Today’s housecleaning day. Kaitlyn and I share a bathroom, and I decided to tackle that first. Because it’s so small, it’s easier to clean the floor by wiping it with a sponge. The area around the toilet between that and the sink, and between the sink and the wall is so small, a sponge mop doesn’t even fit in between. So I sit on my microfiber-covered, memory foam bath mat and use an old-fashioned sponge and bucket full of hot water with a little Mr. Clean, and do most of the floor by hand. Chris came walking by and we had the following conversation:
ME: “I feel like one of those seventeen year old Irish Traveller housewives, cleaning her baseboards with a toothbrush.”
CHRIS: “Sounds like they have a pretty sensible way of doing things.”
ME: “Yeah? Well…not gonna happen, buddy.”
Wiping my tiny bathroom floor with a sponge is one thing, doing the entire house that way is another. Besides, most of those Irish Traveller girls live in tiny campers that probably take all of an hour to clean from top to bottom.
Speaking of the old fashioned way of cleaning things, I found the coolest blog post yesterday through a pin on Pinterest. Jordan at Picklee.com posted 10 Remarkable DIY Cleaning Solutions that include “recipes” for stain remover, shower cleaner, carpet stain remover, and more. Did you know that a squirt of Purell takes out on ink stain? Or that you can make your own Oxy Clean with hydrogen peroxide, washing soda, and hot water? Visit her site when you have time to really go through it, because she has tons more great ideas. Love your blog, Jordan!
Okay, back to the bathroom. I still have to take everything out of the shower and wipe down all the walls and then scrub the bathtub. I’m keeping my friend Katie’s blog Housewife How To’s in mind as I go – like her tagline says, who says housework has to be a chore? 
What are your plans for this weekend?
image credit: jules.dailygrommet.com
I'm Elizabeth, a 40-something Michigan wife and mother of three. I created Table for Five in 2005 as a way to connect with other Moms, and I've been blogging ever since. Please click the About tab at the top of the page to read more about me and my family! email: table4five@gmail.com
I always look at housecleaning stuff on Pinterest and StumbleUpon… and think this is awesome. And never do it LOL.
Twitter: Table4Five
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Oh yeah, me too. I pin a lot of cool organization ideas too, but until the money truck pulls up outside my house, it’ll just be wishful thinking
Twitter: simplyandreah
So far this weekend I have been to the dentist for a bad wisdom tooth, had a garage sale and taken the kids to the pool.
I love making my own household cleaners so I will definitely check out both blogs you mentioned. Oh and my least favorite thing to clean – the shower! What’s yours?
Twitter: Table4Five
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My least favorite thing to clean is toilets. SO disgusting.
Twitter: housewifehowtos
Thank you so much for the link love, Elizabeth!
Twitter: Table4Five
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you’re welcome!
Pinterest has been exploding in the past two years. I never heard of that site until a friend mentioned it. Now, I am on it everyday. It’s a perfect place for ideas giving and sharing.
Twitter: Table4Five
replied:
Pinterest is addictive! Follow me at http://pinterest.com/table4five/
this week I was tackling the kitchen and will continue to do that all week. I’m cleaning out cabinets, downsizing, washing walls, taking down wall paper, then taking off cabinet doors and hardware. I also want to change otu the ceiling fan too. Then we’ll paint. It’s been 9 yrs since I’ve wanted to start this project and I’m so excited that I’ve finally begun
Our bathroom will be next. I cleaned it last week.
Twitter: Table4Five
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Wow, Tricia, that sounds like quite a project! The biggest project we need to tackle is our roof. It needs new shingles and my husband wants to do them himself.
It seems a good portion of every weekend is spent cleaning one thing or another, and every vacation day and sick day and holiday…but soon enough the kids will be out of the house and I will miss it. Or maybe not…I’ll just spend some more time on pinterest.
I’m impressed by your cleaning method. I usually frantically spray the toilet from at least three feet away with Fantastic. Very toxic choice, I suppose. However, when you have 2 boys and 1 husband using the bathroom… well, I probably don’t have to explain what that situation can be like.
Hi Elizabeth, just wanted to thank you for the link on recipes or home made cleaning solutions! Brilliant stuff!
It seems a good portion of every weekend is spent cleaning one thing or another, and every vacation day and sick day and holiday…but soon enough the kids will be out of the house and I will miss it. Or maybe not…I’ll just spend some more time on pinterest.
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Thanks for this information about cleaning me as a homeowners have a great deal of responsibilities when it comes to the upkeep of my house and i’m hall ways looking for great posts..