It's Here - Clean and Organized 2012

Happy New Year!  Are you ready to finally get your home clean and organized this year?  I'm so excited that you are here and joining in on the fun this month.  If you are new here, you can read about this month's challenge here and read about 5 little things you can do every day to help keep your home in order here.    

Here's this month's guide to getting Clean + Organized - you can go here to download the freebie. 

So, this week, we'll start with what I clean every Monday - bathrooms.   You'll notice that every day has a larger, whole house task to complete - if you don't complete it, don't try to make it up, just move on to the next day.

This is how I clean 4 bathrooms in 15-20 minutes:


•get all supplies in order (all-purpose cleaner, window cleaner, toilet brush, microfiber window cloth and 4 cotton cleaning rags (one for each bathroom) and a microfiber cleaning cloth for bathtubs and showers. New to the world of microfiber cleaning cloths? Check out the cleaning supply aisle at any big box store. Little known fact: the automotive section also carries microfiber cloths for even cheaper.

•go into first bathroom and spray mirror with window cleaner - wipe clean with microfiber window cloth (this might not seem like a necessary cleaning tool, but seriously it is amazing - streak free windows and mirrors every.single.time.)

•clean toilet with toilet brush and spray down sink, toilet and tub/shower with disinfectant

•I leave one rag in the bathroom - I don't wipe down the bathroom right away - I let the cleaner sit for ten minutes to completely clean and disinfect

•move on to the next bathroom and repeat (mirror, toilet, spray down everything)

•once I've done this in all the bathrooms, I go back to bathroom #1 and quickly wipe down everything - I wipe the toilet last (I use a new cotton rag in each bathroom to avoid any cross-contamination)

•I like to use a microfiber cleaning cloth for my bathtubs and showers - it gets rid of any soap scum and any water marks with a quick wipe

And then you'll notice the four every day tasks that I suggested last week are under every day.  Try to spend just 15-30 minutes each day on these tasks.  I find that if I just work a little bit every day I stay with the routine rather than if I go crazy cleaning and then 'burn out'. 

I also have four deep cleaning ideas for us to complete this month - if you want to and if your schedule allows for it - this week we're going to deep clean our kitchens.  Here's a freebie printable for you to follow if you'd like - we'll also deep clean our bathrooms, bedrooms, and main living areas this month. 

On the bottom of the month's sheet, is a space to mark off deep cleaning - I left it blank so you can fill in what you want to deep clean.  You'll also notice that there's an area for an organizing project - I'm going to share my project on Friday.  As I told you last week, I'm going to work on something that I've pinned on Pinterest as my organizing project.

Don't forget to check in on Facebook and Twitter every day this week for reminders.  I'll be back here on Wednesday with some cleaning tricks and chit chat and then again on Friday to share my Pinterest-inspired cleaning project.  I hope you are inspired to clean and organize and get ready for a new year!