Cleaning Bucket

Helllllloooooo!

So I have been a little MIA the last two days as on Wed I cleverly placed my hand on the stove top (forgetting that I had just cooked veggies for the girls)... MAN it hurt and although it is still uncomfortable now the burning sensation is gone (thankfully) and for the most part I have use of my hand.

This post is about your cleaning bucket...

I have a cleaning bucket... Well technically I have a few... A car cleaning bucket, cleaning stuff storage bucket, cleaning bucket, then I have stuff scattered throughout the house. PLUS I have a design on an accident cleaning bucket (more about that later) :-) I just cannot help myself.

I believe there is merit in having a cleaning bucket (or 5 if you are me). I have to be very clever with my time or I end up with unmopped, unvaccumed, chaotic mess all through my house. This being said, with my cleaning checklist being reinstated in my house things have been less chaotic and I have found that I am a little more organised and less time poor. 

Now the reason that I have two buckets is because all the products in my old bucket were empty (because I was so in love with them) so I created another one "temporarily" until I could afford to replace all the bits and bobs in my original one. 

My Original Bucket

 

My original bucket was formed when I lived and taught in a mining town in WA. The town was iron ore central and apart from everything being a beautiful shade of terracotta red, I knew that the "elements" around me weren't exactly healthy. So I made the call to keep my chemical intake to an attempted minimum. I was invited to a "party", you know the ones where you have a host and a salesperson... and although I was trying to hide that I was pregnant (possible not so well- as I dashed repeatedly to the toilet). I still managed to buy a fabulous product (that smelt so yummy!)

These are by a company called Nature's Direct. At first I was a little skeptical of the "power" of these products and although I used them it wasn't until I needed to clean a stain on the carpet and used their carpet cleaner that I realised actually how good these products are. I had a stubborn stain on the carpets in our place and used this product on it. Although having used warm water and soap and that not working their carpet cleaning spray worked a dream. I haven't looked back. 

Now my problem is that I have run out of product. You can buy the refills (I just have to get off my proverbial and organise). If you have the money they really are worth every cent.

In the meantime I have created a temporary bucket for myself (god forbid I have an unclean home)

Ok so maybe it is more of a cleaning cupboard than a bucket...

Mortein

I am not a huge insect lover... Well more the Arachnids and Cockroaches so I always have some Mortein (for that moment that we come face to face- I HAVE been known to faint depending on the arachnid. I am getting better).

Finish Dishwashing Tablets

I have never been a dishwasher user (in fact the house I lived in last year had a brand new dishwasher that until we moved out had never been used). But for time efficiency I have been utilising the load and go functionality of a dishwasher. I LOVE the finish tablets, the seems to leave my things clean without that funky grainy residue that I have seen some dishwashers leave.

Morning Fresh Dishwashing Liquid

I still love my washing up (really?) and therefore I always have morning fresh in my cupboard (I do like mixing up the scents of these ones).

Domestos

I am not a huge bleach user (B LOVES the stuff) as I find my teeth get really sensitive and it is like my gums get... tingly (not in a good way). My teeth and gums ache I guess. So although I can see the merits of bleach for toilets etc. I personally don't use often... But I leave that up to B. 

Glen 20

I do have a can of glen 20 in the cupboard. With all the sickness that we have had in the past I do keep a can in the cupboard. It is able to kill a lot of the germs that can make you feel icky and quite unwell.

Windex

I am not sure about you but I like clean windows and I think that Windex is the best product for that. I do recommend that IF you use Windex the best way to avoid streaks etc is to use a Microfibre cloth.

Earth Choice Bathroom and Shower Spray

Hidden behind the Windex is Earth Choice Bathroom and Shower Spray. I love this for the bathroom. It has a really lovely fragrance and is a fabulous product.

In the bottom of that cupboard I also keep some paper towel, some cloths and a dustpan.

I also find that good old soapy hot water is great for cleaning lots of surfaces too. In blogs to come I will be sharing with you some household products that have more uses than you realise. Also through this series we will work together to create our own cleaning buckets :-)

I would love to know what your have in your cleaning bucket!

Keep smiling

Lauren

xxx

Checklists

Since I have moved my cleaning routine has gone out the window. I had created a FABULOUS checklist that meant that I had something to refer to everyday. Having said this, it is about to be relaunched in this household. My house is not unclean by any stretch of the imagination but I spend time fluffing around trying to remember what I need to do next, when I had my checklist I didn't have this issue.

Creating a checklist

When you create a checklist you need to think of the things that you want to do around the house. The one that I created was fairly comprehensive and covered all the things that I needed to do to ensure that if I had an inspection there wasn't any last minute panic over trying to get the house in order (bear in mind that in one of my previous posts I talked about the real estate agent that had it in for me). There are lots of checklists on the internet and I know that there were a lot of things on their lists that we just not feasible for me. 

Why create a checklist

When I moved to the SC I wanted things to be orderly again. I had missed my belongings and having my own stuff and I just wanted to feel settled. Mum and dad's place will always be home but I wanted to feel the same way about the four walls my family lived in. I soon realised that there wasn't enough time in a day to clean all the things that I wanted to clean and fix and doing it in one hit with two little ones nearly sent me loopy. I would get one space tidy, walk away to clean another space, turn around and the original space looked like I had never been there. I was getting sick of dishes in the sink, clothes on the laundry floor and then the maintenance jobs I needed to do weren't getting done because I was chasing my tail constantly. I read somewhere that doing alititle but everyday reduces the BIG clean that you might do once a week. PLUS I found that I actually had more time through the day AND I had a clean house... Crazy right?!

I was getting the morning jobs done first thing which left me time to spend with the girls and then I would do the afternoon jobs when the girls went to sleep. This also meant that I had a clean house when I went to bed (I had my first introduction to GIANT cockroaches when I moved to Qld).

My Checklist

Above is my checklist. You can see that I have my AM and PM list (it was in a table on the original). Underneath the AM and PM are some other jobs grouped together. Each group represented a day in the month. As you can see I have five weeks because I wanted to cover a whole month...plus not every month starts on a Monday. So what I used to do (and WILL be doing) is printing this list out. Placing it on the fridge and writing the dates in (as if it was a blank calendar) and voila... Off I go.

Having moved into another place and it being a little different (ie vertical blinds not curtains) I will tweak this list a little and depending on how clever I am I will even attempt to make it prettier :-o

Things To Consider

I understand that some of you are working professionals, some of you are students and some of you are stay at home parents... We all have varying lifestyles right... Think about the space that you live in. Do you rent or own? What are the primary things that you want to achieve? For me, at the worst I want the beds made, the kitchen and bathrooms clean and the washing done. So for me they were vital to do. For you, it might be vital that the toys are packed away, that the lounge is tidy and the bathroom is clean. 

I always remember a saying I read on my favourite blog The Organised Housewife.

It only takes a minute.

Out your whole day doing something only takes a minute (Ok in some cases ten) BUT doing lots of little things over a week saves you spending a huge amount of time on your Sat or Sun (or whatever your cleaning day).

Good luck. If you have any questions or want help creating your own cleaning list send me an email at ruffled.lace@live.com.au (I might even be able to make it all pretty for you).

Keep smiling!

Lauren

xxx