Day 6 of spring cleaning-Bathrooms

Day 6: Bathrooms

Do this for all ¾ and full bathrooms you have, I’ll do the ½ bath & laundry room tomorrow.

Start by throwing some toilet cleaner in the toilet and letting it go. If you use a product like Scrubbing Bubbles spray down the tub.  Start up high, wash the walls-especially the often neglected little edge of the top of the shower, it’s usually pretty dusty up there. Dust/ wash the light fixtures, wash or dust the overhead fan. 8 minutes

Take down the shower curtain, throw away the nasty liner and replace it (they are as cheap as $2 each at the store) and send your outside curtain through a wash cycle.  If your liner looks pretty good (the one in the bathroom the kids only take baths in did) you can put it with the shower curtains in a gentle cycle. Anything more than that and it will be ripped to shreds especially if you have a top loading washing machine.  5 minutes

Scrub the tub, Magic Eraser is amazing on soap scum but can take some elbow grease. I only used vinegar and an eraser on my tub, I pretty much destroyed the eraser, but the tub looks amazing!  Take out all beauty products and wash them down to take off soap, etc. and wash down any product holders.  I have a tension rod for the corner and one shelf had some light rust, the eraser got rid of it. For serious rust, take it outside, spray paint it with something that covers metal like Rustoleum and you can get another few months out of it before you need to replace it. If you have little ones, go through the bathtoys. Anything that’s gross or they’re too old for, get rid of, sanitize the rest in a diluted bleach solution. Replace any batteries in any toys that take them.  10-20 minutes.

Tackle that toilet.  You may need to take the toilet seat completely off the bolts to really get in there, lots of the scent is due to urine hiding in spots like the seat bolts-esp if you have boys in your house. Wash it all down, maybe even see if there’s some easy clean up in the tank.  I’m in love with those bleach tablets you drop in the tank. I have heard that they are hard on the plumbing inside your tank but I love how they extend that clean toilet look.  If you have some harder staining, you may need a pumice stick to scrub them out of the toilet.  Use a toothbrush especially around the base where it meets the floor and the bolts that keep the toilet attached to the floor.  10 minutes

Now that the yuckiest parts are done, let’s wash down the mirror and the countertops, as you wash down the countertops (use a toothbrush around the fixtures and edge of the sink) declutter what is on the counter.  A clean counter is a peaceful counter so only keep things you use every day that would spill if they were in a drawer and some soap if possible. 10 minutes

Wash the outside of the cabinet or the pedestal of your sink.  Take everything out of the medicine cabinet and under the sink.  Scrub it out and declutter-get rid of expired meds (which probably shouldn’t be stored in the bathroom anyways-it’s too hot and humid in there), go through your nail polish (I tried on a few colors that were similar and only kept my favorites, your makeup (threw out old eye makeup and gave myself permission to pick up some new at the store!) etc. etc.  Any product you tried and hate get rid of.  If you have trial sizes either keep them together for travel, plan to use them at home or give them to a homeless shelter, they are a pain to store.  Make sure there’s extra TP in the bathroom and note any supplies you have an abundance of or lack of and keep them in mind for your next shopping trip. Put everything back under, neatly.15-30 minutes

If you have a window, wash any curtain, wash the blinds (see kitchen for how to do this) wash the window and the window track, wash your towel rack down and the toilet paper holder down, wash down the door inside and out and any full-length mirror that may be on it. Put any laundry in the hamper if you have a scale, wipe it down. Soak & wash the wastebasket, replace the liner. 5-15 minutes

Hang fresh towels then scrub the floor using regular cleaner working from away from the door towards the door. Do it by hand and also catch the outside of the tub if you only washed the inside of the tub and shower earlier.  Plan to take a bath to relax and admire your clean bathroom this evening. 5 minutes.