Housekeeping: Cleaning MY House

Y’all. This is a pretty long post, and I’m sorry, but someone might WANT to have these cleaning conversations with me, right?

I know you’re out there.

You are.

Mr. Filipino and I were married in 1992 and, just over 9 months later, we had our first of three boys, Ian. After he was born, we made the decision that I would stay at home while Ben worked. When Ian became mobile, I started leaving him with my sister so I could clean houses for a little extra money. It was great making my own hours so I could stay at home with Ian, and I loved cleaning. Back then, it was therapeutic for me… probably because I had a baby and needed some quiet time.

Back then, when you cleaned someone’s house, you CLEANED THEIR HOUSE. It never occurred to me to run through and wipe things down trying to get through and make the most money I can in the shortest amount of time. I feel like that’s what happens these days. I feel like no one respects their work anymore (or the people they work for) so they just rush to make money. At least, this has been MY experience.

I’m not going to write a post dissing all those that clean houses these days. Some are SURELY really good. Surely.

This post is about how I clean MY house, AND the houses that I cleaned before.

Cleaning Products
There are a LOT of cleaning products out there these days. But deciding on which ones to pick can be overwhelming. My motto in cleaning is the same for most anything, ‘If it’s not broke, don’t try to fix it.’ I still use the same things I’ve always used, which are the cleaning products that my mom used. And I still like them. Pledge and Scrubbing Bubbles are two of the things I use that I still LOVE –Please don’t send me emails and write comments about how I’m killing the earth.– I like my Pledge and Scrubbing Bubbles, and it works well, so I’m going to use it.

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My Bathrooms
Shower heads can harbor Mycobacterium avium, a pathogen linked to pulmonary disease.

To clean the shower head, put some vinegar in a plastic baggie and fully submerge the shower head in the vinegar. Zip the plastic baggie closed and let it soak over night. In the morning, wipe it with a wet washcloth and rinse it well with warm water.

As for the shower itself, and the rest of the bathroom for that matter (including the toilet), I use Scrubbing Bubbles and a couple Microfiber Cloths. Scrubbing Bubbles kills 99.9% of bacteria ‘on most any hard surface in your bathroom.’ I’ve used it for years and see no reason to change if it does the job. I use the Clorox Toilet Wand in the toilet bowl. Then… Windex on the mirrors.

SOAPBOX: I do NOT wipe my sinks or tubs or showers dry after I clean them. I RINSE them with water. This is a peeve of mine that I’m learning from several people that have cleaned for me. I want things rinsed. Not cleaned and dried. Rinsing helps remove the dirt and sends it down the drain where it belongs.

For grout problems, dip a toothbrush straight into Clorox and scrub your grout. Grout is porous so it will collect bacteria quickly. You can buy a grout sealer to use after it’s clean, and it will stay clean longer.

Furniture
For most of my furniture, I use Pledge and Microfiber Cloths. Some don’t… I do. I love the way it makes my wood look and I love the way it smells. For other surfaces, like the painted tv nook over the fireplace and other painted surfaces, I use either warm soapy water or Pledge Multi Surface…depending on what it is I’m cleaning. Every surface should be cleaned…lamps, frames, knick knacks. Everything.

SOAPBOX: Swiffers are AH-MAZING. I honestly LOVE them so much. But it’s not cleaning if you Swiffer every time you ‘clean’ your house. There are fingerprints and germs that should be wiped. I clean (not swiffer) every week or so (some stuff more often) and I swiffer if the dogs have been in and out a lot or my grandpups come to visit. This keeps the animal hair to a minimum. So… this retired housekeeper is telling you that SWIFFERING IS NOT DUSTING.

Floors
I vacuum my floors first. It’s faster than trying to dust mop and expect to get everything. After I get up all the loose stuff, I use Murphys Oil Soap or Bona Hardwood Cleaner. I love them both and use them both. I use this mop and order extra mop pads when I need to. I usually use 1 or 2 mop pads throughout my house (all hardwood), rinsing them often to get all the dirt out, and then a new one (or two..that might be my OCD coming out) for the bathrooms. When I’m cleaning floors, I go through each room one at a time to make sure that I’ve done everything in that room before I mop…including blinds, fans, and baseboards, if needed. Note: when I clean blinds, I make sure to clean the bottom of the blinds, where the dust falls, AND the window sill.

SOAPBOX: When I clean my floors, I clean wall to wall, corner to corner. There are no ‘heavy traffic areas’ in my house. My whole house is a heavy traffic area. If you’re being paid to mop the floors then mop the floors, but do it like you have no clue where the heavy trafficked areas are.

Stairs
When I clean stairs, I start at the top banister and clean that first with hot soapy water or Murphys Oil Soap, depending on the surface. I clean each spindle and the floor between and around each spindle (this is NOT done bi-weekly but MAYBE monthly). Then I work my way down the stairs starting with the banister, spindles, and floor between and around the spindles…then the stairs themselves. That’s done and should only take about 10 minutes.

TVs and Wall Photos
Swiffer Duster is my favorite thing ever for tvs. I use these on my tvs because you’re not suppose to clean them with chemicals. You CAN, however, use a very damp cloth occasionally. Once a month I wipe down all my wall decor and photos with a damp, almost dry, microfiber cloth. Every other time I use the swiffer duster just to gather dust or when there is an excess of pet hair.

Kitchen
My kitchen gets a good antibacterial cleaning a few times a week. I move everything off the countertops and use Clorox Cleanup or Mrs. Meyers to clean. Of course, everything in the kitchen is wiped down… stove, fridge (inside and out), coffee pot, stand mixer,…all of it.

Blinds, Baseboards, Fans, Doors, Cabinets, Miscellaneous
These things are all done as needed.
Baseboards usually get done with the vacuum and mop when I do the floors.
The blinds are vacuumed and then, if needed, wiped down with a microfiber cloth and warm soapy water. That part usually happens once a month, or, you guessed it…when there is an abundance of animal hair.
The fans are dusted every other week with whatever I’m using to clean when I get to them.
I try to do the cabinets every few weeks with Murphys Oil Soap and the many doors maybe once a month or so. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is a good product for doors that need a good cleaning. That and a little bit of hot water and Pine Sol. Love. That. Smell.

So…all this is just how I clean. Let me know what you do to get your house clean. It’s really all about personal preference anyway. And yes. This stuff IS interesting to me. 😂

More posts on -RINSING. WITH WATER.- Coming soon.

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