You made it to month two of the Habit Challenge!! No matter
how well you did with February’s habit, today marks the beginning of a new
month, and a new habit to work on. Please remember that you also want to be
doing your best to keep up the habit from last month. March’s habit, however,
takes priority in your daily achievable to-do list.
Before we dive into March, let me give you a quick recap of
how my month with the bathroom habit went. If you are ready to skip to the
instructions, feel free to scroll past my recap.
Week 1(February 1st through 7th). #1
We started the challenge on a Saturday this last month, and that afternoon I
dove in, ready to tackle both my full and my half bath with level 3 exuberance.
And I did! My main bathroom was sparkling and seemingly singing after the full
7 minutes, a decent sweep/mop of the floor being the only thing I couldn’t
accomplish in that time. My half-bath however had been neglected for much too
long, so that 7 minutes managed to get me a clean sink, toilet, empty trash,
and a quick wipe of about a third of the floor with my washcloth.
#2 Two days later, Monday, I dove into the bathrooms again. This time both
bathrooms were completely finished in the level 3 allotted 7 minutes. #3 Happy
with my progress, I cleaned again on Wednesday, although not much more than a
glorified level 2. Considered the 1st week a smashing success!
Week 2(February 8th through 14th). #1
I remembered Sunday this week, and cleaned both my bathrooms at a level 2,
content to leave them in good shape. #2 I forgot till about Wednesday, and then
again both of my bathrooms received a level 2 cleaning. #3 I hurriedly worked
to get my bathroom at least level 1 cleaned on Friday, knowing that week 3
started the next day. Not as motivated the 2nd week, but
accomplished the whole challenge seeing as I did clean my bathroom(s) 3 days
that week!
Week 3(February 15th through 21st). #1
On Saturday, I cleaned my bathrooms diligently, glad to have a fresh week,
getting both clean at a level 2. #2 I kinda forgot till about Wednesday… And
then I cleaned my main bathroom at a level 3, because my MiniMe had managed to
get urine all over while practicing his standing and urinating skills.
And…there was no day 3 in week 3…. L
Week 4(February 22nd through 29th). #1
For the first 3 days of the week, I kept thinking about cleaning the bathrooms,
and then remembering when I woke up the next morning that I had never actually
accomplished that. But I had a guest coming for a play-date on Tuesday, so I
pulled out my cleaning supplies that morning and did a good level 3 clean of my
main bathroom. #2 The following day, a Wednesday, I decided I would just do the
same in my half-bath before getting my little ones out of bed for the day, so I
quick cleaned that bath at another glorified level 2. #3 I had an extra day in this week because of Leap Year!! So I got one last cleaning of my main bath in. Scrubbed the soap scum in the shower, wiped down the sink and toilet, changed the trash, swept the floor.
March 2020 Habit:
Sweep n Mop Main Living Area(s) 3x a
Week!!!
To clarify briefly, I just want to elaborate that this habit
can be a little more varied depending on your home; which also means that I
won’t be able to necessarily give you a rough time estimate of how long each
level will take. This habit does NOT
include care of the carpets in your home. This is for linoleum, wood, tile, etc
type floors that you sweep and mop rather than vacuum. And the specific area I
want you to focus on this month is your main living space that falls under this
criteria. For me this is my Kitchen(where we also eat). Since my living room is
carpeted, and my bedrooms are less bothered by mud/sticky food remnants, these
areas won’t be my focus this month. For some of you, there might be two areas
such as a kitchen and dining, or a kitchen and a well traveled hardwood living
room.
I am going to be working to sweep and mop my kitchen floor
3x a week every week this month! I will also, of course, try to continue in the
habit of cleaning my bathroom(s) 3x a week. Ideally, this will allow me to
alternate bathroom and kitchen floor cleaning days, with an extra day each week
for a grace period. But of course, I will still be sharing my successes and
inevitable failures on my Instagram with all of you.
Again, I will lay out 3 different versions of this task so
you can pick the one you can do best depending on how busy you are. I will also
give a couple tips n tricks for the habit, as well as some ideas for getting
your kids involved if you have any.
My challenge to you is to pick the hardest level that you
think is possible for you! If you work full-time, have a ton of activities, and
are running children all over the place, please just do level one, and know
that you are doing an amazing job at creating habits! Whereas if you stay at
home a lot, find yourself with frequent extra time, and often think “I’m
bored,” do the hardest level! You know what your life is like, so you will know
which is best for you. J I will try my best to do the hardest level, unless I
have a crazy week and need to dial back.
Level 1:
The easiest level of this habit is very simple. It involves
two basic steps: sweeping the area, and “spot-mopping.” Simply grab your broom
and dustpan 3 times a week and sweep the entire area. Then grab a spray bottle
or a wet rag, or even your mop, look for the worst spots on your floors(sticky,
mud, obvious food, etc) and clean them up real quick. For those of you who lead
very busy lives, I understand that this is all that you regularly have time for
during the week, with maybe a deeper clean on the weekends or monthly.
Level 2:
This is the basic level that encompasses the basic habit we
are trying to establish here. Unless your life is absolutely insane, I would
encourage you to strive for this level as much as possible, and if you do have
a little bit of downtime, try to upgrade to level 3. That said, the first step
is the same in this level; a thorough sweep of your area(s). After that, I want
you to grab your actual mop (or your preferred alternative) and do a quick wash
of the entire area. Doing this regularly will help keep from needing to pause
and really scrub bad areas, because things won’t have time to get horribly
stuck.
Level 3:
Want to go above and beyond and completely beautify your
space? Level 3 includes removing ALL items from your area and pulling out the extra
cleaning supplies. Clear your entire space of items as much as you can, sweep
thoroughly, and then pull out your mop(or mop alternative). You will want to
clean everything really well, leaving no little sticky spots. With this level
you will want to do something extra to help your floor. You can use vinegar or
hydrogen peroxide to kill chemicals, you can use pine sol or an oil to care for
your wood floors(make sure you know what to use for your exact wood before
hand), or you can put essential oils or other pleasant scents in your mop water
in order to leave a nice scent in your wake.
Again, I am not sure exactly how long this will take for you
as our hard surface floors are very different depending on your floor plan and
the material your floor is made of. But I will make sure to share on my Instagram posts for the March habit about how long the different levels are taking me.
Tips n Tricks:
·
Dawn dish soap works really well if you don’t
have a specific floor or all purpose cleaner. The only exception to this might
be a hardwood floor that needs annual oiling.
·
Use Vinegar in your mop water, or a quick extra
wipe of hydrogen peroxide after to help kill lurking bacteria.
·
Sprinkle baking soda mixed with a little citrus
juice on your floor 10-15 minutes before mopping. Sweep back up, and the baking
soda will have soaked up any bad scents and will leave pleasant ones in its wake.
·
Move your smaller furniture(kitchen table,
chairs, coffee tables, etc) to one side of the room, sweep and mop, and then
move them back before sweeping and mopping the other half in order to reach the
most spaces.
·
If you have hard wood that has not been finished,
but instead needs an annual oiling, make sure to do some research for the best
way to care for it before you start exposing it to cleaners and water
regularly!
·
Have especially stuck things on your floor? I
like to use my tea kettle to boil water, and then pour this into located spots
on the floor. I will then wash the rest of my floor and when I come back to
that spot, it is so much easier to wipe/mop up!
- This is a really great habit for getting the kids involved! I find learning to sweep properly to be a very useful tool for children, and this is the time to get them involved. Even the littlest ones can hold a dustpan for you and/or dump it into the trash.
- The next stage might be sweeping everything into a pile and handing your child a hand-held broom to sweep it into the dustpan and throw it away.
- Tape/mark off a section of your area, buy a child size broom and dustpan, and they are responsible for that area. They could even have their own washcloth and spray bottle and keep it clean.
- When doing level 1, have your child wash the sticky spots with a rag or sponge and spray-bottle.
- Maybe have one day of the week where your child does the March habit. Praise them for whatever amount of cleanliness they accomplish, and gently train them towards excellence.
Remember, you know your home and how establishing this habit will work best for you! I can't wait to hear all about how you are doing on Instagram or in the comments. Also, remember this challenge is open for anyone to join at any point in the year. So share with a friend or family member you know could benefit!!
The Habit Challenge: For All Those Like Me Who Can't Catch Up
February Habit! -2020 Habit Challenge
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