How incredibly cute are these baskets? Too bad they didn’t have any pink ones left, but at least my daughter got a pink sponge and a pink topped spray bottle.
Today has been crazy with end-of-school-goings-on, but I was determined to get something done, since every day this week will be equally crazy.
I took a trip to the Dollar Tree, and bought spray bottles, tubs, scratchy sponges, and latex-free gloves. As we head into the schedule-free-zone of summer, I’m doing my best to be as prepared as possible to prevent the excuses that I know will seem totally logical and justifiable to my slob-brain. If each child has his/her own adorable little bathroom-cleaning-basket ready to go, the chances are greatly increased that we’ll actually follow the plan of having them clean the bathrooms on Tuesdays, using the handy-dandy bathroom cleaning checklist I worked so hard to create last week.
I was oh-so-tempted to just label the bottles with my sharpie marker and take the picture and write the post, saving the final step for “later” (as usual). But thanks to fabulous reader Shell at Tangled Zen, I had a link straight to all of the cleaning product recipes I wanted. I decided to go for it, and they were incredibly easy. The ones I used only called for vinegar, water, and dish soap, and I was able to make them in minutes. The most time consuming parts of the process were multiple searches for the vinegar, the bottles, or whatever else I randomly put down while walking through the house. (Edited to add: Here’s another link to some homemade cleaners, since Shell isn’t blogging anymore!)
I loved the spray bottles I bought at the Dollar Tree because they have little marks to show you where to fill to if you are doing a ratio recipe, like 2 to 1. Very cool.
I’ll be honest, I was skeptical about the shower cleaner. I used Shell’s general cleaning solution recipe, and doubted its effectiveness since it didn’t smell the least bit toxic, like I’m used to. I mean, can you actually clean with something that can’t kill you?
I took it to my shower and sprayed down the door, which hadn’t been cleaned since last Tuesday. It did a great job when I used my ultra scrubby sponge on it. I sprayed it on the floor of the shower which had a few shadowy-gray spots on it, and they wiped right off. I then got crazy and sprayed it on the metal part of the shower door which still suffers from months (okay, years) of neglect. It took a bit more elbow grease, but I was able to get the quite thick mineral-deposits/soap-scum/whatever-that-stuff-is off. I was totally impressed. Knowing that it does work is such a relief to me, as I’m definitely not willing to let my kids use the toxic stuff.
I’m curious to see how it does as our only cleaner during the 2 and a half months of summer. I’ll keep you posted.
Those baskets are very cute! I use vinegar and microfiber cloths for everything in my home and I still think it is the best cleaner for the shower.
Which I need to clean tomorrow.
Totally have neglected my housework and reading blogs (yours included) to get my tackle done.
Whew! It does smell toxic to use some of the cleaners I have. I might have to try this out. 🙂 Thanks for posting the links for the recipes.
Clever idea, giving each child their own set. With the ingredients you're using, you don't have to worry that one of the youngsters will accidentally spray himself in the face.
Good job!
When I clicked on the post about the cleaning supply recipes, it said it no longer exists. Could you please post the recipes? Thanks 🙂
Aaaaahhhh, I'm almost out of my last batch! And I was planning to just go back to this link! I'll have to figure something out, and I'll post it when I do.
Any luck on the cleaning supplies recipe? Would love to have it!
I love the basket idea for kids! 🙂
Magic Erasers (or the generic equivalent) work great in bathrooms–they easily remove soap scum (or whatever that brown marbeled layer is on the shower floor…). I cleaned my neglected shower in minutes using one, when the noxious scrubby bubbles cleaner failed. Yup, it only took minutes–I thought I had a HUGE job ahead of me, and was embarassed when I saw how easy and quickly it was to clean.
Your blog has helped me along these past few weeks where nothing else has ever worked–my “unnegotiables” (which I’m adding to in February) are keeping the entry/hallway/kitchen floors picked up, swept nightly, mopped weekly, keeping the counters cleared and sink empty (it’s really not hard to put things in the dishwasher, or dry them by hand), keeping the dining table cleared, and checking/wiping bathrooms daily. It’s amazing (to me) how little things–like not leaving knives and crumbs on the cutting board–really make the kitchen look better. Thank you!
Any great cleaner recipes that don’t use vinegar? I hate the smell of it.