Working from home has taken some adjustment. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I needed to get organized and create a schedule because I was all over the place. I was doing too much all at once (blogging, cleaning, laundry, consulting, parenting, etc..) and actually not doing anything at all, I mean look at my downstairs view:
What in the world? It looks like an explosion. There was stuff EVERYWHERE! By the way, this is a real picture, I am quite ashamed. I needed to get it together and quickly or we would drown in stuff. My first solution was to get everyone to pick up their stuff, but honestly, I don't think anyone heard me #momproblems. My next solution was to go old-school. By old-school, I mean clean the way my mama taught me. Cuban moms take pride in their spotless homes and we grew up knowing that "los sabados son dias de limpieza" where no matter what you were awaken up early on Saturdays and you had to clean. No ifs and or buts about it. By 8am, you heard las baladas (Spanish romance music) playing and could smell el cloro (Clorox)! Now, I am busy on Saturdays and don't want to spend the day cleaning, so I clean in layers, room by room, during the week.
I gathered my cleaning supplies. In order to clean properly, you need to clean in layers. First, pick up the mess. I put a basket at the bottom of the stairs and threw in everything that needed to be taken upstairs. Then, I assembled my cleaning bucket. This cleaning bucket needs to have everything you need to clean. There is no time to stop cleaning and look for a cleaning product. That wastes time.
Essentials to clean a home, in layers, the Cuban mama way:-cleaning bucket-pair of gloves-roll of paper towel-glass cleaner-wiping rag-toilet brush-60 oz Pine-Sol in Lavender -121 oz bottle of Clorox Liquid Bleach Original Scent (I'm not kidding on the size, my house always had this big size bottle)-75oz Clorox Disinfecting Wipes (these are a new school Cuban mama addition)-bottle of glass cleaner
Next, crank up the baladas (my mom's personal choice was Luis Miguel). If you are Hispanic, you know what I am talking about: Juan Gabriel, Luis Miguel, etc.. It is not cleaning day unless "Querida" is on! On my playlist, I added some salsa music because I cannot clean a bathroom without dancing to some Marc Anthony and Eddie Santiago.
Now, pick a room to start cleaning. Ready for some more embarrassing pictures? My mother would kill me if she saw this but here we go...
My kitchen......
Truly shameful. This is right after breakfast too. My mama taught me that rooms are cleaned quickly, like in less than 10 minutes fast. So, I brought in my cleaning bucket, set my timer to 10 minutes and got started. First, I put away everything that I wasn't using, dinner items, clean dishes, plastic grocery bags. Then, I put all the dirty dishes in the dishwasher followed by wiping down the counters with a Clorox Disinfecting wipe. Then, I swept the floor. All this completed in 9:47. Look at my kitchen now:
It's like day and night. This 10 minute kitchen cleanse now takes place every morning. After breakfast and dropping the kids off at school, I come in here, turn on my music, set my timer and go.
Bathrooms can also be cleaned daily or a couple times a week in 10 minutes. Take your big bottle of Clorox and pour some in the toilet. Let it sit there while you pick up and wipe down counters with Clorox Disinfecting wipes. Then, clean the toilet with your toilet brush, wipe down the rest with a disinfecting wipe and flush the toilet. Sweep the floors. DONE!
What about my floors? Well, my mama mopped them everyday. Yup, EVERYDAY! I don't do it everyday, but I do mop my floors a couple times a week. Growing up in a Cuban household, you used very specific cleaning supplies to mop the floor. First, you didn't have a ring mop, nope, according to Cuban moms "eso no limpia," we used a wooden stick in the shape of a T (el mapo), along with a "frasada" (orange cloth) and Pine-Sol in Lavender scent. This was it. There is no variation to this other than the color of the cloth. Seriously. So guess what I use in my home to mop my floors?
Old habits die hard! After sweeping your floors, you add some Pine-Sol to a bucket of water. Then you dip your frasada and ring out some water. Drape the frasada over el mapo and start mopping. Then, you ring out the dirty, refill a bucket with clean water and repeat the process. After you have done this two times, you throw out the water, rinse your frasada and set it out to dry. Your floors will be super clean and your home will smell amazing!
These cleaning methods work! They have been instilled in children's brains for generations! Thanks to my mother, I know how to clean a home properly and quickly.
(Don't forget to Pin this image so you can make sure to come back and re-read my mama's cleaning tips)
Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, Clorox Liquid Bleach and Pine-Sol Lavender work together to clean, disinfect and aromatize your home. Pick up these items at Walmart for the best price and selection. 
