Quick & Efficient Cleaning

Define Clean.  When do you consider that your house is clean?  Do you have to scrub everything?  Does your house have to have a certain smell in order to be “clean”? Do you have to go through a certain process of cleaning ?  I have been trying, testing, and searching for over 7 years for a quick and efficient way to clean my house and found that I had to redefine what clean meant for me.  Clean no longer has a smell.  Clean no longer means scrubbing.  Clean means that the surface no longer has germ, dirt, etc on it.  For an OCD person that has 2 kids, redefining clean meant trying a lot of different cleaners and ways to clean.  I happy to say that I have finally found the quickest and most efficient way that truly gets the job done with the least amount of effort.

To begin with, I am a huge Norwex fan and half the products I use are Norwex.  I hosted a party and got everything I am mentioning in here for free with hostess rewards.  I was always uncertain of their products ; however, after using them, I happily have bought more Norwex products.  How I look at it is that this is an investment in cleaning supplies much like when someone purchases a steam mop.  You are investing in a product that will last.  Their products truly work and save time when it comes to cleaning which makes them even more worth it plus you are only using water so no chemicals.  To those of you that can’t quite budget in Norwex,  I am going to include what I used beforehand.

Bathroom
 

Sink:  Norwex Enviro Cloth:  Wet the cloth and I wipe my countertops down with it.  That’s it. This puts an awesome shine on my sink and it is a simple as wiping it down.  Since there are no chemicals, it doesn’t leave a residue so my sinks are extremely shiny and clean.  My husband even stated that my faucet hadn’t looked that good since I had bought it new.  This was an awesome compliment as he never compliments my cleaning.  ---- Before Norwex, Mr. Clean. 

Shower/Tub:  Magic Eraser.  I leave a magic eraser in my shower and, once a week; wipe the shower down while I am showering.  This is awesome on soap scum.  My husband is a mechanic and there is always a black ring around the bottom of our shower and this easily takes care of it.  There is no scrubbing at all, plus, no chemicals to smell either.  (Note: I use the name brand Magic Eraser as I have found that it works better than offbrand.)  

Mirrors: Norwex Polishing Cloth.  This is the quickest I have ever been able to clean my windows.  I spray on water and wipe.  No streaks…….at all. I literally called my sister after using this I was so amazed at how easily it cleaned and how good it worked. Her response was, “See, I told you!”---- Before Norwex, I used newspapers and vinegar/water in a spray bottle.  

Toilets:  The Works Toilet Bowl Tablet.  This is placed in the tank.  Every time that you flush, it is putting cleaner in the toilet.  So, once a week, I flush the toilet and use my scrub brush to scrub the toilet.  No messing with putting a cleaner in the toilet.  (Note: This is the only tablet I like.  I have tried others and don’t feel they work.)   Now, in my toilet that I clean diapers out with, I can’t use the tablet since I don’t want the chemicals on my diaper so I use a little baking soda and vinegar and scrub it around.

Kitchen
 

Microwave:  SprayWay Glass Cleaner.  I know this is a glass cleaner but it works awesome in my microwave.  I spray it in my microwave, close the door, wait a few minutes, then I open the door and wipe down my microwave.  It is super simple and works doesn’t leave a residue.  Note:  Cleaner has ammonia. 

Stove:  Sprayway Glass Cleaner.  Spray on stove top, let sit a few minutes and wipe down.  Just like the microwave, it’s super easy and doesn’t leave a residue.  It picks up any food that is left on it.  Note: Cleaner has ammonia. 

Dusting 

Dusting:  Norwex Dust Mitt.  Wipe off surface.  That’s it.  This works like a Swiffer Duster.  It picks up the dirt and doesn’t just spread around dust.  Best part with the mitt is that it does not need refills.  Just brush off and every so often throw in wash machine.  For areas like my end tables that get glass and bottle rings on them, I spray the table with water and then wipe down with the cloth. --- Before Norwex, any polishing spray and Swiffer duster.

Mopping

This section gets a lot of blog space since this is what takes the longest when it comes to cleaning!  I have used Swiffer vac and sweep, Swiffer wet mop, dry mop, libman wet mop.  I have tried a lot of different mops and settled on the Norwex mop.  This was the reason I even had a Norwex party.  I had broken my libman mop and my Swiffer vac and sweep kept going dead.  So I hosted a party since the mop was the hostess special.  Wasn’t for sure if I was even going to like this but I am super pleased with this!  It cut my cleaning time in half!  It is one mop handle and base and 2 different pads.  One is a dry superior mop pad that I use in place of my sweep n vac.  The other is my wet mop pad that I use in place of my Libman.  I sweep my floors and run over it with the dry mop and then clean with the wet mop. I honestly have no clue how this works but it does work. Plus, it is a huge space saver since it is only one mop that does both dry mop and wet mop.

Dry Mop: This mop picks up hair, small pieces of food, and dust and dirt.  You simply use a rubber brush to brush it off or use your vacuum to clean it.  I wash this in the wash machine every other week.

Wet Mop:  I personally like to fill up a spray bottle and spray my floor and then wipe over it with the mop.  I have heard of people just wetting the mop pad and ringing it out and then using it.  Either way, it cleans better then any mop I have ever used and I barely scrub.  I wash this is the wash machine every other week.

Feel free to add any quick ways you have found to clean your house!

Michelle