On my first shopping trip after we got back, I went to Lowes and Walmart where I bought 4 brooms and 2 squeegees. Now we have a grand total of 6 brooms - two old corn brooms and one new one and 3 plastic bristle ones. And the more brooms we have, the more kids can help sweep and the quicker they'll be done. I'm not sure why I always had sweeping be a chore for just one child? Get all three of them going and get the job done faster! And the squeegees are for me and Mel, cause she's got a love for cleaning now, too. She always helped me clean the kitchen in Brazil and we'd share with each other how much we enjoyed a clean counter and a clean floor. She's a pro mopper now too. And let me tell you, squeegees are the best way to mop the floor. If you're going for just a quick wipe off or need to clean a spill or going for a deep detail clean, you need a squeegee and a floor towel, it's the only way to go. And I'll be forever grateful for our time in Brazil for helping me to finally get the hang of this new way to clean!
Before Brazil, I always wore slip on shoes around our tile kitchen and entry way. I'd sweep most every day several times, but mopping was a bigger deal that I set a goal to do once a week, but in reality I probably only did it once a month. But now~ oh wow! I've already mopped the floor four times and we haven't even been home for a week! And I'm not scared to walk around barefoot on the tile and wood floors! I mopped twice today! And it's quick and easy. Allow me to share this wonderful secret of Brazilian housekeeping with you. You will need: A sqeegee and a floor towel.
Then wipe the floor with it. Rinse it off and wring it out and do another pass if you want, or if you're done, just throw the towel in the dirty laundry and voilà! A clean floor! Mopping has never been so quick and easy and I'm very very happy that I finally learned how to mop. It just seemed like such a chore before, probably mostly cause I haven't ever liked any of the mops I've had. I hate the roller sponge mops and any and all sponge mops, Those just never felt like they were able to even clean the floor and no way they could clean up spills. I tried the Swiffer route ~ those can't clean up spills either. And I hate having to buy their specific little wipes, Swiffer style mops aren't practical for large families. I could easily go through a whole package of their wipes trying to clean all the floor. I also tried another duster mop with washable mop head things that went over their mop head, but that again was a little slow getting the mop head on and off and it was hard to wring out and was ok for wiping but not good as mopping up spills. But now, I got plenty of towels now for my squeegee. So it's landfill friendly, doesn't require refills, mops up spills great or cleans great, is quick, and mostly, yeah, I guess I just love that I can mop now knowing I'm using a clean towel. I've got a whole stack of towels ready to use, had to mop up spilled milk and cereal today and I didn't freak out. Who knows, maybe I'll even start to let the kids drink something besides water for dinner!
That there is one of the two squeegees I bought, and it is the one I like most, which I got at Walmart - Libman brand. So, after you've swept the floor you desire to mop, go get your squeegee and get a floor towel. Get the towel wet with with water and with your mopping cleaner soap if desired. Then just loosely wrap the towel around the squeegee.
One last thing about the towels - I brought home several floor towels from Brazil, some new and some of the ones we bought and used while we were there. You just need simple towels - I think the best size is slightly larger than a hand towel, but hand towels probably do fine so long as they fit around your squeegee head. I cut up a regular bath towel that I cut into thirds and sewed the edges so they don't fray and those have been working great as towels. So, go give it a try~ Happy cleaning!
