<p>In our house, Mr B is the TP fairy. Fresh rolls magically appear on the holder! I feel truly blessed. :)</p>
<p>My new vacuum cleaner is a blast to use! I can vacuum under every piece of furniture without the need to use attachments. The power brush does the job very well. </p>
<p>“I do force them to clean it sometimes. I will do the shower or toilet if it gets too bad. Don’t want it to become permanent!”</p>
<p>This is my lazy-secret for the inside of kids’ toilets (that I also refused to clean on a regular basis, their job). Once the inside toilet bowl is clean, let the inside bowl “dry out” a bit. Then take GREEN BOTTLE of Lysol Toilet Cleaner with Bleach (not Clorox brand of toilet cleaner), and squeeze around the inside of the toilet, letting the drips drip down, but well-coating the inside. Don’t let anyone flush that toilet for several hours…preferably overnight or more. The drips will dry inside the bowl…making a blue marble or near-solid blue effect. Then each time they flush the toilet, some of the cleaner gets wet and refreshes the toilet. lol. Seriously, this is virtually the only way the boys could keep their college apt toilets from becoming bio-hazards. It’s also good if you have an upstairs bathroom that isn’t used often or is the kids’ bathroom. Seriously, this can last for weeks. lol Again, must START OUT with a clean inside bowl that is dry above the water line.
<a href=“http://m.globalindustrial.com/m/p/office-school-supply/cleaning-supplies/bathroom-cleaners/lysol-liq-toilet-cleaner-with-bleach-1224oz?infoParam.campaignId=T9F&gclid=CJShp9nM1rwCFSXl7AodEj0AkQ”>http://m.globalindustrial.com/m/p/office-school-supply/cleaning-supplies/bathroom-cleaners/lysol-liq-toilet-cleaner-with-bleach-1224oz?infoParam.campaignId=T9F&gclid=CJShp9nM1rwCFSXl7AodEj0AkQ</a></p>
<p>I like to buy those little clip on cleaners for our toilet bowl. If I keep one of those in there, it virtually never visually needs cleaning. I will clean it maybe once a month or something anyway, but I probably don’t need to. It works much the same way m2ck’s trick works, just is faster. :)</p>
<p>I bought one of those steam mops, and my hardwood floors have never looked nicer. Especially in the kitchen, where cooking spatters and mist from sauteing was a problem, the steam mop takes care of it rather quickly.</p>
<p>BunsenBurner, please share what kind of vacuum you have that you’re in love with!</p>
<p>Snow shoveling. Enough already!</p>
<p>"I like to buy those little clip on cleaners for our toilet bowl. If I keep one of those in there, it virtually never visually needs cleaning. I will clean it maybe once a month or something anyway, but I probably don’t need to. It works much the same way m2ck’s trick works, just is faster. "</p>
<p>Yup! That’s what I use downstairs in the “more public” bathrooms. :)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.lysol.com/cleaning-products/bathroom-cleaners/no-mess-automatic-toilet-bowl-cleaner”>http://www.lysol.com/cleaning-products/bathroom-cleaners/no-mess-automatic-toilet-bowl-cleaner</a></p>
<p>Somehow my kids manage to pee ON the clip on type and “yellow” accumulates in the nooks and crannies, I think maybe this occurs when they are sitting…(boys) Eventually it gets moved to the side and then the flush water doesn’t flow over it. I’ll try the letting the liquid stuff dry trick. The one in the link above is different though. The one I had was dark blue and white swirled in a pastic sort of cup that hung on the side. I will look for the ones in the link!</p>
<p>If only I could find a way to keep the shower doors clean. I used to have a curtain, but they never closed it when it was wet and it would always get scummy so I put in the doors. The doors also make the room look bigger. I guess there is no winning when it comes to showers. Don’t say to get the after shower spray, they don’t use it.</p>
<p>“Don’t say to get the after shower spray, they don’t use it.”</p>
<p>The only shower spray that I can get H and my boys to use is this one. It’s really effortless…</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.scrubbingbubbles.com/Products/Pages/automatic-shower-cleaner.aspx”>http://www.scrubbingbubbles.com/Products/Pages/automatic-shower-cleaner.aspx</a></p>
<p>And the newer ones have better sprayers. </p>
<p>VH - since Mr really, really hates vacuuming, he let me pick whatever vacuum cleaner I wished, so we ended up with this marvel of German engineering:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BMULFW4”>http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BMULFW4</a></p>
<p>The funny thing is that this model was $50 cheaper at the local fancy appliance store than the Amazon’s dealer price!</p>
<p>BB…Holy Smokes! A $1000 for a vacuum cleaner. Makes my 2 Dyson’s seem super duper cheap! lol</p>
<p>how’s it doing? What do you love about it?</p>
<p>Apparently in my College Confidential history I have begun more than one thread called “What Vacuum Do You Love and Why?” I hate hate hate vacuuming; that is the main reason I went back to work after each baby and hired household help! </p>
<p>So Yes, tell us why a vacuum costing more than $1,000 is the way to go.</p>
<p>Try Rain-X on your glass shower doors</p>
<p>^^
Do you clean, dry, apply, let dry, wipe off? (interested in knowing for my VRBO)</p>
<p>LOL! <em>I</em> personally did not pick the $1000 vacuum, I would have been fine with another Dyson ( just hate the newest ball version). Someone else who is obsessed with German appliances and scarred for life by vacuuming made the selection. I was looking at a much less expensive model… And Mr suddenly asked the SA, “Do they come in blue? The lady of the house likes blue.” Sure, they do - just a slightly different model. Costs a bit more. How much more? Ooohhh… But! It has this and that! And it does this and that! Do you like brown? We have a brown one that has real chrome hardware! Only 1.5X the price of the blue one. At this point I interfered and said that I did not like brown color. So Mr proudly carried a box with the blue vacuum out of the store. The end. It took us under 15 minutes to buy the darn thing. When Mr says “done deal”, he means it.
So far, I am very impressed with the thing. If I do not use the power brush, I could hardly hear the vacuum - can clean around the cat who used to take off at the first sight of the Dyson! Suction is very powerful, but can be autoadjusted down depending on the type of item being cleaned (there is a setting for drapes - halleluja!). The vacuum “knows” the diference between wood floors and carpet, too. It can clean under every piece of furniture without taking the power brush off - it goes flat on the floor. The only big negative is that there is a filter bag to change. </p>
<p>I made sure when we built some 20 years ago and recently when we renovated a different house to choose the least maintenance/easiest to clean/keep clean things that also suited us. Obscure shower door glass- kept (anyone inviting me as a house guest will have to use their squeegee- I won’t). </p>
<p>I actually like cleaning windows- it is much easier with our single story house than the old one with casements, and since we omitted grids when we replaced current house windows (never put grids on old house- why cover up good views???).</p>
<p>Most cleaning chores and regular household chores- once you’ve done them the first hundred/thousand times they offer no interesting features. I’m a clean the whole house for 1-2 days then weeks later- only cleaning part each day means some of the house is always dirty. I like the results but need to get in the zone and do it- easier now with two of us and both retired. H usually empties the dishwasher (every 4? days), I always hated sorting silverware and utensils. Still can’t get him to sort socks, even though they’re mainly his (nice thing about Florida weather- use far fewer clothes; add that to rare ironed shirt use for H with retirement and informal town).</p>
<p>I hate getting taxes ready for the preparer- and it becomes my job because I’m the one who is most organized and thorough- I’ll locate all of the donations and other paperwork. Dealing with paperwork and bills- H does the online stuff, I file things. Add dealing with paper another reason I was never an office worker. Although getting paid instead of needing to do it so keep house clean would be different.</p>
<p>I like to cook but don’t get to that much with just two of us. Freezing leftovers is wonderful. </p>
<p>I like to garden. Again, plan mine to be as low maintenance as I can while having the plants I want. In old house I liked having the flowering shrubs, annuals and perennials but hated planting annuals and disposing of spent flowers/annuals. Mulch- needing to get it/spread it worth the trouble. </p>
<p>We have simplified our lives and lowered standards. I ended up doing my own housecleaning when we built 20 years ago and the cleaners weren’t that thorough plus I had stopped working, needed things to do with my time. Having guests becomes current motivation- used to clean every two weeks, now once per month unless guests sooner. Just cleaned last week and realized it had been 5 weeks, was getting to notice all of the dust/dirt/hair… in corners… I put when I clean, get haircut, do sheets and other infrequent events in a small 2 year calendar as otherwise I would have to remember when those chores were last done. I started realizing how dirt was becoming noticeable with no special events to work around and discovered how long it had been. The first day we made sure we kept the house perfect, now living normally. Just as the day we run the dishwasher both of us just do our few dishes by hand.</p>
<p>That list of what kids can do at what age- 20 some years too late. </p>
<p>The common theme- work that needs repeating and is boring/tedious, plus yuck factor.</p>
<p>“If I do not use the power brush, I could hardly hear the vacuum - can clean around the cat who used to take off at the first sight of the Dyson”</p>
<p>now that is nice. A quiet vacuum! 
I would like that. Both of my dogs want to bite my vacuum when I turn it on. My little puppy barks at my Dyson even when it isn’t even on…she hates it that much. 
I was on the phone today with my H and he could hear her barking in the background and he said, “Is Chloe barking at the vacuum again?” I quickly shoved it back into the closet. </p>
<p>Don’t think my H would like it if I bought a $1000 vacuum. </p>
<p>"I made sure when we built some 20 years ago and recently when we renovated a different house to choose the least maintenance/easiest to clean/keep clean things that also suited us. "</p>
<p>Yes…that’s why I’m having condo-envy right now. Much less space, someone else maintains the exterior…but I want a tiny yard.</p>
<p>You can do the rain x just like your car windows.</p>
<p>I hate cleaning the floors less now that I have wood instead of carpeting. I always hated having to steam clean the carpets–they never seemed to get truly clean (probably because they didn’t). I now only vacuum once every couple of weeks. That may sound gross, but I purchased Rosie my Neato robot vacuum cleaner. She is my best friend! She can vacuum the entire first floor of my house. I have to get things ready by picking up anything and also removing two rugs that slide around and get her stuck (if I would ever get some grippers for them, she would vacuum them too). She picks up so much dust and dog hair-I have her set to run three times a week. She doesn’t get quite everything, so every week or two I will vacuum with the regular vacuum to get everything she might have missed–which really isn’t that much. It’s also so much easier to clean the floors–I have a steam cleaner for the tile in the kitchen and bath and then a rubbermaid “mop” with the spray bottle that I use with wood cleaner on the wood. My floors are so much prettier than before the remodel! (Of course that is also because I have new flooring rather than 30 year old flooring).</p>
<p>Do those steam mops work on Swedish finish hardwoods? I use bona and fibermop, but would not mind to do a deeper clean once in a while!</p>