What I have learnt over the years is that you don’t need a dedicated large chunk of time in your day to keep your bathroom clean. You just need to develop daily habits and a system so bathrooms can be cleaned in just minutes each day.
I have tried the methods of other cleaning gurus out there where they advise dedicated days of the week for bathroom cleaning. This in my experience does not work as my schedule changes week to week depending on whether I’m on-call or the kids have specific activities that week. I do not have the brain space to remember what I need to clean on a specific day.
These are what helped instead.
- Have all your cleaning tools readily accessible in each bathroom.
You really need to keep everything within easy reach and remove the mental barrier. Imagine you see a spot on the mirror or the sink and all you need is a quick wipe down but all your cleaning stuff is stored elsewhere or downstairs in the store room (speaking from experience). This would put you off cleaning or you say you will come back to it and never did.
There will be an initial small investment to duplicate your cleaning items but this will pay off in the long run. You don’t need much, all you really need is surface cleaning wipes, an all-purpose spray, a microfibre cloth and a toilet bowl cleaner. That is literally all I use.
- Use ready surface wipes to clean dirty surfaces.
Just use ready surface wipes to clean your surfaces such as the sink, vanity tops and the toilet bowl. The benefit is that it is ready to be used anytime and you just bin it after wiping. Easy and convenient.
I used to clean dirty surfaces with a microfibre cloth but I hated the thought of what I needed to do with the cloth after I cleaned. The cloth needs washing but I need to accumulate enough for a dirty load and I also need a lot of cloth to last me till the next wash load. Do you get my drift? Just spend the money on ready surface wipe and it removes the mental barrier. It is worth it!
- Clean the bathroom as you use it daily.
You step into the bathroom to use it multiple times a day.
- Wipe down wet surfaces regularly everyday with a microfibre cloth to avoid watermarks.
- If there is toothpaste on your sink, wash or wipe it away as soon as possible to avoid it drying up making it more difficult to clean.
- After you’ve used the toilet just take an additional minute or 2 to wipe the toilet seat and the surrounding area with a surface wipe and give the toilet bowl a little scrub.
- When showering and while waiting for your hair conditioner to work, get a brush and scrub the floors and tiles.
- When the mirror is misty after a shower get a microfibre cloth to wipe the mirrors.
- Squeegee the shower glass after every shower and it takes less than a minute. This saves me having to scrub tough water marks later on.
The key is to have all you need within easy reach and you can easily implement this habit.
- Use a hand held cordless vacuum and place it within easy reach.
One thing that tends to bother my husband is the amount of hair that ends up on the bathroom floor. Since my daughters and I all have long hair, it’s not surprising that there is hair everywhere! I use a hand held cordless vacuum daily to vacuum up hair and dirt on the floor. If you don’t have a hand held vacuum, it is worth the investment. Again, it needs to be within easy reach or you will not do it.
- Wipe the floors with a microfibre cloth rather than a mop.
I used to wipe the floors using a mop and a bucket. As a result, I do this only once in two weeks because the mop and bucket was kept in the utility downstairs and it was troublesome to get to. I then had to carry the bucket full of water upstairs to mop the 3 bathrooms upstairs. I have since simplified the routine and switched to microfibre cloth instead. As my bathrooms are smaller, wiping it with a cloth is easy and floors are cleaned more frequently.
So these are the tips that have kept my bathroom clean and guest-ready anytime. It is better to clean a little daily than to leave it to accumulate for a week or two and elbow grease is required.
Happy cleaning!