ending chore that most people endure. Today is all about the Bathroom and the Bedroom.

The Bathroom

There are generally four areas that most people think of when cleaning a bathroom. Floor, Sink, Tub/Shower and the Toilet. These four encompass the “Bathroom Basics”, and this is the bare minimum you should be doing.

Note: if you have children, double everything.

Floor – sweep once a week, mop once a month. If you have rugs on the floor, wash them when you mop.

Sink – wipe down daily just after you brush your teeth.  Clear everything off and give it a good scrubbing once a month.

Mirror – At a minimum, give the mirror a good going over with a cleaner once a month.

Tip: Crumpled up newspaper is a great mirror and window cleaning rag. They tend to not leave streaks and you can just toss em in the recycle bin when you are done.

Tub/Shower – Add a step to your shower routine. Just before you exit the tub/shower, run a damp rag around all the surfaces. Give it a deep cleaning scrub down monthly.

Toilet – Weekly wipe down all surfaces (this includes the floor around the toilet.) Every other week, give it a good scrub with the cleaning product of your choice.

Note: If you have a situation where you need to use a plunger on a regular basis, be advised that you are weakening the gaskets and seals every time you plunge.

Beyond the Basics: Walls, Air Vent, Windows, Light Fixtures

As the bathroom is the one room in the house where moisture gathers every single day, you will need to take more care of it.

Walls – On a monthly basis, do a quick sweep of the walls. (Yes, this is exactly what it means, take a CLEAN broom and run it over the walls and ceiling.) Every third month or so, wipe down the walls and dry them.

Air Vent – Keep an eye on your air vent. If you can see dust…CLEAN IT. If you cannot see dust, clean it a couple of times a year.

Light Fixtures – Now this actually can depend on the light fixture you have. I have wonderful neon bars (which I hope to one day replace,) so cleaning these is about a once a month thing. However, if you have any kind of sconce, and again, you can see bugs. CLEAN IT.

TIP: Dawn. Dawn dishwashing soap is fantastic at cleaning bathtubs. For the lazy person, pour a few drops in and fill the tub with hot water. The same thing that makes it a good kitchen soap, killing grease, getting rid of scum, and cleaning stains; makes it an excellent bathroom cleaner.

Bedroom:

I am a big proponent of just having things in the bedroom that are used solely in that room. For example, bed, dresser, and nightstand. So with that in mind, here are the basics:

Bed: Wash your bed linens at least once a week, more if needed. (Hot nights, after strenuous activity, when accidents happen – hey, I have cats so it happens)

If you have a duvet and pillows that you cannot/should not put through the washing machine, put them through the dryer on an air only cycle with dryer sheets. This fluffs them up and give them a refresher.

Turn your mattress every other month or so.

Dresser/Nightstand: Keep these clear of “dust gatherers”. Those little tiny objects that seem to exist to just look pretty, or cute or whatever and breed dust. If you do have them, then make sure to remove and dust everything at least once a month. Run a clean and DRY dust rag over all the surface areas weekly.

Floor: Vacuum once a week. It may not look like it needs it, but trust me, this is the one room in your house where you are almost always barefoot. Vacuum.

Windows: Do a deep cleaning (inside and out if possible) of all windows every other month. Same with drapes or shutters.

Walls: When you are vacuuming, run the sweeper end over all corners to pick up those cobwebs. Maybe once a year wipe down the walls (and dry as you go).

Beyond the basics:

TV: If you have a television in your bedroom, clean it and the remote once a month. Use the appropriate cleaning method for your type of television.

Ceiling Fan: These are fantastic…and terrible dust catchers. Run a vacuum cleaner attachment over them once a month, and a duster over them weekly.  Every six months or so, take out the blades and give them a good deep cleaning.

Closets: Don’t ignore your closets. Just because you don’t see them all the time, doesn’t mean they stay clean. Use the visual method here. If it looks dirty, clean it.

A Thought about dirty clothing

Keeping your dirty clothing out of sight is a great way to have the room “feel” clean even if it may need a touch up. If you can, keep these in your closet, just keep in mind that if your closet is closed tightly, it will begin to smell like dirty clothing…so in that case, do NOT keep them in your closet.  As mentioned before on this blog, I strongly suggest you have three hampers. One for whites, one for cold wash and one for everything else. It makes laundry time so much easier.

Tomorrow: Kitchen and Dining room

-Auntie Zia