I heard someone talking about New Year’s resolutions today. They were saying that most people make it to the second week of February before they give up on their resolutions. I am proud to say that I am still going strong. In fact, I am starting to wrap in some additional aspects of my goal such as exercising more and eating less sugar.
For those of you that are new to the blog, I have started a 50 week cleaning challenge. This challenge is part of my 2018 theme to live simply. (You can read the post here.) This means eating good food, being nice to myself, and relaxing more. It also means small bursts of cleaning instead of long and tiring deep cleaning sessions. I have broken out my usual spring cleaning list into 50 small, manageable tasks. We are one month into this challenge. I have actually noticed that my house, from an overall perspective, is cleaner.
Allow me to elaborate. I have a mess of a bathroom linen closet. I also have an office that could use some serious attention. I am not stressing. I will get to it. I am focusing on my one cleaning challenge a week instead of worrying about making my entire house perfect. I have been working harder to strive for good enough as opposed to my usual perfection. Taking the stress off of the subject has actually allowed me to focus on general cleaning tasks. The dishes have been cleaned in the kitchen every night. And we haven’t been eating out. The bathroom is more tidy on a daily basis because I am only focusing on the task of straightening up instead of cleaning out the drawers when I notice they are a bit dusty.
On to the challenge….
WEEK 4 | CLEAN YOUR BATH MATS
The bath mat is an item of contention in my household. I am one of those people that dries my feet before they touch the mat. I wipe the towel down my leg and foot before stepping out of the shower. My husband, on the other hand, leaps out of the shower while soaking wet. I think most of it is just to watch me get annoyed at something so mundane. What he doesn’t realize is that I am going to walk on that mat. And I will most likely do so in socks.
You have no idea how many times I have had wet socks just from a trip to the bathroom.
Today’s post is less about how to clean your bath mats and more of a reminder that you should clean them. This is not an annual cleaning project. According to Mama’s Laundry Talk cleaning should be determined based on the frequency with which it is used. Get it really wet every day? Wash it once a week. Get it damp occasionally, but it dries completely between uses? Wash it every 3 to 4 weeks.
TIPS FOR WASHING YOUR BATH MATS
- Shake the rug out before washing. This will remove surface hair and dirt before it is added to the washing machine.
- Wash your bath mats in cold water setting with gentle laundry detergent.
- Hang to dry or tumble dry on the lowest setting. You should never use heat when drying plastic- or rubber-backed bathmats because it can cause the backing to crack or even melt.
- Skip the fabric softener. Fabric softener effects the cotton’s ability to absorb water.
- Wash two rugs together or wash with a blanket. This will keep your washing machine balanced.
Now I challenge you to wash your bath mats.
Like this week’s cleaning challenge? Want to see more? Check out the weekly cleaning challenge page!
