Cleaning the Bathroom (without scary chemicals)

I want to say "thank you" to everyone who has told me they love my blog. I don't know why you do, since I only write something once every six months! I constantly have ideas of what I should say, but finding the time to sit down and type is another story. I don't know how other moms can find all that time to blog. They must stay up all night.

Anyway, the idea for this post came when I was over at a friend's house who also has two young children. We were talking about what we do during that precious solitude of nap time. She said that she usually cleans the bathroom, because then she doesn't have to worry about her kids breathing in or playing with the cleaning chemicals. I didn't say anything, but I thought, wow, I would never waste nap time on cleaning the bathroom! First of all, the best time to clean the bathroom is when the kids are taking a bath (since you're probably in there watching them anyway). Second of all, who says you need scary dangerous chemicals to clean the bathroom? Is your bathroom some kind of bio-hazard site where you need to don protective clothing and a gas mask before entering? Or is it just another room in your house that you frequently enter barefoot (whether it is clean or not!)? Seriously, cleaning the bathroom does not have to be dangerous or expensive. I was surprised to read this in something as mainstream as a Martha Stewart mini mag: she said that it was just fine to wipe down the bathroom with a rag and hot water. I frequently follow her advice when the vanity looks a little grubby. I grab a wipe from the back of the toilet, wet it, wipe down the sink & vanity, and toss the wipe into the diaper pail. We wipe down the counters in the kitchen with water all the time, why not the bathroom?

Of course, sometimes you need something a little more powerful than water in the bathroom. Baking soda is my best friend when it comes to scrubbing down the bathroom. Simply shake some on a rag or scouring pad and scrub the tub or toilet. This is so convenient for me since I always have baking soda in my shower (for washing my hair). I frequently scrub down the tub while I'm showering. What could be easier than that? And here's a tip I got from Ellen Sandbeck's Green Housekeeping: use a plastic mesh bag (like the ones that they use for oranges or onions) as your scouring pad. These work better than any scouring pad you can buy, and they are free. I have one of these hanging in the shower for when I feel inspired to scrub.

And when it comes time for rinsing the tub, nothing works better than my toilet sprayer. The hose is long enough to reach over to the tub and hose it down with powerful force.

Baking soda also works well for scouring the toilet and vanity. I sprinkle some inside the toilet bowl and scrub it with the brush. Vinegar is another good friend in the bathroom. I usually use it to mop the floor (with a rag and a foot, not a mop. I haven't used a mop since I lived in Costa Rica. No mops there and they get along just fine.) You can also use vinegar instead of baking soda to wipe down all the fixtures. It doesn't have much scouring power, but it is a good general cleaner with anti-bacterial properties. You can also use it to clean the mirror, but water works just fine for that. For a spotless shining mirror, get two microfiber cleaning towels (look in the automotive section at your store as they frequently sell them as car-washing towels). Wet one towel with hot water and scrub the mirror (or window). When it looks clean, take the second dry towel and wipe the mirror until it is sparkling and dry. Tada! Who needs Windex? When I clean the bathroom, I usually start with the mirror, then use the towels to wipe down everything else, ending with the floor.

My cousin Laurie should remember that my other favorite tool for cleaning the bathroom is the vacuum cleaner (don't do this if the bathroom is wet). If the floor & vanity are dry, plug in the vacuum and use the hose attachment to quickly suck up all the hair, dust, dirt, hair pins, small bath toys, etc. When I am vacuuming the floors, I try to remember to quickly run the hose through the bathroom as well.

Finally, for those who are germ-o-phobic and feel the need to sterilize the house on a regular basis, you can do this without scary bleach. Get two misting spray bottles and put white vinegar in one and hydrogen peroxide in the other (both very harmless and cheap). Both of these chemicals are good cleaners by themselves, but together they make a powerful sterilizer that is more effective than bleach. Please DO NOT mix them in the same bottle; if they are allowed to mingle together they produce harmful fumes. When you want to sterilize a surface, mist it first with vinegar and then with peroxide (or in reverse order, it doesn't matter). Then wipe the surface dry with a rag. I read this tip in Green Housekeeping as well. I'm not a germ-o-phobe, but sometimes I like to sterilize if someone has been sick (or if the bathroom just seems really gross). Vodka is another good sterilizing cleaner. I've never used it since I'm too nervous to go to the liquor store to buy some! And I have no idea how much it would cost. But I've heard it makes a very effective bathroom cleaner. Please comment if you have used it.

To sum up, remember that there is a powerful advertising force out there to convince you that you need their products to clean your bathroom (and the rest of your house). They have a lot of money invested in you and your purchase power. It's time to show them you don't need them. It's time to phase out all those expensive cleaners and stock up on harmless and effective (and cheap!) alternatives like baking soda, peroxide, white vinegar, and maybe some microfiber towels. Your pocketbook and the quality of air you breathe inside your home will start to improve. Not to mention you can find something more exiting to do during nap time, like writing a new post on your blog!

Out and About with Cloth Diapers

When you use cloth diapers on your baby, is it 24/7? Or is it strictly an at-home operation? I admit that when I was a new mom, I had an unexplainable fear about being out of the house with a wet (or worse) cloth diaper. I put a disposable diaper on my son whenever we left the house. Before long, I realized that toting a dirty cloth diaper back to my house in the diaper bag might be easier than finding an acceptable place to deposit that used trashy diaper. All I needed was a good wet bag for storing the wet (or worse) diaper until I got back to the diaper pail at home. At first I just used plastic grocery bags or gallon-sized ziploc bags. They did the job just fine, but they weren't very reusable (or fashionable). Then I made my own wool wet bag with a felted wool sweater and a zipper. Wool wet bags work just like wool diaper covers, and should be washed by hand. I now also have a PUL wet bag, this is very waterproof and highly durable in the diaper wash. And fashionable, like this floral "Icky Bag" from Petunias. You'll find lots of other wet bags on etsy, check them out.

My other fear of cloth diapering away from home was that I couldn't bring my wipe warmer full of warm, wet cloth wipes. I realized this wasn't that big of an issue, I just packed dry wipes and a small squirt bottle of water. My own Klean Kanteen water bottle also works fine for wetting wipes. Usually we are changing diapers in a bathroom anyway, so I'll wet my wipes in the sink.

Now when I leave the house, I just make sure I have enough diapers & covers, some wipes, a wet bag, some water, and we are good to go! Oh, is your diaper bag not big enough to hold all those things? Get a bigger one. A grocery tote works fine too, that's what I usually use.

A small wetbag is fine for short outings, but what do you do when you are away from home overnight or longer? Get a bigger wetbag! This wetbag from Wee Ones by Jajoc holds about 20 wet diapers. I made my own diaper-pail-sized wet bag from a yard of PUL fabric and a draw string. It is large enough to hold ALL my wet diapers, and therefore large enough for any trip. As long as I know I'll be near a laundromat (or better yet, grandma's washing machine) at least once every three days during the trip, we are good to go. Just make sure to bring your own detergent as you never know what you will find in grandma's laundry room. One more thing, if your trip is longer than 3-4 days, try to NOT leave any wet diapers in your diaper pail at home (they'll be super yucky by the time you get back). When I pack for a trip, the last thing I do is wash and pack all the diapers. I usually have one or two dirty ones by the time we leave the house, I pack those with me also in the wet bag. It's not a big deal to pack dirty diapers with me, as I know I will soon be adding to that wet bag. Besides, I never want to leave behind ANY of my diapers since I want to use my entire working stash on the trip.

What about when you are camping, far away from any washing machine, or even running water? I have taken cloth camping and lived to tell about it! It was actually quite easy, but all my relatives at the family reunion looked at me with awe and respect (or maybe they just thought I was crazy). The camping trip was only four days, so I made sure to pack enough diapers to last the whole trip. I packed every single diaper I could find. I even packed things that could be used as a diaper in a pinch, like cotton baby blankets. I just didn't want to run out, as I wasn't planning on washing diapers in the nearby lake! Also, as there were no toilets for rinsing out diapers, I brought some flushable diaper liners that I could drop right into the pit toilets. These were wonderful, I highly recommend them for any vacation with cloth diapers.

As I said, I have never washed diapers by hand while roughing it, but I have heard of people who have! If you do, just be sure to bring biodegradable laundry detergent, a clothesline & clothespins. Don't wash or rinse diapers in a lake, but a running stream should be okay. Also, you might want to leave your thick all-in-ones at home, they might never dry! Opt for some quick-dry fitteds or even flat diapers instead. You also might find that your camping destination is near a town with a laundromat. A quick mid-camping drive to town might be in order. Some campgrounds even have their own laundromat, check around and find one for your next camping trip.

So, next time you leave the home, don't forget your cloth diapers! Whether it be a quick play date or a two-week cruise, it can be done. And it's really not that hard!