Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Tackle It Tuesday

This week for Tackle It Tuesday I tackled my lower level bathroom. I don't have a before picture, but let me describe it this way - I live with four males and one of them is potty training. And it seems that none of them can actually hit the target. Just sayin'.

So, I started with my shower. I sprayed some straight vinegar on my shower door to help tackle the hard water and soap scum build up and let it sit. Then I moved on to the mirror and used the same straight vinegar there and wiped it dry with a microfiber cloth.

Then, I moved down to the sink and sprayed an all-purpose cleaner into it and scrubbed it down really well. I used an old toothbrush to get between the faucet and the sink itself and really scrubbed it out well. Then I wiped it all out with a second microfiber cloth. After doing that, I used my first microfiber from the mirror and shined up the faucet and the knobs and the drain stopper thingie. Because that is what it is called, right? A drain stopper thingie? The vinegar and the microfiber together really makes it all shiny and nice.

Then I cleared off the toilet and picked everything up off of the floor. I think it was something like 6 bottles of shampoo and conditioner and other things, plus a large container of laundry detergent. Doesn't everyone keep a large bottle of laundry detergent in their bathroom? And then I cleared off the little shelf we have hanging above the toilet and straightened it up and made it look nice and neat.

Then it was time to tackle the toilet. I'm sure you all know how to clean a toilet, but bear with me. I sprayed the entire toilet down with the all-purpose spray, tank lid, tank sides, top of toilet lid, underside of toilet lid, top of toilet seat, underside of toilet seat, toilet rim, inside of the bowl (and then a little bit of powder in the bowl), then sprayed the outside of the toilet base, being sure to get the area by the bolts that hold the toilet to the floor. Then I started wiping it off with a large terry cloth towel. I like to use barmop towels personally because of their large size, but you could use a standard 12x12 terry cloth cleaning towel as well. But anyhow, I used my barmop towel and began wiping in the same order as I did the spraying, down to the toilet rim part, then I used my toilet brush and cleaned the inside really well. Then I finished up with the toilet rim and the outside of the bowl, all the way down to the floor.

The floor area in our bathroom is very small so it is more trouble than it is worth to try to use a mop in there, plus our toilet is not placed squarely in there either, so it's a very tight space between the side of the toilet and the wall anyhow. So, I just used my all-purpose spray and sprayed the floor on that side of the toilet and hand-wiped it while I was hanging over the toilet to get the area by the bolts cleaned on that side. I then worked my way from the wall behind the toilet to the wall in front of the toilet and then worked my way around the toilet. I used a thin line grout brush to get the area around the bottom of the toilet and let me assure you, it was DIS-GUST-ING. Blech! Then I continued hand wiping the remainder of the floor area. Oh - and in case it wasn't clear, I used the same rag for the toilet and the floor. Because honestly, the floor is much worse than the toilet 'round these parts. You could use a separate rag if you wanted to though.

For the finishing touches in the bathroom, I also shined up the handle of the toilet with my mirror microfiber cloth as well as the toilet paper holder and the switch plate. Then put things back into the bathroom neatly. The only thing left to do was to finish the shower.

Normally, I would have done the shower completely in one shot, but because of the hard water and soap scum, I wanted to give the vinegar some time to cut through it and break it all down. One warning though - when I opened the shower door to clean it, the vinegar smell assaulted my nostrils. It was a little bit overwhelming at first. It won't hurt you, but it is powerful.

I used a steel wool scratchy on my shower door - I don't think my shower door is glass, but it might be. But I used that scratchy on my shower door until it looked pretty decent. It always looks clearer when it is wet than it does when it is dry though. I then wiped the door with the mirror cloth. Then I sprayed down the inside of the shower itself and scrubbed it all really well and then dried it off with the same cloth I used for the sink, and then finished by shining the metal in the shower - the shower head, the shower knob, the shower door handle and the piece that holds the shower door on. Not sure what to call that piece though.

The one thing I realized that I missed when I was done was the window and blinds. I should have used a dry microfiber to dust the blinds before starting the toilet and then cleaned the window with the straight vinegar and mirror cloth and then dusted the window ledge with the dry cloth as well. But oh well, it's definitely in much better shape now than it was before I did it.

And that my friends, is how I clean our tiny bathroom.

Using this method, it took me all of maybe 15 minutes to clean the bathroom. Do you have 15 minutes available to kick your bathroom into tip top clean shape? I bet you do!

Also, I will be linking this up to Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

9 comments:

  1. Hi! I'm following you via the UBP2011 and saw you on the Tackle it Tuesday page. Well done on your bathroom cleanup--it's the place I get the most satisfaction out of in terms of cleaning!

    Hope you can follow me too: http://daintymom.blogspot.com. I am from the Philippines, by the way. :)

    -- Martine

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  2. Thanks for stopping by Martine! I will definitely come by and follow you back! The bathroom is the one room that "packs the most punch" I think. It's a small room and doesn't take a whole lot - even when if it disgustingly gross like mine was. But it is very easy to clean it up and not spend much time doing it. It's my "gateway room". You know how "gateway drugs" lead to doing other drugs? Well, this is my "gateway room" which leads to doing other rooms. And we definitely did! But that's another blog post (maybe next Tuesday to be exact!)

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  3. I understand your pain! I have 4 males living with me as well and am the only female. I believe that they all think that our bathroom is "self cleaning"! I found you through the UBP11 and am now following you! Hopefully you will check out my blog too! http://www.smartervalues.com

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  4. Great job on the bathroom. You have inspired me to do a thorough job on ours. Coming over to visit you now from Tackle it Tuesday. I'm following you back and getting some more tips for staying organized!

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  5. Jessica, I stopped by your blog and followed you back! :)

    Michelle-Nicholle, Thanks for stopping by. There will be more tips for cleaning and organizing in the future as well! I just needed a chance to get back into blogging following the start of a new job. :)

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  6. I feel your pain, my sons are 14, 13, and 6. I am potty training my 2 year old girl. My 3m old boy, and husband in Afghanistan are the only ones not adding to the mess.

    I tackled today too! Find it at http://www.sumnerrain.com/

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  7. Oops! I guess I was signed into my husband's google, that comment from Robert is actually "Heather".

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  8. Thanks Heather! I stopped by and left you some comment love too! :) Great job on your tackle!

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  9. Hehe - I noticed it when I went to your blog and figured it was something like that. The original comment did throw me for a minute, I'll admit. lol We have various google accounts as well and it can get crazy. I understand completely!

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