Deep Cleaning: Bathrooms

The bathroom is probably the most-used room of the house. I always have to remind myself that how long the bathroom takes to clean is directly related to how often I clean it. If I keep up with it on a regular basis, it doesn’t take as long to get clean. I agree with Flylady, a swish and swipe each morning – a quick swish of the toilet with a toilet brush and a quick wipe down of the counters with a damp microfiber cloth – goes a long way to make deep cleaning the bathroom go a bit faster. This is especially true because the combination of dust and moisture tends to make the dust in bathrooms just a little bit stickier than in other rooms (with the exception of the kitchen).

In our house we have just one bathroom, and it’s smaller and therefore has some very  awkward places to clean. Just one + smaller = less to clean, though, so I’m okay with that.

Ready? Take a deep breath. We’re going top to bottom again.

Bathrooms tend to accumulate a lot of things that belong elsewhere as well as things that don’t get put away. Dirty clothes, empty coat hangers, brushes, curlers/straighteners, hair clips, hair brushes, toothpaste…Pick up those things that don’t belong and put them in the rooms where they do. I use the same tray that I use in the bedroom around the house to corral countertop items (that are supposed to be there) and remove them while I’m cleaning the countertops. Throw away any trash while you’re at it.

Gather up the towels and bathmats to be washed. If you have a washable shower curtain, go ahead and wash that too.

Look up. If not ventilated enough, ceilings tend to gather moisture, and sometimes you get a bit of surface mildew accumulating up there. A cleaning rag on the end of a mop or broom and a bit of scrubbing should take care of it along with some paint-safe cleaner, or you can pull out a ladder and get a little closer to the ceiling if you want (or, like me, can’t seem to get enough pressure to get all of it off.)

Dust the light fixtures and around the ventilation fan, if you have one.

Wipe down the mirror. If you have a medicine cabinet, make sure you get the top of it as well. While you’re at it, if you have a window, clean the inside and wipe down the window sill and horizontal parts.

Wipe down behind the sink and tub. Clean tub/shower and metal fixtures. If you have shower doors, clean those too.

Clean sink and metal fixtures. If you have a pedestal sink, be sure you clean the base as well as the top.

Clean toilet. Wipe off the outside (including the base and around the back – awkward for everyone, trust me) with a cloth reserved just for the toilet or use a disposable one.

Sweep floor. Wash if needed. I usually bring in the steam mop that I keep in the kitchen and use it in the bathroom. Otherwise, a normal mop will work just fine.

Put back towels, washcloths, bath mats and the items that belong on the countertops. You’re done!

(If you have additional items in your bathroom, just work them into the list above.)

A quick recap:

• Take trash and items that go in other rooms out. Put away items left out on the countertops that don’t belong.
• Corral countertop items that do belong to a tray.
• Wash towels, bathmats, washcloths and shower curtain, if you have one. (And it’s washable.)
• Clean ceiling.
• Wipe down mirror and medicine cabinet.
• Wipe down behind sink and tub.
• Clean tub/shower and metal fixtures. Clean shower doors if you have them.
• Clean sink and metal fixtures
• Clean toilet.
• Sweep and/or wash floor.
• Put back towels, washcloths, bathmats, and countertop items.

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Shower doors are my nemesis. But if I do them often enough, they’re not that bad. What is your least favorite part of cleaning the bathroom?

31 Days 2016 - Reset Your Home

This post is a part of the series 31 Days to Reset Your Home, part of the 31 Days challenge. Please join me during the month of October. Each day I’ll be posting what I’m working on, challenges so you can join in, and update my progress (and hopefully hear about yours!). The 31 Days challenge is a writing challenge to pick a topic and write a post on it every day in October.

• 31 Days to Reset Your Home
• Resetting Your Morning Routine
• Resetting Your Evening Routine
• Resetting your Weekly Routine
• Declutter Week: Paper
• Declutter Week: The Left Behinds
• Declutter Week: The On Purpose
• Declutter Week: The Kitchen Pantry
• Declutter Week: Your Schedule
• Lovely Links – Oct 10
• In Other News – Kitchen Renovation Progress
• Deep Cleaning: Master Bedroom
• Deep Cleaning: Bathrooms
• Deep Cleaning: Living Room
• Deep Cleaning: The Kitchen
• After the Deep Clean
• A Good Sleep
• Another Kitchen Update
• Maintaining – How to Create a Habit
• The Art of Stress Free Productivity
• Resetting Your Email