things i never taught my children thursday - mop

was talking with daughter michelle and she said that she mopped her kitchen floor with a little bit of bleach in water and isn’t that what i do?

i, now, realize that i never taught my children the art of housekeeping. it’s true i do use bleach in a bucket of water to clean certain stains where son jason missed as a very young child in the bathroom. and there was the time when same son had a bad case of diarrhea and vomiting at. the. same. time and i used more than just a little bit of bleach in a bucket of water on the bathroom floor. my lungs felt like i had swum all day in an over-chlorinated pool after cleaning up the mess, but i felt sure that i killed every germ in the house.

for general mopping of the tile floor, i use an all purpose cleaner diluted in water. i especially like method or caladrea cuz it smells so good. i am also the type who mops on my hands and knees with a rag and bucket. i just don’t think that real mops really pick up the grime and just pushes it around and/or shoves the dirt into the corners. because of this, i don’t mop as often as i should. so, it’s kind of a trade off. i wonder what is better - cleaning less often, but more thoroughly or more often, but less thoroughly?

when my children start having children (cannot wait!) and those beautiful little guys begin to crawl, that is when mopping often and thoroughly are most important.

on my hardwood floors, i like thymes cedar mint wood floor cleaner - again for the great smell - it also cleans really well. or i also like murphy’s oil soap.

so, michelle and jason, go buy a bucket, a nice smelling all purpose cleaner like method or caldrea or martha stewart’s new line at home depot and dilute as the directions recommend, use a mop or the rag and clean the floor.

also ask perspective spouse if there is anything they need from the room that is going to be cleaned because husband scott, after 30 years, still feels the need to tread on my wet floor while i am still moping it…even when i tell him i am getting ready to clean the floor and he will have to wait about 15 minutes for it to dry. there is some kind of magnetic force like children who need to talk to you the very minute you pick up the phone to talk to someone and they were not even in the same room as you dialed. it is uncanny.

and that is another thing i never taught my children, but should have for this thursday.