Dear Flylady:

I am new to the website, but my first resolution is to do a One Minute Mop every night on my kitchen floor.  It is the dirtiest place in my house.  My problem is, what product to use?  I have seen Swiffer, Chlorox, etc.  My first thought is a disposable sheet so I don’t keep pushing the same old dirt around over the floor.  It should be “wet”, easy, and available.  I’ve thought about the restaurant mop, the standard foam rubber thing, hands and knees and rag, but new technology seems the best.  Do you have any ideas?

Thanks.

Anne

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Dear Anne,

I think it is a great idea to practice a new habit of one minute mopping each day. This is the best way to keep things looking good. It is like a swish and swipe for the kitchen.

I was taught at Girl Scout camp that sweeping the floor is the last thing you do when it comes to kaper duties. We have to sweep before we can mop. A Rubba Sweepa does a great job if we will just use it every day. Don’t get caught up in what will do the best job. All we really need to do is just do it and then we can look at just how dirty it really is. The secret to keeping a kitchen floor looking good is to get up the spills as they happen. Not wait till they are walked in and the sticky gets spread to other parts of the house. This is the “do it now” principle at its best. Learning to clean up after ourselves as the messes happen will make mopping and sweep much more easier.

We have designed our FlyLady mop with reusable micro-fiber cloths to help you with your mopping.

I want you to all go look in your cleaning closet, under your kitchen sink, in the garage, or in your basement. Study all of the bottle of cleaning supplies. Examine why you bought this one or that one. I am sure it was supposed to do this miraculous job of getting rid of dirt and grime. What did you find when you used it? It did work as well as it was supposed to do.

It is time to get rid of these things. Many of you email wanting to know what I use for cleaning. It is really very simple.

I use Windex, water, and soap.

I use old shampoo as a toilet bowl cleaner, no harsh chemicals.

I use Comet Cleanser for those tough sink stains, but hardly ever.

I also use SOS pads. (steel wool with soap in it)

The secret is to use them a little every day. Then the grease and grime do not build up so much that you have to use a chisel on them.

For Laundry, I  have a bottle of Dawn dish washing liquid in my bathroom to pre-treat any dribbles on the girls while I am eating .

There is no magic potion for cleaning this stuff. Just elbow grease. When Robert and I married, I moved into his home that he had built when he got out of college. His first wife was messy too. He is a patient man. The toilet had this nasty calcium deposit every where. I tried every acid know not man. Nothing would help. Finally I tried some elbow grease and a chisel. Guess what! It was clean in no time at all. I had wasted all that money looking for the magic cure when it was in my hand all the time.  All it took was doing it. Now it looks great.

So go throw away those nasty cleaners. Your landfill will have a special place for them if they are really bad chemicals, but most household cleaners can go in the trash. I know this, because I used to be a county commissioner and we have a landfill in our county. I use anything that is soapy to clean my toilet.

Now Go Shine Your Sink, I use Comet to clean it the very first time and after that just dry it out with a cloth, or use a spritz of Windex. It will shine right up. If that doesn’t work, put a little lemon oil or olive oil on a paper towel and rub it down. You will be so surprised. Have you ever had to throw out a whole pot of pasta, because it spilled in your nasty sink. Once you get in this habit, you will never have to do that again. You will be able to eat out of your sinks. You don’t believe me. Well prove me wrong.

Routines Save You From Your Perfectionism!

FlyLady