Auntie B's Wax

The outdoor temperature got up to a balmy forty degrees (and then some) and it’s the end of March.  Do you know what that means?  Spring Cleaning!  There used to be a time when I thought all spring cleaning tasks had to be done within a week or two.  I don’t put as much pressure on myself anymore, especially as I have a day job that takes up a lot of daylight hours.

This weekend I decided to tackle the master bathroom and devoted all of Friday (considered part of the weekend because my time at the day job ends at 10:00 a.m. on Fridays) to the task.  I started with washing the walls.  I’m going to take the liberty to share my mom’s miracle recipe for wall washing solution.  It works wonderfully!

2 gallons water

1/2 cup baking soda

2 cups ammonia

1 cup vinegar

Sorry Mom, your secret is out.  But the friends of the internet will be forever grateful.

After washing the walls I washed the woodwork.  My favorite product for cleaning woodwork is Murphy’s Oil Soap.  It takes away those grimy fingerprints from cabinets, drawers and doors, and gives the wood a nice glow with the oil in the soap.  Plus it smells kind of good too.

I also use Murphy’s on my vinyl floors.  Not all the time, but when I want to get them really clean I use a little bit of the soap.  It worked beautifully for the deep cleaning of the bathroom floor.  Believe it or not I was actually on my hands and knees getting behind the toilet and in all of those edges and corners a sponge mop fails to reach.

The window also got a good washing, and the cafe curtains on the window were vacuumed.  The toilet was sanitized with bleach as were the jets of the whirlpool.

The tile was cleaned, the tub was cleaned, the shower stall was cleaned.  Every little nook and cranny, every piece of ornamentation, every candlestick, every soap dish was cleaned.  By the time I finished the job I felt really good, the bathroom looked bright and fresh, but I worked up quite a sweat and my back was killing me.

That’s when it happened.  I drew a bath of the perfect temperature and soaked in it for a while.  I couldn’t believe how luxurious it felt.  The bath itself wasn’t any different from any other, but soaking my sore muscles in a tubful of hot water in an amazingly clean bathroom felt phenomenal.

As Mary Poppins says, “Once begun is half done.”  Now that I’ve begun my spring cleaning I hope I can keep up to momentum and continue to give my abode the deep cleanliness it deserves, which in turn will give me the satisfaction and relaxation I deserve.  Happy cleaning!