They’re sure housework won’t kill you, but why take the risk? Author Unknown
When it comes to the bathroom, I am compelled to take that risk! I just can’t abide it if my bathroom looks like the one down at the Fina station after the tour bus full of teenagers came through. I have to break down and clean it now and again.
But, can you get a moisturizing treatment and an aerobic workout at the same time? Sure you can, with some creativity and some really good music to inspire you. You can have all three in 20 minutes. How? It’s a simple trick of multi-tasking. For me, this is a great way to simplify my life (because I never have time for everything).
Did you know you can burn calories cleaning the bathroom? Go to Calories Per Hour.Com and you can find the calories you burn with just about any task. I went to the Activity Calculator and discovered that a 125 lb. woman burns 72 calories with continuous, moderate bathroom cleaning in twenty minutes. I weigh considerably more than that (ahem!), so I burn even more. How many? I don’t want to talk about it.
To do this multi-tasking, you’ll need these items:
- Some hard rocking music (I like to work to the music of Queen).
- A pair of rubber gloves.
- A pair of old socks, and your slippers or tennis shoes.
- A thick moisturizing lotion.
- A container of all the supplies you need for cleaning.
- A laundry basket.
I keep the supplies I need for cleaning the bathroom in a bucket (which does double duty to help me rinse the shower stall). Here’s what the bucket contains:
- A spray bottle of mild cleanser (I mix a few tablespoons of dishwashing detergent with water, because I’m cheap and it works just fine…if I don’t attack mildew).
- A spray bottle of glass cleaner (or the cleaner wipes).
- A roll of paper towels.
- A dusting mitt or feather duster.
- Disinfectant wipes.
- A “Magic Eraser,” my favorite tool for cleaning the shower and countertops (it will remove mildew!).
- Efferdent tablets, or Alka Seltzer tablets (I know it sounds crazy, but pop one in the toilet and either works great to remove any “rings”).
- A clean, dry towel.
- Load your cd first, so you are ready to hit the “play” button.
- Slather your feet with lotion; then put on your socks and shoes.
- Slather your hands with lotion and put on your rubber gloves.
- Press “play” on the music, and get moving. Be sure to wiggle your feet, stretch, dance, and move while you work.
- Pop an Efferdent or Alka Seltzer tablet in the toilet and let it do its magic while you clean the rest of the bathroom
- Grab anything on the counter that doesn’t belong in the bathroom and put it in the laundry basket to put away later.
- Put the dirty towels in the hamper to wash later.
- Spray the shower with the cleaning solution, and scrub it down. Stubborn stains can be attacked with that Magic Eraser.
- Wipe it dry with the towel and move on to the sink.
- Clean the sink and the counter top using that spray cleanser (and be sure to wipe the tops of any bottles you keep on the counter).
- If you put a dab of toothpaste on the faucets after you have cleaned them, and polish them, they will be sparkling (toothpaste works as a great substitute for silver polish, too).
- After you have thoroughly cleaned the sink and the counter, give it a once-over with the disinfectant wipes, then dry it all with that towel.
- Dust any shelves and knickknacks, if you have those things in the bathroom. Don’t forget to run that duster over the grooves on your cabinets, too.
- Scrub out the toilet with the toilet brush, and use disinfectant wipes to clean the toilet bowl rim and sides (you wouldn’t have to do that so often if everybody had perfect aim).
- Strip off those rubber gloves (don’t your hands feel softer?).
- Put away your cleaning tools.
- Put out fresh towels, empty the trash, and spray a dab of air freshener.
Voila! You have soft hands and feet, you’ve burned 72 or more calories, and your bathroom is company ready.
Isn’t multi-tasking wonderful? Why, you could take this even further: you could put whitening strips on your teeth, or a facial mask, or a deep moisturizer on your hair…you could be as beautiful as your shiny, clean bathroom.
This journey began on a separate blog (you can click here to read About Out Of Chaos), but that wasn’t really simplifying was it? I moved all of the posts to This Eclectic Life under the category Out Of Chaos. I’ll be adding more from time to time. I hope you join me.
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