A pet peeve of mine has always been those little plastic soap dispensers that are everywhere in every bathroom. The reason being is that it’s an affordable luxury to buy a pretty soap dispenser.

But here is the problem I faced today — mine was out of soap! The homeowner association meeting is at our house tomorrow, and the powder room dispenser was out of soap. Clutch the pearls!

What to do? I could fill it with Dawn dish detergent (and remove every oil left of my guests’ hands), but then it hit me: I didn’t need soap — I need cheap shampoo!

Cut to me gurgling 99 cent shampoo into the dispenser (and it smells good, too!)

All is well in the world.

(Seriously, I hope you will consider buying a pretty soap dispenser for your bath. Mine was $8. If you think about it, that’s 8 bottles of Softsoap, but the bath looks so much prettier with an attractive dispenser, and it only took 1/2 of a 99 cent bottle of shampoo to fill it. This is truly an affordable luxury.)

WARNING: Do not read this post while eating.

You may not need this tip today, but trust me, at one point you will — and will thank Prohomemaker. Yes, I am talking clogged toilets today.

I am going to teach you the secret, mess-free way to unclog the commode. No plunger, no bent hanger, no paint stick (ick, a method I just read). Believe it or not, the only material you will need is a pot or bucket of water!

My Mom taught me this trick from years of owning apartment buildings — and it works!

A caveat: This method concerns clearing a toilet clogged in the traditional manner. Please, please don’t make me define that. Just know this will not work if your child decided to send Barbie to a watery grave.

With that, here is how to perform the miracle:

1. Walk away – This means if the clog just occurred, leave the toilet alone for 10 minutes to allow the water to subside. We don’t want a flood.
2. Prepare the materials – Put a Dutch oven on the stove filled with water and heat on high until boiling. Or, if the bathroom is far from the kitchen, grab a bucket and turn the tub water on scalding hot.
3. Tackle the task – Lift the lid and seat up, and pour the hot or boiling water in the commode in a forceful stream. That means don’t dribble it in — we want to create suction — but don’t (ahem) dump the water in one fell swoop. Think about creating a healthy, flushing amount of water.
4. Repeat – Normally, one-two buckets of pots of hot, hot water will do. The worst usually takes three. Important: Let the water subside for 10 minutes in between toilet assaults. We don’t want a flood — God knows.

And that’s it! You will soon hear that welcome flushing sound. I don’t know exactly how this works, but I believe the hot or boiling water breaks down (ummm) “material” in the toilet quickly, and the forceful introduction of the water creates a suction, removing the matter.

The best part is you are left with nothing to deal with after such a disgusting task — no dripping plunger, no hanger with goodness knows what on it — just a free-flowing throne!

Hallelujah!

Now that the toilet is done, you may wish to address more bathroom issues with these posts.

I can’t wait till you can use this tip! … Well, you know what I mean.

Storage is always a challenge in a bathroom, especially when you’re faced with a pedestal sink (and no vanity), as I was with our powder room. Where to store extra toilet paper, magazines, and all the other items you would prefer guests not see?

I happened on this idea at a discount department store. I purchased two decorative hat boxes to store those extra items (and add a touch of glamour to the room). Total cost - $12. I used the same tactic in the master bath “toilet room.” Works great! Hope it may work for you, and here is the strategy in action. Welcome to our powder room! For more storage hints, check out this post.

Today is our final post in One Week to Cleaner Bathroom. And guess what? I have left the most difficult task till last. There’s no way to sugar-coat this — clearing the vanity is the last (and most brutal) step in de-cluttering your bath.

I think it’s best to break this down into manageable steps — which means a drawer one day, the vanity another. But it will be done, and you’ll net a bathroom that will be easier to maintain. That’s the goal, isn’t it? Don’t kill yourself in doing it all in one day. Just budget 15-30 minutes, and you will easily be able to pound through this arduous task in a matter of 3 days max. Tonight, I did both sides of the master bath vanity (see, I follow what I say) and one drawer in 30 minutes, but ours were pretty organized — but I still threw out a lot.

So let’s prepare. Grab the following:

Pick which part of the vanity or drawer you are going to clean today (remember, it should take no more than 30 minutes). Empty the drawer or vanity completely, and throw away items as you see ‘em. Nothing to trash? I doubt it.

Use this as your guideline: Anything not used in the past year is suspect and (most likely) should be trashed.

Just tonight, I found mousse that I have stored 4 years, pillow cases from 1985, old magazines, and two white towels that are are tattered from 1985 (that I still used this past week!). Those thin towels bring up an important side-note: Just because they are still (somewhat) useful doesn’t mean you have to settle for them. I hated those towels, and I deserve ones that are not unraveling. For $12, I can have new ones, so those are now in the trash. I deserve better, and so do you! Toss these items in the trash bag (or in the sink if you want to go quickly and trash later).

I use one master bath vanity as a linen closet and another (in addition to toiletrie items) to store my stockpile of shampoo, body wash, etc. See what being organized can buy you, in terms of space?

A couple tips:

After you clear all items from the vanity, wipe the bottom down with your all-purpose cleaner and the paper towels. And then place all the items that you wish to keep in the vanity or drawer in an orderly manner.

You will enjoy the change every time you reach in the drawer or under the vanity — I promise.

I’ll post the final “One Week to a Cleaner Bathroom” tip (clutter-clearing tomorrow — the vanity) but today I wanted to pass along a professional house-cleaning secret — The bathroom is the only place you don’t clean like a clock.

What does that mean? In any other room of the house, you should clean in a clockwise manner. Moving from one area to another in a clockwise manner to save time. But the bath is the exception.

Professional house cleaners, like I was, do the “wet” work first. That means before anything else, you scrub the sink, the toilet, and the bath/shower. After that is all done, then you do the spit and polish tasks — the mirror, vanity top, the finish-up work on the toilet, etc.

I profess the best way is to do a little each day, so I’ll do toilets one day, sinks another, etc. But if you want to pound through one bath in one day, this is the way to do it.

In future posts, I’ll tell you how to tackle each fixture, but this is the strategy for now — wet work first, then the spit and polish.

We’ve all heard that guests like to look in the medicine cabinet. But even if not, today we have a 10-15-minute clutter control/cleaning tips in this staple of the bath as part of our
“One week to a cleaner bathroom” theme.

Let it be know, I preach what I say, and just did ours in the master bath (pictured at left). I hadn’t done it in a year, so it was time — and I’ve got houseguests coming!

This is an easy-peasy task that you can do in 10-15 minutes tops. Grab a grocery bag for trash, roll of paper towels, glass cleaner, and a general purpose cleaner. You’re ready to roll!

Here’s the order to a clean medicine cabinet:

That’s it!

If you’re storing daily toiletrie items here, it’s time to revisit Step 2. Put ‘em in a travel bag. But if that won’t work, at least you have a clean and orderly medicine cabinet.

One more post — the vanity — and we have finished one week to a cleaner bathroom! How are you doing?

Today, we’re going to be in the bathtub together. (Hopefully this will be more pleasant than when I used to take a bath with my little brother and he did his “magic bubbles” trick.)

This is, honestly, a quick 10-15 minute clutter-control in the bathtub/shower.

Clutter? In the bathtub? You bet.

When I stage homes to sell, one of the common instructions is: “Minimize items in the tub/shower.” It’s common to see bottle after bottle of shampoos, conditioners, etc., that are nearly 80 percent empty or seldom used.

Here is your first task:

I don’t mean to be wasteful, but learn the habit that if a product goes in the shower, another same product goes out (and should be empty or nearly empty). Coupon shopping makes this task even easier to swallow — I don’t spend more than $1 for name brand shampoos, for instance. But for now, be brutal, and throw our the nearly empty items.

The next story I have illustrates another point. When I cleaned houses for a living, I had a client who had saved every, teeny, small hotel bottle of shampoo, conditioner, etc., and had lined her soaking tub with the items. I hated cleaning this tub, because I had to move every, teeny, small hotel bottle of shampoo, conditioner, etc., before I could even clean the soaking tub.

So here is your next task in the tub/shower:

Be brutal, again, put all these items in a grocery bag, and put in the closet for now. We’ll deal with ‘em later. This clutter makes your life more difficult anytime you clean the bathtub/shower.

So now you should have been left with the basics — the items you need every day, or at least once a week. Cleaning the tub/shower is starting to look more manageable, isn’t it?

But wait, there’s one more tip:

One costs about $10 at a discount store, and it makes cleaning the bath/shower so much easier. Oh sure, you have space around the tub, but anything here makes it take longer to clean the tub/shower, so make ‘em airborne.

So, with these moves, you will be able to clean the tub or shower in less than 5 minutes. I promise. Just stock a cleaning drawer or basket, and you are on your way to a simple bath to clean.

By the way, all the above photos are from our bathroom — the one we use every day. So I practice what I preach. Honestly, follow these hints and it will make your life so much easier.

I’m going to be in the bathroom all week. Not because I ate some bad Mexican food, but I plan on offering you suggestions for the next few days to help get your bathroom clean and neat.

Yes, your bath does need to be organized. You’ll be able to find things easier, know what you have, and enjoy your time there. This will also allow you to clean the bath in a shorter time! Woo-hoo!

We’re going to break it down into 15- to 30-minute tasks. But know that by this time next week, you will have the bathroom you’ve always dreamed of — or at least one you can clean in no time flat and enjoy its appearance every time you go to … ummm … “use the facilities.”

This post, we are going to address just the top — the vanity or countertop. Does yours look like the picture above, or the one at right?

It seems in most houses I stage to sell that at least one bathroom has this appearance. It also makes it more difficult to clean, even if you’re not selling your home.

Here is the first strategy for the vanity:

I just tried to count the items on this counter, and I lost track at 17. I counted in our house, and there are 5 items to move in both the master and hall baths. I can whip both those suckers clean in less than 5 minutes. Let me show you how.

Take all the items off your vanity and separate them into four groups:

Now, we are making this a week project, so we’re going to do some temporary tasks, waiting for other ones to be completed later in the week for the final result — keep that in mind (and I will flag). But rest assured, in 15 minutes you will have a clean vanity!

First task:

These should not be on the vanity, and will be sorted through and put away later. Just stash the bag in a closet for now. We’ll deal with it later in the week. You said you don’t need ‘em every day, anyway.

Now let’s address the second task — decorative items.

All other items, place in a plastic grocery bag, and stash in the closet for now. You know, we’ll deal with these another day.

Third task, the bath items used regularly — hand towels, soap dispensers, etc.

Yes, you can keep these items out, but, please make them pretty. You deserve it! Look at those hand towels. You can pick up new ones cheap on clearance at discount stores, such as TJ Maxx or Marshalls. Just look at the clearance aisle. And, God forgive, do you have a plastic liquid soap dispenser? You deserve a pretty one. Look on those clearance aisles and dispense into that. If you need these items, this is your project for the week — new hand towels and a dignified soap dispenser. Your budget is $25.

That leaves us with the group of toiletrie items and makeup you use every day.

The first task I recommend clients who are selling their homes is to corral hair brushes, curling irons and the like into a basket — it can be a flat wicker one or even a bread basket. Look around the house — I bet you have one. This can go back on the vanity.

Now, here is my STRONGEST recommendation. You have all these little items you use every day — deoderant, toothpaste, etc.

Do you unpack all those items on a counter in a hotel room? No! You put all in a small travel bag! Do the same at home.

It doesn’t have to be expensive, just a vinyl bag to hold all those items you use every day to get dressed. For makeup, those tri-fold bags are superb. I stash mine in the cabinet, but if there is no room, no worries, just put it on the vanity (we’ll clear the cabinet another day). Just pull out your tried and true travel bag now, and throw all those items in there. But if you don’t have one now, put it in a zipper bag or just a bowl, until you buy a cheap travel bag (about $12 or less at a discount store).

Now that you have the items sorted, just wipe down the counter and place the items/tasks back for later. You’ll now see, easily, how much simpler you will have a cleaner bathroom in just one week. Stay tuned for more, and to print this post, just click the title.

I’m with you — home maintenance is not my favorite subject, but this is an easy task and will result in a much better shower every day for you. I say that’s worth the effort!

Earlier this week, I noticed that it was becoming more difficult to pull up the shower diverter in our shower. What the heck is that? It’s that little thingey on top of the tub spout (in most homes) that switches the water from from tub to shower.

Because it’s exposed to water, it also builds up calcium, hard water and lime deposits, and that’s what makes it difficult to pull up when you want to take a shower (and one of the reasons it leaks when you are taking one).

Easy-peasy fix.

Just pull up the diverter, and pour a small amount of Lime Away or CLR down the opening, and let it sit for as long as you can (best to do this after you take your last shower for maximum cleaning). If you don’t have these products, try any spray bathroom cleaner you may have (but it will take longer). It took two times before I really noticed the difference.

Just watch how easier it will be next time you pull up the diverter.

Let me know how it works for you.

Cleaning is like sex — you really need to be in the mood. And, as you know, the mood passes quickly.

That’s why you need to be able to strike when the iron is hot. Along those lines, the best thing I ever did was purchase cleaning products for each bathroom and the kitchen. Sure, it costs about $5 to $10 (with coupons),but I now have my arsenal ready whenever I think something needs to be cleaned. (And, it’s not as if you are spending extra money, you would use the supplies anyway — you’re just stocking a room for a cleaner home. This works for both houses and apartments.)

Just the other day, I noticed the bathtub needed to be scrubbed. Instead of tracking down the cleanser, a sponge, etc. I reached into my drawer of cleaning supplies in the bath, and had the task taken care of within 2 minutes while I took a shower. Voila! Clean bathtub.

A day or two later, I realized the glass shower doors had a hard water build-up, so I reached in the drawer for some bathroom cleaner, the same sponge (I recycle the kitchen ones for this duty) and a bowl to rinse the doors. (A large plastic tumbler works just as well — no more splashing water off your body while you clean. This was a secret when I cleaned homes for a living.) Task completed while I took a shower.

If you don’t have an empty drawer available for your cleaning supplies, just put the products in the vanity under the sink. What you don’t want is to have to run to the kitchen (or whereever) to get the cleaning products. Like sex, you want it now!

If your vanity is packed — we will address that later — make room. This is important, and will make your life easier.

That brings to mind my philosophy — there is no “cleaning day,” just perpetual cleaning. Two minutes to scrub the tub one day, three minutes to clean the shower doors another day. Wipe down the vanity the next day — no horrible “cleaning day,” just a little work each day. Life is so much easier! And you have more time for fun!

My recommendations to stock in your bath to keep it perpetually clean are:

Keep your mind open — this system works!