3 Tips To Making Bathroom Cleaning So Easy, The Kids Will Want To Do It
EPISODE 10
by Dianne Jimenez
This article takes 14 minutes to read
Don’t have time to read this? Listen to the podcast episode instead:
Subscribe to the
PARENTING GUIDE: ORGANIZING MADE EASY PODCAST
and never miss a bonus episode!
Hey there friend! Thanks for being here and tuning in to the “Parenting Guide: Organizing Habits Made Easy” podcast! First off, I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all my listeners because…do you know what’s so special about this episode? It’s episode #10!!! A definite milestone for me… or for ANY new podcaster out there.
You know it takes a certain kind of drive and vision to launch anything. And to be consistent about it week in week out, is something to tip your hat to. And I’m tipping my hat right back at you for carving out some time in your busy schedule to be with me every single week.
I hope you’re enjoying the topics I bring out to you and that they help you move the needle forward in your organizing and parenting goals. I also hope you continue to tune in and keep sharing the episodes that move and inspire you with friends and fellow parents, posting on social media or even sharing your progress in my private Facebook group. I’m so grateful for being able to have this platform but even more so for you and your amazing support. So THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.
OK! So today we’re getting down and dirty: I’m going to talk to you about what I don’t like doing but have found a way of making it much easier to do.
Cleaning….ok not your typical dirty talk but it does involve some dirt, grime and gross stuff.
Ugh cleaning! I sound like my kids. I wonder where they got it from (lol!).
I’m SO not a fan of it, especially the bathrooms. But when there’s less clutter and practically nothing on the counters,
cleaning is quick, easy and simple. It’s almost too easy and, dare I say, fun?
This is going to be a fun episode because I’ll be giving you my 3 tips: Making bathroom cleaning easy, the kids will want to do it.
Want to go from 'drowning' to peace of mind?
The bathroom is either a place of chaos, comfort, a quiet zone or all of the above and everything else in between. It’s a busy common area that if we equip ourselves and set the space up, we can totally achieve that ideal space that we resort to from time to time, or every night to escape into the World Wide Web, where most ideas and inspiration are not the only things being formed, but one of the only spaces where we can lock ourselves in from those once-cute, and now, grubby hands and constant questions: “What are you doing?” and “Can I have a snack?”
So in today’s episode I’m going to give you 3 tips to help make your bathroom easy to clean for you and the kids. Grab a paper and pen my friend, a yummy coffee or take this all in as you go out and about. These tips are some you may want to try, test out and, oh man, reap the benefits of easy cleaning that’s not only done by you!
Are you ready? Let’s go!
What’s a job without tools? So let’s talk about ‘em!
-
Tools
a) Squeegee
It’s one of the first things we bought when we got married. This is a must to reduce the buildup and water marks on your walls and glass surfaces in your shower. If you do enough of it it MAY even extend the clean look for a couple more days before you have to do a deep clean. OK, maybe not – it sure does look better than droplets and water stains on glass doors right?
At our house, the last person to shower at night is usually the person who has to do the last wipe down. So in a way, if the kids are showering, it’ll get them in there faster so they’re not the last one to wipe down the walls! Yes it’s a pain to spend another 5 minutes drying everything but it’s SO worth it and reduces the overall cleaning time too!
find out how families with 3+ kids tackle the beast: laundry!
b) Wipe down rag
You may have this setup already as this too was one of our first things to get early on. It’s a wipe down rag: This speaks for itself.
We use it to mainly wipe down the chrome fixtures so to avoid any water stains and keep that clean look, a little longer…whenever guests show up unexpectedly, or if I need to make the bathroom (literally) sparkle, wiping down the water spots and fingerprints gives a really nice, clean look and feel ,to your bathroom without busting out the heavy cleaners. It needs to be just a little wet to get rid of the stains but dry enough to wipe off any leftover droplets and puddles left behind!
c) Scrub brush
Oh this one is fairly new in our lives. After seeing this on TikTok, where you fill up the handle portion of a scrub brush with white vinegar, Dawn dish soap and some water so the solution you need is all there for scrubbing your bathtub, tile walls and glass walls. It’s great because anyone can start scrubbing while in the shower waiting for their conditioner to work its magic, or if the kids are bathing and you’re washing one, the other can scrub away!
When you leave it in the bathtub or shower section, fully accessible to the kids – they can help too! I caught my daughter scrubbing away a few times and now my youngest is catching on. It just happened the other day. The youngest one wanted to take a bubble bath after supper. I was all for it so long as he knew that the tub needed to be scrubbed and he went right to work! Awesome, right?
d) Dusting tools
You know if you have hair, it ends up everywhere. Either down the drain or on the floo. Well, the ones on the floor can accumulate quite quickly especially if there’s a lot of shedding happening. So to help make things accessible and easy to address, place a dustpan and brush under the sink or hooked on the cabinet or walls. Whatever makes it easy to access and use right away.
My Secret Sauce for setting the kids up for success
e) Gloves
I got these for the kids for 2 reasons: First, to protect their hands and skin while cleaning. Secondly, it gives them something that’s THEIRS. They chose the gloves that they always use when cleaning the bathrooms.
Let’s backtrack a little: I started teaching my 2 oldest ones little by little about bathroom cleaning, back in 2020 or early 2021. I started with the toilet bowl – like inside and out. I had them do just that for a while. And now they’re disinfecting the counters and floors. There’s still a long way to go but by having them focusing on smaller tasks each time they have to clean, I’m helping them to build muscle memory.
Piling 1 task then giving it time to sink in, they have time to think about what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. Gives me a chance to peek in from time to time to see how they’re doing, make any corrections or add to the task if needed.
Anyway, we went to the dollar store to get their unique gloves. Both are long black ones made for adults that go all the way up to their upper arms I think. My daughter has ones with a pink trim with a jewel on it and my son’s has a dark blue trim that says ‘Boss’ on it. When drying or not in use, the gloves are clipped together with a fold-back clip and hooked on to a 3M command hook, inside the cabinet right by the cleaning products.
See how the tools are easy access and can act as a prompt to clean? Which comes to my tip number 2 for Making bathroom cleaning easy, the kids will want to do it, is…
-
Placement
Now we just talked a little about it but it’s important that I mention this: There are very few people who enjoy cleaning. You know I don’t. And I know 3 more who don’t… ok the 5 of us don’t like cleaning. Nod your head if you’re with us on it too!
So if something needs to get done, and we don’t already like doing it, then WHAT IF we make it EASY for people to access and OBVIOUS that it’s there. I mentioned it quickly before: Often the placement acts as a visual cue for people to take action.
With the tips in this episode, we hope it prompts them to start scrubbing or sweeping or wiping down. But if they still don’t get it, there’s nothing like a little teaching opp to get that visual learning kick started, right?
So This could mean placing the tools inside the cabinets or cabinet doors, hanging hooks behind the bathroom door or next to the toilet tank on the shower side, OR hanging them inside the shower stall itself!
3 things to establish now before losing your s#!t later on
As I mentioned before, I’ve caught my kids taking turns scrubbing the shower walls and tub while waiting for the other one to rinse out and then switch roles? Before you think this is a regular thing, it’s not happening EVERY SINGLE time they shower – at least I don’t think so. But I know which kid does most and which one doesn’t do at all!
But the fact that the scrub brush, filled with my soap and vinegar concoction, sits inside a little dollar store basket suction-cupped to the wall lends for a great visual prompt. Another thing I have to point out too is,
if the kids see you doing it, they might just pick up on that habit too!
So our tools rely on placement but what are we using to set these things up? I mentioned suction cups just before, right? Well we also use a lot of the command strips for both wet and dry surfaces. Our squeegee is hanging from a hook INSIDE the shower stall at the kids’ eye level. The rag to dry the knobs, shower head, wand, etc. is just outside of the shower stall, it’s an easy grab. But! It’s concealed right between the toilet tank and the shower. So when you walk in the bathroom, you don’t see it. But you DO, when you’re walking OUT of the shower. Visual cues to prompt action is key!
I know MANY people just hang the wet rag on the towel rod. That’s great if you have more than one rod. Our bathroom is not that big and it’s for all 5 of us. We have space for just the 1 rod.
Also when you leave a wet rag hanging in plain sight and it’s at chest height, for a few days, it starts to not smell so great; let alone give you that clean look and feel we’re trying to achieve in this space.
So for us, I knew a long time ago there was a product for this but I just didn’t know what it was called. And for some reason, only RECENTLY I just started typing it up on Google’s search engine: ‘hook to hang rags’ or ‘self-adhesive hooks for rags’ .. anyway, something like that and I found it. The one I got describes itself as a self-adhesive, removable towel hook. There are many brands out there promoting similar products. I’ll link the product I mention in my show notes at the bottom of this episode’s page on my site. Use the one that suits your needs.
Take my free training: "How to find time in a busy schedule" -
Ok! So we’re at my last tip, tip number 3 for Making bathroom cleaning easy, the kids will want to do it, and that is…
-
Keep it simple
If you want to achieve that clean look and feel of your bathroom that’s EASY for everyone to maintain, it’s important to lay some ground rules down. These rules need to be simple and clear so that the kids can grasp it.
For instance, it drives me nuts when the kids leave the bathroom a mess, the sink not completely rinsed, or the towel just thrown on the counter… It’s not cool. I certainly didn’t leave it like that. So when this happens, I often tell my kids (on repeat might I add…):
“Be aware of the space you just used. For one thing other people are using this space too, not just you. And two, this isn’t how you came into the room, so put it back to how it was when you first walked in.
Sometimes I’ll even follow up later on, on the WHY. Not just to keep the bathroom clean, yes that’s important but it’s mostly about living in a shared space. Eventually, one day, they will move out, live on their own and have people over or live with other people… These habits we’re forming and trying to establish now, are part of the growing up process. Do these simple things now so you can focus on the complicated stuff later on.
It’s a conversation on repeat, I tell you – for each kid, at different times and different situations. But the big picture is about them becoming capable adults, right?
Ok so I’m gonna throw out 2 more simple, clear instructions I came up with. Feel free to create your own because you know your family and kids the best:
- Turn around: look back to see if you forgot to flush. Or is the hand towel on the floor or back up on the rod?
- 1 touch: from whatever they used, hair brush, elastics, toothbrushes, etc. They touched it once, they have to get in the habit of putting it back in its home.
Eventually, these rules form into habits that can be applied in other rooms.
Join my free community 'It's goin to be 1 Tidy Place' on facebook
If you want to level up your bathroom and make it even MORE luxurious looking and feeling that your whole family will WANT TO KEEP it that way, look into these next 5 tips:
- Decanting shampoo and conditioner in matching bottles, that go with the theme of the bathroom. Get a matching soap dish or pump to go with it
- Use clear containers to organize your skincare products. It gives that light, airy and spa-like touch to your bathroom.
- Add scents in your tank or a room deodorizer like a plug-in
- Decorate with fake plants, candles, rocks, etc. I have rocks that have words like: ‘Patience’, ‘Peace’, ‘Courage’, ‘Strength’, ‘Believe’ written on each rock and they are in a clear glass bowl with fake succulents on the counter. It’s 1 of 4 things on my bathroom counter and a great way to start and end your day with this in mind.
- DIY motion sense or track lights that you just stick under the vanity and keep on in the evenings or overnight so those late night bathroom visits don’t end up waking others up. This very inexpensive hack is all the rage on TikTok and Instagram Reels that will immediately uplevel your bathroom even when you’re not in it. It’s really nice! I’m thinking of doing it for ours too – just need to let the hubs know.
Oh! Now he does!! He’s listening to this podcast as it releases!
Ok my friend! I hope this episode inspired you in setting up your bathroom in a way that enables you and the kids to clean it quickly and with ease!
As always, if you found this helpful I’d REALLY appreciate a review on Apple podcast, iTunes or wherever you’re listening to this episode. Text the link to a friend too telling them ‘hey, this is a good episode to help get the kids involved too!’. You never know who could also use some help, guidance or just a direction.
So let me ask you this before I go:
- Which tip (Tools, Placement, or ‘Keep It Simple’ rule) will you implement in your home?
Let me know in my free, private FB group called “It’s about to be 1 Tidy Place”. I’ll link it in the show notes. I love to give you parents lots of love and support for trying to balance this whole parenting thing with getting your life and home organized. So I hope to see you inside if you’re not already there.
On that, I wish you an AWESOME week! Take care and see you next Thursday. Bye!
Referenced in this episode
Can you think of someone who would also benefit from reading this?
Send it to them:
