How I Do It: Organization in a Big Family Part III

Making Cleaning Easy

I learned how to do this from the worst job, but most useful jobs I have ever had-- cleaning hotel rooms. (It is funny how miserable things can turn into huge blessings.)

My cleaning supplies include: ammonia, murphy's oil soap, comet,  toilet cleaner, cloth rags made from old towells and t-shirts, and green scoth-bright scrubbies

As you can see, I use very few cleaning supplies. I put the ammonia and the murphies in spray bottles mixed with 90% water. For cleaning the bathrooms, I squirt and wipe the floors, sinks, and exteriors of the toilets. I do not have spend anytime rinsing because watered ammonia does not need rinsing out. This saves a ton of time, kills the germs, and leaves things sparkling clean. It is also very cost efficient. I use comet and scrubbies on the bathtubs and shower walls. the comet is cheap and does a good job of removing soap scum. We always install shower heads with hoses to make rinsing easy so that saves me time too. (They are also nice for bathing.)  I use toilet bowl cleaner in the toilet because it is so concentrated. I use a toilet brush inside the toilet. During the week, I wipe things off as needed with the flushable wipes we keep on the back of every toilet. I only do this when I use the bathroom and see a need. This saves time too because it is fast, I use something we already have for other purposes, and I am not scheduling in extra cleaning. 

I use the spray bottle of ammonia for almost every spill. It works well on carpeting, furniture, walls, etc. We just spray and wipe with a rag or towel and the surface is clean and not sticky. This also kills germs. Since ammonia water does not get bubbley it is a great cleaner for carpeting and upholstery. No rinsing is needed. However, when using a carpet cleaner I usually use the recommended soap because it smells better.

I use murphy's oil soap  mixed with 90% water in a spray bottle for wood surfaces. To wash my kitchen cabinets and to dust most of our surfaces, I spray and wipe with a soft rag. This is fast, and cheap. Again. There is no rinsing and no filling up a bucket. 

One other trick I recently learned is to use the toilet cleaner around the faucets to remove hard water deposits. This is not easy and needs a lot of rinsing. I do not have to do this too often, though.  The ammonia keeps the dirt off, and the sinks and faucets shiney pretty well, and perfectly well when we did not have hard water.

The ammonia and murphy's spray bottles keep my house clean and disinfected without much cost and without much effort.