Ivy says:
Getting your house back in shape absolutely requires that you clean the bathroom. Let me tell you, you could have mounds of laundry piled everywhere and a spotless bathroom and I totally wouldn’t think you’re gross. But make me use a dirty bathroom and I’ll take pictures and post them here on Home Ec 101 with the Home Ec 101 Seal of Disapproval. Just kidding.
Mostly.
But seriously, cleaning your bathroom is a must. Where to get started with this disaster area?
First, remove all clothes, towels, and washcloths that are strewn about. Perhaps you’re the sort of person who never, ever lets dirty clothes go anywhere but the hamper. Or perhaps you’re like all my family members who like to drop their clothing right next to the hamper. Either way, if there is clothing in your bathroom, remove it.
Next, discard all trash in the bathroom. I normally empty the bathroom trash every week come trash day, but somehow little bits of trash tend to end up in odd places, like underneath cabinets and behind the toilet. I don’t always get those on trash day, so I gather up all that flotsam plus all the trash in the trashcan, and take it out.
Now, clear off your sink area. Yes, even the stuff that normally goes there. Just set it in the cabinet for now.
Then vacuum or sweep the floor and the bottom of your tub/shower. And dust anything that needs dusting. This concludes the “dry” portion of your bathroom cleaning experience. Let’s move on to the “wet” part.
Put your toilet bowl cleaner stuff around the rim of your toilet bowl and close up the toilet to let it soak in. I particularly like the extra caustic, super-chemical kinds of toilet cleaners. Your mileage may vary, depending on how green you are. I’m pretty green, but when it comes to toilet cleaning, gimme chemicals.
Then do your shower. For this, I like a vinegar and water 50/50 mix. Nothing removes soap scum quite as well as plain ol’ white vinegar and water. Just spray and wipe. Don’t forget your shower curtain, spray and wipe that bad boy, too.
Next, move on to your sink, mirror, and other things that need to be sprayed and wiped. Not your toilet, not yet. That comes last. I have a flat plastic scraper (like the ones Pampered Chef gives you to clean off your stoneware) that I use to scrape off toothpaste yuck. Don’t forget to clean behind and under your faucet!
On to the toilet! A little scrubbing here, a little scrubbing there, and voila! Clean toilet.
Finally, mop. And then you’re done with the bathroom and can move on to more fun tasks, like laundry.
And that concludes the bathroom cleaning. Whew! Wasn’t that fun?!
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I just did this to both the master bath and the gues bath… well as good as I can anyway. I totally agree with you on the super chemicals for the toilet, but I’m prenant and hubby gets upset (overprotecive first time dad LOL) if I use too many chemicals so I left the serious “toilet scrubbing” to him. Instead, I just picked up all the laundry, garbage, washed the rugs, mopped the floors and scrubbed a few things that were really getting to me with some “light” chemicals, and reorganized a few things. I even redecorated our guest bathroom (pic at the bottom : http://runningthemarathonoflife.blogspot.com/2009/06/for-today.html).
Nicole, it looks great! Thanks for sharing.
If hubby wants to clean toilets, more power to him and just get out of the way.
In addition to all of that, I also clean the hair out of the brushes and combs as I’m returning them to the vanity. When I used a curling iron and hairspray I would take a moment to clean the gunk off of my curling iron – it makes them last longer if they don’t have a half inch thick crust of old hair and hairspray on them! I also wipe down the paper cup dispenser, the soap dispenser, and other countertop items that get spotty, and I put the toothbrush holder through the dishwasher. Ours gets really nasty (combination of hard water and toothpaste gunk, in spite of how much we rinse them before we put them back). Sometimes I use CLR on it – that works really well.
The other major bathroom tip I have is this – make wiping down the counter and the back of the toilet part of your own morning routine – that way it doesn’t get really nasty between cleanings!! For bonus clean points, swish the toilet bowls with regular liquid soap (leftover shampoo or body wash that no one’s using anymore – or the ends of bottles that get neglected instead of used) when you get dressed, too.
Yep, I hear you on this one! My two ‘must have clean’ areas are the kitchen and the bathroom – once they are done, I can cope with any amount of clutter or disorganisation. I have to say, you almost made the cleaning sound like fun LOL!
I get through the chores by playing my favourite music and I also have a spray bottle with my favourite essential oils scents in there – I use this to spray on surfaces – it NEARLY makes cleaning enjoyable
Like Amy, I do a bit of a Flylady ’swish and swipe’ first thing in the morning – it helps to prevent the gunk building up.
Nicole – your guest bathroom is really pretty; I love the blue and beige tones
This is actually one of my FAVORITE chores. A little work can really make a world of difference. I also use a vinegar mix and some newspaper on the mirrors and windows PLUS if you live in a place prone to any type of bugs (we can get earwigs out here in AZ) I pour some down the drain, too, and let it soak. I wash my bathmatts, too, ’cause feet can be FUNKY FUNKY FUNKY.
You can also throw your shower curtain in the washing machine and just hang to drip dry!!
Here’s a question for you – I discovered the underside of my toilet tank is covered in MOLD. So far, I’ve just been flapping my hands and saying EEW. What can I do to actually take care of it?
As an aside, I know why it happens. There is no central air vent in our bathroom. Flush toilet, fills with cold water, warm room, steamy shower – I’m not surprised. Just grossed out. Halp!
I’d make a weak bleach and water solution (I’d fill a bucket about half full and then pour in a dollop of bleach) and then wash the underside of the toilet with a rag dipped in the bleach water. If you have a fan in the bathroom, I’d run it just in case of fumes.
Thanks. I needed that.
Thanks! I just ported this to a Word Document. Next it will go in a notebook so I can get on top of this cleaning stuff. So, How often do you do this?
Ideally, every week. That said, life often gets in the way and I get mine done about every 2 weeks or so.
I searched the site and could not find exactly how a toilet cleaning is done. Besides the obvious-Outside first: top, sides, botton then Inside: scrub. I have read you can use toilet bowl cleaner, diluted to clean the whole toilet. One must wear gloves of course. Please advise. Thanks so much!
I tried that once when I ran out of regular bathroom cleaner and it took the paint off my toilet seat. Beware!
Great post and will be including it on our blog as we have been looking for something fun Bathroom related to include. Its informative to.