Our Five Ring Circus: Let's Talk About.................Cleaning

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Let's Talk About.................Cleaning

Inquiring minds want to know: What are your best house cleaning tips...specifically time-saving cleaning tips?

I'll be honest. At first glance my house is immaculate. Well, except for my husband's side of the bedroom (which drives me nuts, honey) and our basement. I am OCD about clutter-it has no place in my living space! Deep cleaning, however??? Not so much!

As a busy mom of two, I find that I spend most of my time putting things away, cleaning up messes, and doing dishes. I just don't have time for that nitty-gritty stuff, such as cleaning the baseboards.

My favorite time-saving cleaning tip is to clean the bathroom while bathing the kids. I wait until my two get engrossed with their bath toys, and then I scrub the toilet, wipe down the sink, clean the mirrors, dust the windowsill, etc. They ignore me anyway, so I may as well do something productive! I keep all of the cleaning supplies on the top shelf of my linen closet, in the bathroom. That way, everything I need is in there with me. I love to give the kids toys to "bathe" while they are in the tub, as well. That way, a dirty, sticky toy gets cleaned by them, and not me. They have fun doing it, too! Sneaky, huh? ;) Finally, I'll often spray the shower with a shower cleaner before I get in to take my shower, and then while conditioner soaks into my hair, I scrub down the walls.

So, tell me. What are your favorite time saving cleaning secrets?


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9 comments:

  1. It made me laugh that you do that too! I always clean the bathroom while the boys are bathing :) I haven't thought of having them bathe a toy yet... I bet they'd enjoy that and it'd safe me from soaking some in the sink every once in awhile. How DO toys wind up sticky and dirty? Even if my kids never take food from the kitchen and their hands are washed whenever they're done eating... some toys just attract sticky.

    My cleaning tip is to do something similar with the kitchen. I rarely sit down for breakfast with the boys. They want to eat first thing in the morning and I just don't. I'm good with my coffee and a slice of toast. So while they're eating whatever I made, I am washing up the breakfast dishes, scrubbing the counters, cleaning the stove, sweeping, whatever. This morning, I cleaned the canisters, vases, teapots, and all my other little decorations.

    Oh, and I wipe the baseboards before I vacuum or mop every time so dirt never gets built up enough to actually scrub anything :) I hate scrubbing lol.

    About your comment~ I've kind of tried it. I haven't added the orange juice or peanuts yet but I did a stirfry with just the chicken, veggies, and salad dressing and fell in love :) I can already tell it'll be a family favorite dish and it looks almost too easy to make! I have the magazine too and I usually don't find a recipe I really have to try but there were a few really good ones this season :)

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  2. My secret is the holy grial of cleaning products...The Magic Eraser!!! I love that thing and could not live without it. It makes cleaning the bath tub a snap and gets all of the scuff marks off of my floors and sink (I have a white porcelin sink ugh). In short it is the best invention ever and I think I will now go buy stock in Mr. Clean.

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  3. Good post - and good ideas. I clean the bathroom while the kids are in the tub, too. Works like a charm. I also have Gage help me with the floors. He's almost four now - he can help sweep a little and can definitely help mop. Plus, it keeps him busy and out of trouble, LOL.

    Also, if I watch TV at night - after the kids are in bed - I make sure that I do something productive during every commercial break. Like unload the dishwasher or scrub the dining room table. It breaks the chores up nicely and then I don't feel guilty when I sit back down on the couch.

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  4. oh my mom is the clutter queen! i spent hours cleaning her house yet the next week everything is right back the same way..NUTS!!

    when i had my own house: I SWIFFERED EVERYWHERE AND EVERYTHING ALL DAY. I bought the kids their own swiffers too. i think dylan would be old enough for his own bucket, dustpan etc..get him excited about helping with his own stuff. my kids love love love to spary bottle spray stuff. fill it water and let them spray stuff with water and a drop of lemonjuice and wipe the walls etc.

    otherwise the only other thing i did was have the radio on to distract me into cleaning more. i would start and the music or talkshows kept me going

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  5. That is a great idea, thanks for the tip for a "newer" mom lol. And I love your sneakiness, what a great way to get toys clean!

    As for the rest of cleaning goes, I LOVE Flylady! (You have probably heard me say it before lol) Check out flylady.net, she has all kinds of great tips and daily emails with daily routines, etc. She even has a daily challenge for the kids to do. All for free!

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  6. I really don't have any good cleaning tips...I just stopped by to hear what everyone else said.

    I have a huge closet filled with cleaning supplies....I'm pretty particular about what cleaner to use on what surface. And I'm trying hard to go green with my cleaners, but the harsh chemical stuff really does the trick.

    Oh, and like Kam, I do love the magic erasers. If I can't get something out with a regular cleaner, I pull out one of the magic erasers and it always does the trick....even works on soap scum in the tub. Makes me kinda nervous though to think what's really in it that makes it "magic".

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  7. Yay! Thank you for the award below. I am bowing now, did you notice? Oh. Sorry, can't see me.
    Fav cleaning secrets? Um....make my hubs do it? I always clean early in the morning on weekends. It seems like early morning or late night are the easiest times for me to clean, otherwise? It seems so pointless with 2 boys!

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  8. Thanks for all the tips!
    Kameron, thanks for suggesting the Magic Eraser for the tub-it worked great!

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  9. Umm...my only tip is to invite people over. That always forces me to do that deep cleaning that eludes my everyday "tidying". My brother and his family are coming to stay with us tonight, so I'm in the midst of a cleaning frenzy!

    :)

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