The holidays are in full swing! That means while many of you did a massive Spring Cleaning, I am doing my deep cleaning in preparation for holiday decorations.
My room schedule stays the same. The only difference is that after I deep clean, the Christmas decorations for that room go up. While this week is the Laundry & Kitchen, I'm also doing the Bathroom. I need the towels and wash cloths put in place. All of the fall/ Halloween linens are packed away and I'm working with emergency back-ups until the Christmas ones get unpacked.
Before I start with the regular routine, let's tackle the bathroom. This is probably the easiest/ fastest room in the home to clean but is often the room left behind until company is expected. When you consider that aside from the kitchen, this is the germiest room in the home, the bathroom really needs routine attention.
Everything gets wiped down by spraying with a vinegar water solution. I vacuum out the tub before wiping that down.
The bathroom sink drain gets the montly drain cleaner solution. If you've not done this before, a monthly routine of this task will keep all of your drains running smooth and fresh.
Pour 1 cup of baking soda over the drain opening
Add 2 cups of hot vinegar
Flush through with hot water
Note: Don't use the tap water as it won't be hot right away. I use a 4-cup pyrex cup.
Note: To keep the water from boiling over and creating a safety hazzard, place a 1/2 of a bamboo skewer in the cup before putting in the microwave. You can also heat your water in a pan
or tea kettle on the stove.
If you've not done this before, the drain may still be sluggish. Just repeat the process then plan to do this once a month.
I also sweep/ mop the bathroom floor.
Now I'm ready to decorate!
Laundry room/ Kitchen
These two areas are really one long room separated only by a double arch opening.
For the washing machine, I run 1 cup of baking soda and 1/2 gallon of white vinegar through a HOT water wash. If you have an Heavy Duty setting, use this for the added agitation time. After you've run the vinegar/ soda rotation, run the washer again with just a hot water cycle.
I also wipe the lids and the machines on the outside with a vinegar cleaner solution.
Everything gets taken off the shelves above the laundry side of the room and wiped down. While the shelves are drying completely I repeat with the cat counter on the opposite side of the room.
The rug beneath the cat box is taken outside and shaken out then put in the washer. While that is running, I empty the litter box, wash it with pinesol and allow to air dry outside completely.
I move the recycling baskets to the front deck, clearing the floor completely of any opstacles, allowing me to sweep/ steam/ mop/ rinse mop the floor. Once the floor is dry, everything goes back in place. This entire process takes me about half of a day but the results are worth the time.
On Day 2 of this week I'll tackle the kitchen. The baking counter seems to become a catch-all so that all as to be sorted out/ put away or pitched. Then the appliances are removed so I can detail the counter with the vinegar solution. Once dry, the appliances go back in place.
Additionally this week, I will strip everything out of the coffee corner, wipe everything down, refill the tea bag jars and detail my coffee pot. I don't clean Bob's Bunn. That's his department. I don't mess with his coffee pot except when I need strong coffee to dye paper :-D
On Day 3 I will give the oven a good cleaning in preparation for the annual Christmas Cookie baking I'll be doing on Saturday/ Sunday
After the oven is cleaned, the floor will receive the same detailing as the laundry room and my kitchen will be ready for decorating and baking season!
Come back on Friday to see these rooms done and ready for Christmas!
Country Blessings!
~ Kelly
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