Autumn Cleaning Challenge : Challenge 4 – Bathroom Cleaning & Organisation
It’s the last post in out Autumn Cleaning Challenge series – congratulations, you made it! In this post we look at how you can organise your bathroom with a couple of simple cardboard trays and hooks, and how the only items you really need to keep your bathroom spotless is vinegar, baking powder and a couple of lemons!
It’s the final challenge in this month’s Autumn Cleaning Challenge series and we’re moving on to the bathroom.
Quite often the bathroom is left a bit neglected. Sure, we might chuck some bleach down the toilet and give the shower a quick wipe down to make everything presentable but how clean are we keeping everything really?
It’s also relatively easy to let cupboards become a bit messy with odd nail varnishes, razors, face clothes and towels stacked all over the place so in this post I’ll give you some neat ideas to organise your bathroom so you can take part in the the Autumn Bathroom Cleaning & Organisation challenge without any excuses!
Before diving in, if you’re looking to clean pretty much anything then check out The Best Cleaning Products for every situation from Jens Reviews – they’ve got advice on cleaning your floor, making your own cleaning products and even cleaning the air!
Bathroom Cleaning
In my “What Needs Cleaning When infographic I listed how often certain items need cleaning in your bathroom, some of which probably don’t get done as often as they should do! Here we look at ways to clean items in your bathroom easily and without a tonne of special sprays so you have no reason not to keep them clean regularly.
Sink
Coat the surface of your sink with warm water and then rub in baking soda all over so it forms a thick-ish paste. You can scrub it off and is should take any dirt and grime with it. If you have a porcelain sink check out this post from the Readers Digest that has some tips on cleaning a porcelain sink and some other great tips too.
One part of the sink that most people forget to clean is the plughole and drain area. If you’re sink’s draining a bit slow then you can use that old stand-by baking soda and vinegar to give it a good clean without the need for chemicals, check out this Apartment Therapy post which has detailed instructions. Of course, if your sink is really blocked you may need something a bit stronger!
Bath & Shower
Use vinegar to clean off mold. Spray some on, let it dry then respray and wipe off.
You can clean your grout with baking soda, simply mix it with water to make a paste and use a scrubbing brush (or old toothbrush) to rub it into the grout. You may need to leave it for a couple of hours if your grout is particularly grey or grimy. After at least 30 minutes, spray the tiles down with water and scrub well – you’ll need a fair bit of elbow grease for this I’m afraid!
To avoid getting mold again after you’ve put in all the effort, make sure you air the bathroom out after using the bath or shower. This may mean opening a window, putting a fan on or leaving a door open for a bit.
You can also buy an after-shower (or bath) spray that you spray all over the tiles and shower floor after each use. Alternatively you can make your own from white vinegar and water in a 50-50 mix, spray on and leave.
Watch this video from Clean My Space which gives you the low-down on cleaning grout
Toilet
You can use the skin of a lemon and some hemp oil soap to get your toilet squeaky clean. There’s a great set of instructions at Natural Spa Supplies which details a traditional soap recipe.
After you’ve cleaned the toilet bowl don’t forget to give the outside a good clean too, this is often overlooked and there’s plenty of bacteria lurking there that needs cleaning.
Floor
If you have a washable floor (i.e tile, linolium or wood) then you don’t need to vacuum it or use an expensive steam cleaner you can use a broom, vinegar (yes, again!) and toilet paper to clean it. Read some instructions at House Cleaning Central or watch the short video below.
Bathroom Organising
Keeping your bathroom organised will also help you when you clean it – if everything it nicely sorted you’ll be able to clean quickly and without having to move loads of stuff around.
If you have any odd nooks and crannies consider getting a small shelving or cupboard unit to fit in the space. This can be used to store items out of the way and keep your surfaces clear.
Looking at some stats on the web (and we’re always to believe those, right?!) a bathroom in the US is considerably larger than those in the UK so you lucky American’s will have a lot more space to play with than us poor Brits!
Beauty & Shaving Products
I don’t know about you but I hate it that when I open my bathroom cupboard nail varnishes fall out all over the place. I solved this problem by using a small cardboard box to store these in, and another one for my perfumes and medicines. This means that I no longer have things falling out every time I open the cupboard and if I need to pull things out to clean it’s a lot easier.
Cosmopolitan has 24 great storage ideas for your beauty products, I especially like the idea of hanging hot tools on hooks – although we usually can’t use these in bathrooms the UK (most don’t have plug sockets).
Check The Dates
While you’re moving all of your products around into their new storage spaces, check the dates on products – they have best-before dates too! If they don’t have a date on, you can put a sticker on it yourself so you know when you opened it and then check the internet for how long it should be kept if it starts to look a little dodgy.
Divide To Save Time
If you’re lucky enough to have drawers in your bathroom, get yourself some dividers to separate out all of the items, you’ll be able to find things a lot easier and save time in the morning when you’re trying to find things.
Hang Them High!
If you’re short of space, don’t forget the ceiling. You can get hanging baskets and containers and hang them from the ceiling to put smaller (and lighter) items in.
Use All Of The Space
You don’t have to just hang towels over a rail on the radiator (or shower curtain), there’s plenty of space on the back of your door
Over To You
Do you have a tip you could share with us about how you organise your bathroom? Perhaps you’re lucky enough to have a vanity unit with drawers and a cupboard and have some great tips for organising your electrical items? Or maybe you have a small bathroom and hang things from the ceiling to organise everything? Let us know in the comments or get in touch on twitter.
Other Articles In This Series
- October Autumn Cleaning Challenge: Introduction
- Autumn Cleaning Challenge: What Needs Cleaning When [Infographic]
- Autumn Cleaning Challenge: 17 Cleaning Hacks To Make Your Life Easier
- Autumn Cleaning Challenge: Challenge 1 – Office & Desk Organisation
- Autumn Cleaning Challenge : Challenge 2 – Cleaning And Organising Your Kitchen
- Autumn Cleaning Challenge : Challenge 3 – Bedroom Organisation
- Autumn Cleaning Challenge : Challenge 4 – Bathroom Cleaning & Organisation
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