Spring Cleaning Your Bathroom

Spring cleaning is not usually at the top of someone's priority list, but it is a necessary event that must take place in order to keep your house, or apartment, clean and sanitary. I have watched many shows including Clean House, Clean Sweep, and many other cleaning shows on Style, HGTV, and TLC. Taking many of those ideas along with compiling tons of checklists, it has boiled down to this easy and helpful ultimate checklist.

There are two bathrooms in my house, a smaller one that is used for the children and guest, and an unusually huge one in the master bedroom. Though the sizes are remarkably different, one has laminate flooring while the other has tile, they actually take about the same amount of time for me to clean when using my ultimate checklist. I have a handy bucket with all my supplies located under the sink so it is easy to start. Want to know what my magic cleaning bucket entails? Here you go: An old toothbrush, Comet, Scrubbing Bubbles disinfecting spray, Mr.Clean Magic Eraser, Lysol cleaning wipes, Windex, a sponge, scrubbing brush and Brillo pad, paper towels, a small bottle of bleach, a dust pan,microfiber cloth, wood polisher such as Endust or pledge and a brand new candle. Oh, and don't forget to go back to get the mop and broom. It may seem like a lot, but when used in a time-specific manner, it doesn't take much time.

Okay, so walk into your bathroom with all your supplies, take a deep breath and let's get started. The first thing to do is sprinkle some Comet in the toilet, spray the Scrubbing Bubbles disinfecting spray in the sinks and tub/shower. Take the laundry, shower curtains, and window treatments down and toss in the washer (check the washing instruction tags first and make sure your don't machine wash anything that isn't supposed to be). Using the scrubbing brush, scrub all parts of the shower and tub and use the old toothbrush to get in the little nooks and crannies your scrub brush can't reach. Once that's done, I normally rinse the whole tub and shower to get a nice shine. Now move over and to the same to the sink(s). Once the bulk of the scrubbing is done for the bathroom, onto the counters. Toss anything you put in the wash into the dryer so it will be ready to go when you are all done.

Clear everything off of the counter tops by wiping each item down with a damp microfiber cloth and placing them on the floor... on top of a clean towel. As a warning, I would suggest leaving doors and windows open so the toxic fuses are not trapped in a small room with you. Use the paper towels to wipe down mirrors that have Windex on them and wet the Magic Eraser to clean the counter tops. Use the Brillo pad to get up toothpaste gunk and other hard stains. Once the counter tops are clean, replace only necessary items back on top and move on to the cabinets. Use your polish such as Endust or Pledge and microfiber cloth to wipe down all fronts of the cabinets. Once the exterior is looking good, go ahead and look at the clutter of each and ever drawer, cabinet, and shelf.

That's right, there's a lot of junk in there isn't there? Bring your trash can close, because any makeup, skin care product, medication, and other items that may have an expiration date must be thrown out. I know, I know... you just bought that not too long ago, you never used it, or you love it so much and its a discontinued color.... throw it away! Take a mental note, or if you're more of a 'lister', write down what you have way too much of, a fair amount of, and things you kept running out of. You may find you have twelve shampoo bottles because you just kept grabbing that 'BOGO' sale, but you had to keep paying for body washes that kept running out. This will help you get an idea of what you can save money on throughout the year. Replace the items you feel you will actually use and that have not expired. If you have excess lotions made with an ingredient you just found out you're allergic to, get rid of it instead of adding it to the clutter. Your cabinets and drawers now look great!

Scrub the toilet bowl with the Comet that has been able to sit for a bit, and use some Lysol wipes to wipe down the outside of the toilet to make it look nice and shiny. Grab a few more Lysol wipes and hit the light switches and door knobs for a quick way to disinfect. You might be getting a little tired now, but you're almost done. Using the Magic Eraser, scrub all the baseboards gently to get the dirt and grim off, but not too much that will strip the paint. Spray Windex on any windows and wipe with paper towel. Sweep the floor and then mix water in the bucket with a capful of bleach, before doing this step make sure your floors can be washed with bleach, if not research what product would be best for your particular flooring. Put all cleaning products away except for your candle and replace your now-clean window treatments and shower curtain.

Make sure everything is aired out before this step... or you might be crushing all your work with a fire extinguisher. Grab your candle, light it and set it on the counter for a fresh scent and a lovely, warm glow to your space. My favorite scents for a clean bathroom are Yankee Candle's fresh linen, cotton, or sea breeze. Take a step back and look at how clean, disinfected, organized, and of course, beautiful your bathroom now looks.

It may have been a lot of work, but now that you have a chance to step back you can appreciate the couple hours of hard work. Congratulations on getting a huge part of the much-dreaded spring cleaning done.