A Pinterest win

The master bathroom in our new house is a good size.  The master shower is a GREAT size…except when it’s time to clean it.  Ugh, so many tiles, so much glass, so much surface area for soap scum to stick to.

Our bathroom is always the last place to be cleaned.  Not because it doesn’t need it, but typically because it needs it the most and that’s just no fun.  So I put it off and put it off until I just can’t anymore.  I’m hoping my new cleaner and method will help make the job a little easier and therefore I won’t dread it as much so it’ll get done more often so it won’t get as yucky.  That’s a lot of pressure to put on one little scrubber, but I think it’s up to the task.

I got one of those refillable wand sponge scrubbers like you’d find in the kitchen.  I used equal (to the best of my ability) parts blue Dawn and distilled white vinegar.  Then, I scrubbed.  I did the tiles first and because they weren’t pink or overly scummy, they didn’t impress me right of the bat.  I mean, I assumed they were getting clean, but it just wasn’t a jaw-dropping before-and-after experience.  What was noticeably different from when I use the bathroom cleaner is that I wasn’t being asphyxiated by the fumes and that was a major plus in favor of this simple cleanser.

Holding the scrubber by the handle was more comfortable, too, so there’re two ticks in the “pro” column.

Okay, so onto the glass.  This is where the scum showed up the most.  I’ve scrubbed it away as best as I could once, and we used the squeegee for a week or so afterward to help keep the glass clean, but I knew that wasn’t a habit that was going to stick.  When I cleaned the glass the time before, I swear I used half a bottle of that noxious mold and mildew bathroom cleaner and enough elbow grease to scrub off the top layer of glass.  But guess what?  The glass looked better, but not as good as I expected considering my efforts.

Fast-forward to Sunday.  I used the scrubber all over the glass, pressing enough to get the job done but I wasn’t bearing down more than necessary.  I rinsed the soap off and voila!  Perfectly clean glass!  I really was expecting to be at least a little disappointed, but this stuff worked!  Simple ingredients + a simple tool = a perfect combination.

Before

After

I admit I’m not totally sold yet because I want to see how long the cleanliness lasts.  Is there something in the bathroom cleaner that keeps future scum at bay a little longer?  Honestly, even if that’s the case, cleaning the shower with these ingredients and tool was so much more enjoyable that I won’t mind having to do it more often, which means just doing it on a regular basis since I already admitted to going too long in between scourings.

{Inspiration site}

Our weekend + a recipe

Another weekend on the books and it was a good one.

We had the Fall Festival at Connor’s daycare on Saturday and unlike most Saturdays in recent memory, the weather was perfect.  Connor’s class and one other sat in a semi-circle while their teachers sang a song.  Connor had some performance anxiety but luckily the McHusband was there to help.

Other than those few minutes of unhappiness, Connor had a blast and we appreciated the school coming together on a weekend for all of their attendees’ and their families.

Connor’s school is only a mile or so from our house and since the festival took place at the same time as my normal Saturday-morning class at the Y, I decided to run home afterward.  It was a great afternoon for it and I was very glad it worked out for me to “do it all” that morning.

When I got home, the McHusband was talking to the buyer of the Magnum, who eventually drove away in the car.  He is on a roll with the sale of our cars since this is the third time the first person to look at and drive the car has bought it.

We went to a couples’ baby shower Saturday evening and were home in time to Connor to bed at his normal time, and then I pretty much went to bed at my normal weeknight time as well.  I was tired and looked forward to catching up on my sleep a little.

Sunday was our day to play catch-up from all the playing we did on Saturday.  Connor and I got groceries, then while he napped I tried a Pinterest tip for cleaning my shower.  More on how that worked out soon.

Connor has decided that his favorite snack – or “nack” as he calls it – is raisins straight from the container.  So, yeah, keep that in mind if you come over here and we offer you some.

He had to fuel up for all his yardwork.  As soon as he heard the McHusband start up his mower, he got excited and ran to the door to the garage yelling, “Guide!” which is how he says “outside.”  Luckily the McHusband just so happened to be in need of an apprentice.

While the boys used the mower to move leaves off the grass and into the natural areas, I did some cleaning inside.  I don’t have good toy storage in the den yet so I am struggling with having them all just kinda piled in the corner.  I do have a basket, but what happens is Connor only plays with what’s showing. So I went through the basket and took some meant for younger kids out and put some others on a table in the den so Connor will see them and can easily access them.

Finally, we wrapped up our day with this Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole, which was very good.  I’m already looking forward to my leftovers for lunch today!

So there you have it, our weekend in a nutshell.  Hope everyone else had a nice one as well!

{Recipe}

Who needs Duplo when there’s Alpo?

We had an interesting weekend with Connor.  I think whatever’s been bothering him hung around a little, plus he didn’t have a great appetite so I think he was probably hungry but wouldn’t eat so it was a vicious cycle.  Let’s just say I’m not sorry that I’ll be in the office tomorrow.

Finally, toward the end of the day on Sunday, Connor was a little more himself.  I was making cookie dough and Connor was toddling around the kitchen just making his own fun.  And making a mess but it was worth it.

I was scooping the cookie dough into a bowl and had my back to Connor.  I knew he was playing with some cans and other stuff but I didn’t realize exactly what he was doing to them til I heard the first crash.

It was so nice to see the little boy I normally spend my weekends with even if it was only in those final moments of the day.

PS  Happy Birthday, Kim!