Cleaning – Reviewing Mr. Clean

Everyone Knows Mr. Clean Products!

Organizing is my thing.  Cleaning… well… isn’t as much. (hate it!)  Yes.. you do clean when you organize, but the general house cleaning… and deep cleaning are no fun for me. I do wish that i was a bit OCD about it (only a little) and kept on top of it like I would love to.

I will admit that my husband got me the best early birthday present ever! I had a (almost entire house) deep cleaning done professionally.  There were 4 people that came in my house and were here from 9am-7:30pm!  Honest!  Everything… vents on walls, lamp globes and shades, behind the washer & dryer and refrig and oven! They did the windows!  I have been so busy and my house needed it… and I was getting more and more frustrated because I couldn’t get it done.  I’m not superman…. I can’t do it all!

I recently was asked to review a couple of Mr. Clean products. Mr Clean.. Mr. Clean… (can’t you just hear the song in your head?  Ok…if you can’t it’s because you aren’t old enough.. sigh)

First thing I did was the downstairs bathroom.  It needed it.

The first thing I noticed was the smell. I even looked at the bottle again. Oh..that is right it has Febreze in it! That is why it smelled so good.  Clean with a fresh smell… ahhhh..

Don’t forget those pesky tools you hide behind the toilet…

It says that it kills 99.9% of bacteria…. that I like!

Especially when cleaning these areas.

Now upstairs to the master bath.  Here is something that I have been using daily.. but not too fond of at the moment… lol

The shower track. Oh… what a pain that is to clean. But how nice it is to have clean.

They also sent me a Mr Clean Magic Eraser bath scrubber.  I love these things! They are amazing!

This is bigger than the normal Magic Eraser, and has the little texture to it. Plus a curved edge to help with the grip but also makes it easier to get in the corners.

This also came with that nice scent of Febreze!  The other thing that I liked about it was that it wasn’t falling apart when I scrubbed hard. That was the only negative thing about the Magic Eraser was that it kind of fall apart as you were cleaning.

This is one area of our shower that gets so much soap scum. That bar of soap drains down the side and leaves a terrible soap scum.  I love that I have the new Magic Eraser Bathroom scrubber to keep on top of it.

A clean bathroom is a happy bathroom.. is a happy mom!!

Disclosure: Mr Clean sent me 1 bottle of the Mr. Clean with Febreze Disinfecting Bath Cleaner and 1 box with 2 Mr Clean Magic Eraser Bathroom Scrubbers.  I was not compensated in any other way for this post. (other than a clean bathroom) The pictures and the thoughts are my own.

Clutter or Clean?

Which is your house?

A) Clutter - Your counters have stacks of stuff. You have to move stacks to prepare a meal. You can’t take your wash cloth and wipe from one end of the counter to the other because there are stacks of things in the way.  You can’t vacuum the floors without major pick up.  You don’t vacuum often because you don’t have places to put all the stuff that comes off the floor. Things are out of control.

B ) Clean – A place for everything. You can bring people into your home without notice.  You have clear counters and surfaces.  You vacuum several times a week if not everyday.

C) Middle of the Road – Of course there is somewhere in between.  Not a cluttered mess all the time, but you might need more than 5 minutes to put things away. Some days are better than others…but on the whole your house is decent looking and people aren’t falling over things as they walk in the house. The sinks might not sparkle all the time though. Vacuuming is not a problem, maybe picking up a dog toy or two before you start.

I think we always want to be “Clean” and have the perfect houses. We all know our friends who have homes like those. The ones that look like a model home ….ALL THE TIME!  And they have kids!

But realistically…I would bet that most of us are “Middle of the Road”.  I would have to put myself in this category too.  My house is not a showcase. I do have a place for everything and in my perfect world all of my other 6 family members would be as passionate as I was about making sure things make it back to those places.  But….right now there are 2 basketballs that they kids left just outside the back door.  I have my book bag sitting on the floor beside the couch that I have to pack up for my trip this week.  I have the mail sitting on the couch beside me to go through. My floor needs vacuuming! (Dog is shedding like you wouldn’t believe!…vacuuming is on my list for this afternoon).

So ….which are you?

How To Start Organizing

It is a New Year, so I am going to start off with some good basics. Some of you have seen these on here before, but it never hurts repeating valuable information.

First off – Don’t try to tackle “my whole house”. Break it down. Think about one “hot spot” that is the first thing you want to take care of.  It may be the kitchen counter, or that table when you walk in the house that everyone dumbs things on.

If you try to do too much in too short of time you will become defeated when you can’t do it and I don’t want you to give up.

Step 1 – Pick Your Zone

Step 2 – Pick Your Time (write it in on your calendar)

Step 3 – Get supplies Ready

*Black trash bags – trash   *White Trash bags – donate   * Clean bins (my favorite), but sturdy boxes will do if you have them

Step 4 – Start the Sort – Take 10 seconds per item (no more…don’t walk down memory lane, just take first thoughts)

A) Keep – You LOVE it and USE it

B) Donate – It would be Usable for someone, but it doesn’t fit or you really don’t like it, or you are not using it.

C) Store – Holiday or speciality items (skiing equip, camping equip) that you use yearly

D) Move – Items that don’t belong in that space or room. They need to be moved to another room if you are keeping them

E) Trash – Recycle if possible.

It isn’t hard once you get started.  The mind set is the biggest obstacle in most cases. Don’t think…”its too much I can’t do it” . Instead think, “Wow…I have a mess, but it will feel GREAT when I get through it.”