

February 25, 2009

True Life Stay-At-Home Confessional

Since my last first Confessional, I would like to announce that:

My bathroom was cleaned.  

Granted, it needs to be cleaned again, but I wanted it to be known (and put on record) that it was cleaned.  Deep cleaned.  Scoured.

As I stated in the first Confessional, I am not a messy person, per se. I do not live in squalor.  People do not question my hygiene.  To the naked eye, I might even look like someone who has her cleaning crap together.  And don't get me wrong:  there is nothing more satisfying than a clean home.  I  can most relax and enjoy my abode when it is clean.  I'd say that it is usually "tidy," but has some room for growth in the area of "sterilization."

I think I just freeze up when it comes to cleaning sometimes.  This is not out of a resistance to cleaning.  It is out of ignorance of how to clean.  Moreover, ignorance of how to properly use cleaning products, which brings me to my confession this week:

I have no idea how to use bleach. 

I used to believe that as one becomes a mother, she is bestowed The Secret Wisdoms of motherhood.  Before having kids, we are ignorant to some things. Things we didn't even know we were ignorant of.  And I had this beautiful and comforting vision that the moment your first child enters into the world - BAM!  - you are suddenly and instantaneously flooded with the knowledges of mutli-tasking, needlepoint, crockpot cooking, magical wound healing, child-rearing, and, yes, how to properly choose and implement cleaning products.

Apparently, this is not the case for everyone (read: me).

Bleach has become quite the controversial cleanser.  Some argue it is a harmful chemical that does more damage than good in a home (and in the environment).  Some (here I think of my Mom) adore bleach with such fervor and passion, they believe itcan be used for all sorts of various and sundry things, such as (but not limited to):  cleaning dishes, dying hair, the birthing process and even consumption (if you were thirsty enough.)

I fall somewhere in between:  I can't see myself using bleach on a regular basis, but I see the merit in it's ability to clean and sterilize.  

My house needs bleach.

But I am completely bleach ignorant.  

I own a bottle of bleach.  It's true.  I bought it several months ago, in the hopes of cleaning the laminate floor in my kitchen (I've been told tales that bleach can be used for such a thing).  I read the label, semi-understanding the mission ahead of me.  But I froze.  I feared misusing the bleach.  What if I stain something with bleach, or rather, BLEACH something with bleach?  What if it accidentally comes into contact with my skin? My eyes?  MY DIGESTIVE TRACT? I have no idea the consequences of bleach, but I somehow stand too afraid to find out.

Please help this stay-at-home Mom.  She needs it.

I'm ashamed, but glad I got that off my chest.

If anyone is bleach-knowledgable, would you please leave helpful comments on this post for the uses (the correct uses, might I add) of bleach? I understand I can use it in my laundry (mini-confessional of the day: I do not separate whites and colors. I have never bleached whites in my life. This is a product of my bleach-ignorance, but I am teachable.  I am dying to see if bleaching my whites changes my life). I see commercials informing me I can clean toys and other household items with it.  



  1. Okay, just do a load of whites some day with your normal amount of liquid and about 1/3 cup of bleach, (if it's a full load; you may have a bleach line in your washer). You won't believe how white your whites will be! I don't use it often but am always surprise when I do. I'm not a huge bleach person myself and prefer those clorox wipes for just about everything. I also like liquid pine sol for kitchen floors and toilets. I've heard that getting a spray bottle and filling half with water and half with bleach is a great idea for cleaning counter tops and such.

    Okay, here is something gross about bleach. Many restaurants use diluted beach to clean their fruits and veggies.

    Something interesting about bleach. During World War I bleach was used to clean out soldiers wounds. That was before Penicillin.

    I have my concerns for using clorox and any other bleach or chemical but I still do use it.

  2. I literally laughed out loud when I read this post. I could not relate more! I have a bottle of bleach as well because I figured that's one of the things you buy when you own a house.

    I haven't used it once! I have the same fears of misusing it and ruining something.

    You are not alone :)

  3. There are some side effects involved with bleach there is no doubt about it.

  4. Ok - but if you put it in your laundry - put the detergent & bleach in the water & let it dilute a bit before you add your whites. If you pour it straight on the clothes, you'll have holey or strangely discolored things.

    If you pour about 1/2 a cup in your toilet & just let it sit a while, then swish before flush it's a great bowl cleaner.

    I personally own bleach just so that a couple of men in my life can sterilize beer bottles for home brewing.

  5. Hey Steph! I sometimes add bleach to my whites. By "sometimes" I mean I've done it probably 4 times in my life. But, it helps to get the stains out... whether pit stains, or white socks that don't look white anymore, or coffee/food stains.

    Our bathroom tile floor was DISGUSTING when we moved in. I made a mix of 1/2 water, 1/2 bleach, and sloshed it on my bathroom floor (a section at a time) and let it sit for 5 minutes, and then with a TOOTHBRUSH, scrubbed all the nastyness away... it's little tiles, so the concrete in between had turned black. I managed to turn it back to grey. Score: Sara 1, bathroom crud 0.

    I also put 1/2 bleach 1/2 water in a spray bottle like Brenda said, and spray it on the mold in the shower or stains on the counter. It's like magic in the bathroom, watching the crud disappear and then just wipe it away. I think I need to wash my bathroom more often like you. Over all, in regards to our apartment, I resonate with "tidy" but possibly not as "sanitized" as it could be. : )

    Just mark the spray bottle that has the bleach in it, because we also have one with just water that we use to water plants and spray our kitten when he bites us.



Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...