Weekly Apartment Cleaning Routine

We're talking about a super exciting topic today you guys... cleaning!

As much as I whine and complain about cleaning once a week I absolutely love having a clean house. Since we are in an apartment currently the cleaning isn't too overwhelming but it does take me a good chunk of time every weekend.  Today I'm going to talk about the process I use to clean each week and the products I use to get my home squeaky clean. 

I always start in the back of our apartment and work my way towards the front. I've found that staying in one room and completing it before moving to the next keeps me focused. I try to move quickly and not get distracted by things that need to be organized. If I allow myself to go crazy I will keep finding new things to organized and tidy, this is just about cleaning. 

So lets get started in our bedroom!

The first thing I do every weekend is bring my laundry to the laundromat and recycling to the recycling center.  I like to get all my laundry done first so I can fold and put away all clothes and know that it is completely out of the way before I start scrubbing.

Once all the laundry is put away I make sure our bed is made with fresh sheets. Then I dust all of the furniture and vacuum the floors. Our bedroom is pretty easy to maintain and requires minimal cleaning each week because we keep it pretty simple. Remember that if you have less stuff out on your surfaces that will mean you will have less stuff to dust. 

Our second bedroom is pretty simple to clean as well, just a quick dusting of the nightstand and dresser and a vacuum of the floor and this room is clean. We mostly store paper goods in here and keep our laundry baskets in here. I won't show you the closet though because right now I think of it as my Monica closet. (Any Friends lovers out there?)

Our bathroom is pretty small so I can clean it pretty quickly. The first thing I do is spray down the entire toilet in my bathroom spray and then use toilet bowl cleaner to clean up the inside of the bowl. 

I then move onto the sink and wipe everything down with a bathroom spray and sponge. Once my sink area is complete I go back back to the toilet and finish wiping everything down. I always use paper towels for the toilet since I feel it's a little cleaner. 

I move on to the shower next and use a shower spray and sponge to wipe everything down. Once everything has been wiped down I pull everything the rug, trash can and scale out so I can vacuum and mop the floor. Once everything is dry I put everything back in and it stays clean for approximately five minutes... ;)

I do try to tidy a bit in this area in addition to cleaning. My desk area tends to collect piles pretty easily and my makeup area turns into quite a mess quickly. I try to put things away while I'm cleaning so not too much is out on the surface. I don't like to look at clutter and prefer my surfaces to be clear. After I put things away where they belong I use my multi-purpose spray and a rag to wipe down everything on both sides. Then I vacuum and mop the area so it looks squeaky clean.

Cleaning the kitchen always starts off with taking out the trash and washing the dishes. Once that's complete I clean the sink and wipe down all the counters and the stove top. At least once a week I make sure I wipe down all the burners as well. I wipe out the microwave and make sure I clean the top of it as well as underneath. I move the rug and trash can out so I can vacuum and mop the area. I make sure to include the entry way as well when I'm doing this.

My last room is my favorite room, our living room. I clear off all surfaces and then wipe everything down. Once I'm done dusting I vacuum everything, including the couch and fluff the pillows so everything is picture perfect.

Here are the tools I like to use when I clean...

Dyson Ball Multifloor Canister Vacuum

This may have been one of the best purchases I've ever made. I absolutely love my Dyson! It's lightweight, easy to move around and comes with a ton of attachments. It's also extremely easy to clean which is great because who doesn't want their cleaning tools to be clean?

Libman Mop

This is a mop I picked up in Target and it's worked wonders! I use this every week and it keeps our floors looking shiny!

Method All Purpose Spray

I love my Method All Purpose spray and lately I've been loving this Ocean Waves scent which is a limited edition. I also like the cucumber but I think I need to stock up on this Ocean Waves scent while it's out!

Dawn Dish Soap

I'm not picky with my dish soap but I do love Dawn, particularly their New Zealand scent!

Tide Pods

These make doing laundry super easy!

Bounce Dryer Sheets

These are always musts when I do our laundry.

Purex Crystals

These are a new favorite of mine and our laundry smells amazing when I use them!

Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner

I have yet to find any toilet bowl cleaner that works as well as this does. 

Method Bathroom Cleaner

This cleaner is natural and still works great!

Method Every Day Shower Spray

I use this after every shower without fail!

I'm sure I've left something out, but you guys get the idea! 

What does your cleaning routine look like? What are some of your favorite products?

Spring Cleaning Month- Starting off in the car!

April for me has become a month full of spring cleaning. I've been bouncing around from here to there tidying up and enjoying the amazing weather that we've been having lately. It was 74* here yesterday for goodness sake! Although I have been working on a ton of projects lately in different areas I want to share one particular area today- my car!

I am weirdly obsessive about keeping my car clean. After I graduated college in 2010, I bought my first brand new car and ever since then I've been trying to keep it as clean as it was when I drove it out of the lot. My friends think I'm crazy, my family thinks I'm incredibly responsible, and I think that messes drive me insane! I often bring my car through the car wash and always make sure I have no extra junk in my car. I do a few other things too which I will be sharing with you in this post- so here we go!

When I clean out my car the first thing I do is remove ALL items from the car. I usually don't keep too much in my car anyways- but sometimes things do build up a bit during busy weeks!

I forgot to take a before picture, but when I opened up the back door to my car yesterday I had the following inside:

• my winter coat
• winter gloves
• plastic bags to recycle
• work bag
• reusable shopping bag

Well most of these things need new homes anyways. Since it's beautiful weather now, I took my winter coat and gloves inside and threw them into the laundry. I keep my reusable shopping bags in my trunk, so the one hanging around in my backseat was relocated. The plastic bags and my work bag were removed for the cleaning- and then placed back inside.

After removing everything, that is what my backseat looked like.

I love our Dyson vacuum. It was truly love at first sight- and my favorite attachment is this little brush head because it really helps dig into the carpet. I highly recommend Dyson- it is expensive for a reason!

Here is a before and after of my front seat. The parking lot of my work is made of dirt, there for my floor is constantly covered in dirt and needs to get vacuumed regularly. I also tend to take my friend Roxy for rides and she likes to shed all over my seats. Not to mention that I also tend to shed all over my seat as well. Doggy and people hair everywhere!

Cleaner for sure!

Check out all the stuff that I found in my center console that I can get rid of!

Well, not all of it was tossed. The tape was moved to my desk, the Harry Potter 3D glasses were out away with old mementos..but the rest- tossed!

It's so much cleaner in there now! Now i only have my rape alarm (yes, my dad is overprotective), a febreeze spray, a body spray, tire pressure gauge, and clip on air fresheners. Why did I need all that other stuff that was in there again?

There was definitely a ton of stuff in there that I didn't need..

My precious lint rollers- one was empty, definitely time to let that baby go!

And I needed to let go of my pepper spray. I never had to use it *knocks on wood*. My dad bought it for me when I went to college and it has expired- Does pepper spray not work when it is expired? I don't know! Well I decided to toss it anyways.

In my glove compartment I keep only the papers that came with my car and I need on a daily basis. I keep all my manual papers in there, as well as my registration and insurance papers. I also keep a hefty supply of paper napkins that I collect at Dunkin Donuts =) Never know when you're going to have a spill!

Now onto the back seat...

My work bag sits lonely in the back seat- just the way I like it!

Plastic bags that I will be recycling on my next trip to the grocery store get placed inside the compartment behind my seat.

Now onto the trunk...

I don't keep much in my trunk, but I do like to be prepared for a variety of situations.

I keep 2 beach chairs in my trunk because since I live near the ocean I tend to frequent the beach quite often. I also keep a sleeping bag in my trunk- I'm not entirely sure why- but I guess better safe than sorry!

I also keep all of my reusable shopping bags, my snow brush/scraper, and an emergency kit.

I received this kit as a gift when I started driving and have never actually used anything in it but it has quite a few useful things!

• jumper cables
• cones
• emergency poncho
• first aid kit

As you can see, I don't keep a ton of things in my car which definitely helps keep it clean. But what products do I use to keep it clean?

Some of my favorites are:

• Lysol sanitizing wipes- I use these to wipe down my steering wheel (you wouldn't believe how dirty it gets!) I also use it to wipe down my entire console!
• Lint rollers (I love to lint roll my seat- does that make me weird?)

I am still looking for a great carpet cleaner that will help get out heavy dirt! Let me know if you have any suggestions!

And that's it for my car organization/spring cleaning! This space didn't need a ton of work since it was already pretty clean, but it's always nice to clean up an area that is high traffic!

How do you organize your car? What products do you use to clean your car? Any tips?