The Lazy Housekeeper - Bathroom Edition

1. Method Shower Spray - instruct your spouse to just spray down the shower curtain liner and tub after each shower. It really does cut down on the amount of scrubbing you need to do. Economical refills are available.

2. Baking soda - I buy a big box and keep it in the cleaning closet, so the one I use on the tub doesn't get dipped into for cookies. When you do have some serious scrubbing to do, wet a rag and shake a some baking soda directly on the wet spot. When you scrub with just a little pressure, it forms a paste that shines your sink or tub. It's non-toxic, gets rids of bad odors, and rinses away easily. Best of all, I can just use a rag - no scrub brush or scrubby sponge to trap hairs. Eww. I hate hairs that aren't on my head!

3. Method Lil Bowl Blu Toilet Cleaner - I finally found the toilet solution of my dreams! The baking soda alone is NOT EFFECTIVE in keeping a toilet bowl clean and odor-free. It just dissolves too fast. The other eco-friendly ones like Mrs. Meyer's are nice but cost too much for something I'm flushing down the toilet, at least in my opinion. The old standby cleaners give me the heeby-jeebies, probably because I can still remember my mom's instructions to my younger self, "Don't touch it with your hands. Scrub really slowly with the brush! Don't splash it! Don't get your face too close. Don't let it splash in your eyes! Don't let it get on your skin!"

4. I dilute white vinegar with water. A 1:5 dilution is a disinfectant. I don't measure, I just eyeball it and put it in an empty rinsed spray bottle. It's my main surface spray. I keep one bottle in the bathroom, one in the kitchen because I'm OCD like that. The vinegar scent takes some getting used to, but it really doesn't linger long. Works great on porcelain, glass, and our finished Ikea furniture.

5. Every bathroom needs some good air mist. My favorite brand is Good Home Co. sheet spray. It won't stain if it gets on your towels or curtains, and it will scent the air for the limited time it takes for the vinegar to pass. I have the Pure Grass scent right now, but the Italian Citrus and the Beach Days are also lovely. The glass bottle is pretty (on a high shelf out of toddler paws!) and doesn't need to be hidden. Not cheap, but I've had the same bottle for over 3 years and it's still 3/4 full, so I think it is a better value than 5 bottles of Renuzit or Glad (that have the vague chemical aftertaste) that I would have polished off by now.

6. My Aunt C gave me a big stack of basic cotton terry rags that the women and girls in my family hand-decorated with fabric markers during my bridal shower. These rags have saved me so much money over paper towels. I keep the laundry bag right there to decrease the ick factor, I just wipe and toss.