down and dirty guide to cleaning bathrooms fast

I really don't like cleaning. I think everyone kind of feels that way, but I particularly despise it. If I won the lottery, the very first thing I would do once the check cleared would be to hire a cleaning service. It's just not my thing.

Which is why I have crafted cleaning systems to make it as quick and painless as possible while still being effective. And as far as bathroom cleaning goes, I have it down to a science. I can get all 2.5 of my bathrooms cleaned in 30 minutes flat. For those logistical people out there, I do the downstairs powder room first (5-10 minutes) and then both upstairs bathrooms at the same time (20 minutes). They are right next to each other and I have found it's more efficient to walk back and forth rather doing each step outlined below than cleaning each one from start to finish.

So if you are lazy like me and totally grossed out by cleaning bathrooms, you're going to need to clean them every week. Yes, I know this is the opposite of what you want to do, but trust me, the more often you do it, the faster and less disgusting it is. Bathrooms get gross fast, especially if you live in a house full of boys like I do + a wicked case of postpartum hair loss.

At any rate, as I mentioned in a previous cleaning post, I clean bathrooms every Monday. After the weekend I find that they really need it, especially if we've had people over. And there's something nice about starting the week with clean bathrooms.

Here are my weapons of choice to kill the bathroom grodiness:

Now I know this looks like a paid advertisement for Method, but it's not. I wish. Hey Method, want to send me a year's supply of products? No? Okay then, that's cool.

I love that their products are environmentally friendly. Best of all, the lack of harsh chemicals mean that I don't have a screaming headache after cleaning bathrooms like I used to when I used a lot of harsh bleach-filled products. The strong stuff does have its place on occasion, but I limit is as much as possible. And as a designer, even a cheapskate one, I will pay the extra dollar for a pretty bottle. And I will save it and reuse it for a homemade cleaning product. But that's another post.

Here's how I do it:

1. Toilet bowls. Go to all your bathrooms and squirt in the toilet bowl cleaner. It's going to do its work while you clean everything else so you don't have to.

2. Showers. I use Method shower cleaner every week. I spray both showers down, then with a sponge (I like the Scotch Brite natural sponges because you can run them through the dishwasher to clean them) I wipe down the surfaces. I then follow up with a dry Viva paper towel (because they act like cloth) or a microfiber cloth and pick up all the hair. Yeah, hair is gross. This is real life.

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT TIP. A dry towel is the only thing that will effectively pick up hairs. A wet towel won't do it. I beat my head against the wall for years until I figured this out.

Once a month I will use Scrubbing Bubbles and spray both showers down and let that go to work. This keeps the grout from having a chance to get moldy and discolored. If there is a particularly bad spot, I'll use the stiff grout cleaner brush pictured above to scrub that area well.

If your shower head and fixtures are looking a little spotty, Bar Keeper's Friend in its gel form is a great thing to use here. If you're not already using it around the house, you need to. I do that about once a month as well.

3. Toilets. Gross. I spray the whole thing down with Method Bathroom Antibacterial spray. I only use paper towels for this. I'm just so grossed out by toilets that I can't conceive of using a rag and washing it. Sorry, mother earth. You're not going to change my mind on this one.

I start at the lid of the toilet tank and work my way down...cleanest to dirtiest. The Viva towels do a great job of picking up any stray hairs (sick) or other grime that has made a home here over the course of a week.

If you have potty training kiddos, this would also be the time to clean their potty seats and stools. Same method as for the big toilet if you are using one of those seats that just snaps onto the toilet. If you're using a stand alone potty chair (I don't. It grosses me out) you might want to use something with a little bleach in it like a Clorox wipe to make sure you've cleaned it well. Not my area of expertise.

I don't use the toilet brush in the bowl yet. Just let it keep working.

4. Vanities. I use the Method Antibac on the boys' bath and powder room and Method Everyday Granite on my beautiful splurge marble countertops in the master bath. I spray everything down, wipe with the same sponge I used on the showers, and follow up with a dry paper towel to get any stray hairs (they're everywhere).

5. Mirrors. I use a microfiber cloth and Method glass cleaner to wipe down all the mirrors.

6. Finish toilet bowls. I give them a quick brush, which is all they need since the cleaner has been doing the work for me.

7. Empty the trash. It helps that our trash day is on Tuesday and I clean bathrooms on Monday. I collect the trash while I do the bathrooms to keep me (the Hubs) from having to do it before bed. If I'm being really honest, though, I forget to do this about half the time. What evs.

8. Final spray down. I never believed in disinfectant spray (like Lysol) until I had a potty training toddler, but now, it's kind of a necessity. I spray the handles to the room, the handles on the toilets, and the stool he uses to get on the potty.

I didn't mention cleaning floors. That's because, in our house, I vacuum on Wednesdays and mop on Thursdays. I don't want to haul the vacuum and mop all around the house on Monday just to do it again later in the week when I do the rest of the floors. But to each is own. You might like the idea of your entire bathroom being spotless all at once. If that's you, go for it. More power to you. Just make sure you mop on your way out as the very last step so you don't un-do your mop job with footprints.

That's my system. What about you guys? Do you have any tips that might help this routine?

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