Psalm 73:26 "My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Are you tired? So tired you can feel it in your bones and every step is heavy? Take heart, my friend. Our good, good Father wants to be our strength when we are weary.

When we are exhausted our homes suffer. Truly many areas of our lives are neglected when we don’t take care of our bodies by giving them enough rest.

I don’t know about you but when I’m tired I only tidy up the rooms of my house that are the most visible to guests. That means the master bathroom is prone to be the messiest room of the house at any given point.

Lets take time today to address the weariness in our lives and, at the same time, address another room in our home that takes the brunt of domestic neglect. The Bathrooms.

Start out, like in all the other rooms, by putting everything you possibly can in the washing machine. Did you know you can even put the plastic shower liner in the washer? It’ll save you loads of time. Ha! Get it?

Once the laundry is running, start going through cabinets and discarding any thing that is outdated or unused. The fuller bottles of products that are in good shape but that your family doesn’t love can usually be donated to homeless shelters or overseas mission groups. Don’t keep products in your bathroom cabinets that aren’t being used. Instead, keep only what you love and use and it will be easier to keep the cabinets organized.

Soap scum and the smell of urine are two very common bathroom problems that need to be dealt with. A combination of vinegar and baking soda is a great natural cleaner that will eliminate both of those issues.

Tips for Cleaning your Bathrooms

1. Color code kids towels. This way you’ll know who is leaving their bath towel in the floor and it will keep kids from mixing up their towels when it’s their turn for a shower.
2. If you’ve got hard water stains in your toilet all you need is a grapefruit and a little courage. Put on a pair of long gloves and cut the grapefruit in half. You can add a little salt to the fruit if you want an extra boost of cleaning power. Holding the grapefruit, stick your hand in the toilet bowl (see why you’re wearing a glove?) and scrub the stains. The acid from the fruit should take the stains right out.
3. After you’ve scrubbed the toilet with a brush close the toilet seat on the brush handle so that the brush part can drip dry into the toilet while you finish cleaning the rest of the room. Fill the bottom of the brush holder with a little bit of white vinegar or all purpose cleaner to keep the brush disinfected and limit the stink.
4. Use black tea to clean mirrors. Seriously. Plain black tea with nothing else in it. You can even use it to spruce up sink and shower fixtures that need an extra shine. For a streak free clean use old newspapers instead of rags or paper towels on the mirrors.
5. Keep pre-moistened wipes in the bathroom cabinets so you can wipe down surfaces throughout the week. While your children are in the bath you can clean sinks, counter tops and the toilet seat with the wet wipes while you supervise the bathing. You can purchase a bottle of wipes or make your own.

Things to Consider De-Cluttering from the Bathroom

1. Outdated beauty products
2. Lotions and soaps you won’t use
3. Burnt out candles
4. Old toothbrushes
5. Empty product bottles
6. Out of date medicines
7. Ripped, torn, stained, or tattered towels, rugs, washcloths, and curtains.
8. Bath toys your kids have outgrown
9. Combs and brushes that are missing teeth
10. Magazines you’ve already browsed through