Rocks In My Dryer has been doing this for a long time, and I think I'm going to jump on the blog carnival every now and Wednesday. It's called Works-For-Me Wednesday (read more about it here), and basically each Wednesday, you post a little something that has made your life a little easier.
However, today is Works-for-me Wednesday: Backwards Edition. You ask a question, and see if people can help you with something that's worked for them in the past.
So, here's my question:
MY FLOORS!?!?! How in the name of all things sacred and holy do you people keep your floors clean? I sweep my entire downstairs once a day (sometimes more if I'm cooking a lot or we're all tramping in and out of the house all day), but I cannot get the mopping done for the life of me! I'm not even going to tell you how often I mop, because
This wasn't a problem when I had no kids, or just Sam and Evie, and they were both younger. I could just wait for nap time, and knock the whole thing out in 15 or 20 minutes. Oh, wait. I also liven in an apartment that had a total of 3-square-feet of hard floors that needed to be mopped. Now I have a house. And lots of very dark hard floors that show every single speck of everything. And dirt outside. Lots and lots of dirt. And we pretty much live barefoot outside when it's not raining or snowing. And it doesn't snow here.
But I digress. How often do you mop? When do you do it? How many kids do you have, and how does all of that work?
Please, I'm begging you. Come out of lurking, and help this tired, busy mama!!! :)
11 comments:
Every inch of flooring at our house is light colored linoleum or tile. I have two boys who love to play in the dirt.
I hate mopping. There, I said it. But, I love the results. The only thing that works for me is to just light a favorite candle, turn on some music, and start mopping. Sometimes I only get to it every 10 days or so, but I really like to do it a couple of times a week in the main areas.
The only reasons I muddle through are that I hate sticking to the floor, and I love how clean the house feels when it's done.
I don't have wood floors but I will tell you that I use a shop vac (got it at Walmart) to vaccum my tile floors before mopping. It works so much better than sweeping.
OK, so after 1500 square feet of hard floors, three kids, construction-worker hubby, and very big, hairy dog (who thinks he is a rug)...
you could wear shoes out and remove them to come in
keep a Swiffer with a rag on it (cheaper than buying) and spray the floor with cleaner and wipe as needed. I use microfiber rags and change them at least daily. I keep a bottle of basic H mixed up and ready to go. I do this constantly and at least get it swiped all over before bed.
be thankful for hard wood/hard flooring. We have 3 kids, 3 and under, and I hate carpet! Much rather mop than shampoo constantly!
~Jenn Ott
For quick fixes, I have a swiffer with a rag attached to it and a spray bottle of Murphy's wood oil soap and water. I spray it on the floor and then wipe it in with the Swiffer.
What I would like to know is what to do about the dust bunnies?
mop? what's a mop? i'm with you brea. and i don't have any kids. i would LOVE it if there was a magic floor fairy. and the worst part is, i have cement floors-- and the door to the back opens onto a black and white floor. not ideal when you have a dog.
maybe you could watch a friends kids and in return, she mops your floor?? that would be my idea of a mop fairy!
sorry i can't be more help! good luck with the mopping!
I HATE MOPPING!!!
And I'm not ashamed... much.
I bought a Hoover hard floor cleaner, and I love it. I have two kids, one at school all day, the other (14 months and into EVERYTHING)home with me all day. I can't usually find time to do it when they're both home and awake. Sometimes my husband takes them somewhere (Academy, Wal-Mart, fishing club meeting, etc...)and I bust it out while they're gone.
Sometimes, I start as soon as I put the baby down for a nap, starting near his room, and finishing on the other side of the house, and let the older one watch TV in my room until I'm done.
Hope that helps!
I hate to mop more than anything so it is the chore that gets done the least. I usually wait until I can't stand it any longer, then I find time to do it even if it's after the kids have gone to bed. I put on my iPod and wet mop every other week, and on the off weeks I use a Swiffer Wet Jet. The wet jet does a good job and hardly takes any time at all. It also smells great. I've often thought about hiring someone to mop the floors and nothing more.
I sweep daily and mop almost daily. I use a mid size towel and vinegar water while I talk on the phone. We have hardwood floors and messy boys and animals. Clean floors are my biggest priority. I can let dishes in the sink go or beds unmade but I have to have clean floors.
I DO NOT like to mop either. Wait...I don't mop...I Swiffer!!
I DO like the results, but just dont get to it weekly/daily like I do everything else. We have about 1300 square feet of hard floors that I sweep/vacuum then swiffer. With 3 kids, 5 dogs and 1 cat we do sweep almost everyday. And I always wear slippers or flip-flops so I don't feel the "ick" on my barefeet ;0)
I sweep once or twice a week, but mop...probably 4 times a year. That sounds gross, but whenever I spill something I wipe it up with a wet rag, so there's not much need...
Also, in MN, everyone always takes off their shoes at the door, so there is little to no tracking in of any kind of muck.
If people come over and my house isn't in a perfect state, I try not to sweat it. I figure that I will never lie on my death bed wishing I had spent more time mopping!
I DO A LOT OF THE "SPOT MOPPING", TOO. WHEN SOMETHING IS SPILLED, IT IS CLEANED. LAST NIGHT I MOPPED. AND I DON'T KNOW WHEN I DID BEFORE THAT...A WHILE!! I SWEEP CONSTANTLY, BUT MOPPING ISN'T ALWAYS MY FRIEND!! IT'S SO TIME CONSUMING. I USUALLY DO IT WHEN I KNOW IT'S BEEN FOREVER...I USE GOOD OL' VINEGAR AND WATER AND A SPONGE MOP OR MY SWIFFER. HOPE YOU'VE FOUND SOME GOOD HINTS!!
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