Translating…
Your Bathroom
The bathroom is the room that is open to everyone in the family as well as all the guests. If you have more than one bathroom it really means that you have more than one to keep clean.
There are a lot of things that can be done to make the task of keeping your bathroom clean not so terrible.
Share The Load
One thing that works in my home is the result of trying a variety of ways to ensure that the bathroom is always tidy, clean and ready for use.
One thing that never did work was complaining after the fact or trying to assign blame for a mess. It is obvious that cleanliness and tidiness are most desirable and truly an ongoing issue.
One of the first things that we did was to have a war council with the whole family in attendance. I appointed myself chairman and got down to the gritty nitty quite quickly.
Several things emerged. One was that it was favored to have most of the floor covered with various mats or something so that the tiles were protected from gathering stuff that was being tracked into the bathroom. Another suggestion was that people remove their shoes before entering every time which would reduce the outside gunk that was deposited on the floor and / or mats. One disagreement about the mats was that they would have to be cleaned regularly and that it was more difficult than cleaning tiles. It was generally felt that mats for exiting the shower or bathtub were desirable, but for general traffic not, so there should be a place for them to be other than on the floor except when they were needed.
Of course there was the usual complaint that certain members of the family did not really see to it that the bathtub or shower was properly cleaned after use. It was felt that it should be the individual responsibility of the user.
There was lengthy discussion about storage space and the necessity of having sufficient to take care of all the necessary bits for each member of the family. This required space for such things as toothbrushes, razors, hair dryers, various versions of shampoo, toothpaste, mouthwash and on and on. Of course from the females in the family the list of essential cosmetics was truly a revelation. It is amazing how much room is needed in a bathroom to accommodate the ‘needs’ of every member of the family in any and all situations.
Solutions
It was finally decided that we would rearrange and / or redo the bathroom so that everyone would have room for their bits and easy access when required. It was also decided exactly what the process of properly cleaning the bathtub, the shower, the basin etc was. The necessary equipment for carrying out these chores was to be stored under the basin and easily accessible.
Finally we had to come up with a way to make all of this work. So, as chairman, I demonstrated my superior ability to cope with such situations. I suggested, and it was to one degree or another accepted, that we establish a roster system for keeping the bathroom truly clean, attractive and useful which would require things other than each user’s immediate tidying up. After some discussion it was decided to do it on a weekly basis. This would include a list of chores determined by the genius in such things, my wife. In addition to performing the duties that were required, the one rostered would also see to it that the necessary supplies were purchased and stored properly.
Conclusion
This solution has worked quite well. As chairman I did have to agree that it was possible to exchange weeks when the agreement was mutual. I was astonished as to how many favors changed hands, sometimes even including money, when someone wanted to change.
So, if this doesn’t work for you, great. It means you have solved your situation better than I had. However, if you feel your current plan could be better this is at least a suggestion.