I hope you all linked up your Organize Cleaning Schedule already to my Organize your Life Party! I LOVE reading about cleaning schedules! :) It is so motivating, isn’t it?
Today, I want to introduce you to a sweet blogger!
Her name is Cara from The Picky Apple. She is the wife to The Picky Apple and Mama to a spirited three year old. She is a lover of cooking and baking, an avid reader, an arts and crafts enthusiast and a planner and list maker.
Since we are talking about cleaning this week, I thought I would show you this really neat post that Cara wrote on cleaning her bathroom in 11 minutes!
This is what she wrote…
CLEAN in 2011: How to Clean Your Bathroom in 11 Minutes
This post could also be titled how to clean TWO bathrooms in 22 minutes or less, because that’s actually what I did.
If you’ve checked out my Cleaning Calendar, you’ll see that every Wednesday it says “Clean Bathrooms”. And every Wednesday, I cringe when I see that. Cleaning bathrooms (particularly toilets) is pretty low on my list of desirable cleaning tasks.
This week, I saw that I only had 25 minutes before it was time to leave the house and instead of reading blogs for 25 minutes, I decided to see how much of the bathrooms I could get cleaned.
Here’s what I accomplished:
- Sprayed and wiped the mirrors
- Disinfected the counters and sinks
- Scrubbed hard water stains on sinks and faucets
- Disinfected the toilet lids and seats
- Scrubbed toilets
- Swept the floor
- Steam mopped the floor
In TWO bathrooms!
I was amazed at how much I was able to accomplish in such a short time! You’ll note that the bathtub and shower didn’t get cleaned, but for a quick, weekly clean, this was very encouraging! And I’ll share more about the products I use for cleaning sometime soon, but after reading Bonnie from House of Grace rave about Shaklee, I gave some of their products a try. They ROCK! I have some new favorite cleaning products!
Here’s a breakdown of how I did it all, and what I used for each task:
1. Clean mirrors: I used Shaklee Basic H2 in a spray bottle and a cloth (Room Essentials brand from Target, purchase in packs of 5 or 6) Time Spent: 1 minute
2. Disinfected counters and sinks: First moved everything (toothbrushes, hand soap dispensers, pictures) off of the counter. Sprayed the counter and sinks with Shaklee Basic G, then wiped counters first, then sinks, all with the same cloth used for the mirror. Time Spent: 2 minutes
3. Hard water stains on sinks and faucets: Time for the detail work! I used a scrubbing brush and Shaklee’s Scour Off Heavy Duty Paste to scrub the water stains. Time Spent: 2 minutes (2 sinks)
4. Disinfected the toilet lid and seat: Start at the top and work your way down. I used the same cloth I used for the mirrors and the counters, along with Shaklee Basic G. I sprayed and wiped the lid (top then bottom), then did the same for the seat. Total Time: 1 minute
5. Scrubbed the toilet: I used the Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush to get the job done. Time Spent: 1 minute.
6. Sweep: I swept using a basic old broom and dustpan (am I the only one who still uses a broom?!). Time Spent: 2 minutes
7. Mop: I use a steam mop, which is great for a quick clean! Time Spent: 2 minutes
Total Time: 11 Minutes (per bathroom)
Disclosure: I have not been compensated for endorsing any of the products mentioned in this post, and all opinions are my own. These are just some products I’ve been using lately that work for me!
WOW…GREAT JOB CARA!!!
Cara is sooo motivating, isn’t she?!?!
Do you have 11 minutes to clean and bathroom and 22 minutes to clean 2 bathrooms?
Thanks Cara for writing this!!!
Cara is very organized so I also thought you would enjoy THIS POST about her cleaning schedule too.
Dailies
Remember my list of Dailies? Those are the things I need to clean each and every day. Well, I’ve revisited that list and simplified it a bit. Here are my current dailies:
- Dishes
- Spot Sweep
- Make beds
- Clutter Control
- Laundry
- Wipe surfaces
I’m more or less staying on top of these. I’m particularly proud of how clean I’ve been keeping the kitchen on a daily basis. I know most or many people already do this, but it was something I struggled with!
Weekly
My Weekly routines include the things that are done once or twice a week:
- Menu Planning
- Grocery shopping
- Change sheet and towels
- Vacuum (2x a week)
- Sweep
- Mop
- Dust (2x a week)
- Clean bathrooms
- Clean kitchen
- Throw out old stuff
Instead of trying to do all of these on one day, I’ve spread this list out over my week in a way that works best for my schedule.
You’ll note that I’m vacuuming and dusting twice a week now, due to my severe dust mite allergy. (I probably should be doing this daily or every other day, but that just isn’t going to happen…not yet anyway!) I just ordered a new vacuum (highly ranked by Consumer Reports), and I’m looking forward to using it!
The Picky Apple asked why I included Menu Planning and Grocery Shopping on my list of cleaning tasks. Well, I feel like those are a vital part of household maintenance (and yes, I realize this argument could be made for other things as well, like bill paying and budgeting), and they take up a big chunk of time on the days I do them.
Zones, Deep Cleaning and Decluttering
Lastly are the Zones for deep cleaning. A concept used by FlyLady and others, but I’ve adapted this to suit my needs and my home. My zones are:
- Entry/Hall Closet/Dining Room/Living Room (I realize that’s quite a bit for one Zone, but the Entry is small, the Dining Room mainly sits unused and empty. It’s the Hall Closet and Living Room that will be the focus here!)
- Kitchen
- Loft/Playroom/Office (all upstairs)
- Bathroom Zone: Powder Room/Master Bath/Finn’s Bath
- Bedroom Zone: Master Bedroom/Finn’s Bedroom (I realize some of you may have more bedrooms than us. We’ve got 4 but currently using 1 for the playroom and 1 for the office!)
I’ve seen the deep cleaning done in several different ways. Some jump from room to room in the same day (for instance, clean the toaster, declutter the bathroom sinks, clean the top of the washer). But once I get in a room, I want to focus on THAT room for a while, so each week my deep cleaning will be focused on a particular zone. Many systems also tend to declutter a room first then clean. And while I wholeheartedly agree that you can’t clean clutter, I’ve mixed in a little of both based on the things that are bothering me most about each room at the moment.
Right now I’m keeping Zone work to 30 minutes or less, 3-4 times a week. As much as I need to do some serious deep cleaning and decluttering in certain rooms like the office and hall closet, I’m easing my way in to this. I’ll add more as I get a better grip on the routines themselves and have a better feel for long each task on my Master Cleaning List actually takes (I’ll share that another time). For now, I’ll be completing one or 2 Zone tasks on days when The Littlest Apple is in school or with the grandparents.
She also has her own cleaning schedules for each month.
Here is her March schedule.
Cara has a great blog, The Picky Apple!
Please go visit her, follow her and leave her leave a comment! :) You can let her know that you are coming from here. She is so sweet and organized! :)
If you buy Shaklee from me and have a cleaning post that you would like to be featured, please email me at donahuewellness@hotmail.com! :)
Have a great day!
