I Hate Mopping

Of all the cleaning tasks that have to be done around the house, my absolute least favorite is mopping! It takes me so long to get motivated to do it that I only get around to it about once a month or so. Ugh.

However, a couple of months ago I read about a new mopping technique that is environmentally friendly and, actually, much more appealing to me than the old way of mopping. It takes just a bit of extra time but you end up with a much cleaner floor. I've included a description and pictures below in case you too hate mopping as much as I do. 

The picture above is of our "cleaning closet." We don't actually have a closet that is big enough to store our tall cleaning supplies so we mounted a storage rack on the wall of the office. Since the door is open most of the time we hardly see them at all but they are very handy when I need to get the cleaning done: 

I learned about this mopping technique from "Green Housekeeping" by Ellen Sandbeck. (I started reading it last summer, got half way through, and stopped. I'll have to pick it up again and finish it!)

You'll need:

a long handled squeegee (I got ours at a home and garden store)

a bunch of cloth rags (I use about 8 for the kitchen floor and 2 for the bathroom you may need more or less depending on the size of your floor and how dirty it is)

2 rubber-bands 

2 buckets 

your favorite floor cleaning solution 

Here's my squeegee: 

I keep the rubber-bands on the squeegee so I can use the same ones each time I mop. 

Start by filling one bucket with hot water and the correct amount of your favorite floor cleaning solution. 

I love bubbles! Looking at them makes me want to take a bubble bath right now!

Then take your cloth rags and toss them into the soapy water. 

Take the bucket of soapy water and rags, your squeegee and 2 rubber-bands, and your second, empty, bucket over to the area you want to mop. 

Pull out a rag (be careful that the water isn't too hot!), wring it out (but not too much - you want it to be a bit damp), wrap it around your squeegee (I fold my rags in half and then they just fit around once), and attach the rag with a rubber-band at each end. 

It took me a couple of tries to find a wrapping and rubber-banding technique that worked well and didn't allow the rag to fall off, but now it works perfectly!

Now, start mopping the floor!

When you feel like your rag has gotten a bit dirty, simply remove the rubber-bands, take off the rag and toss it in your empty bucket. (Since I fold my rags in half, sometimes I flip them inside out and use the clean inner side to mop again with the same rag.) 

The best part about this technique is that you never put a dirty rag or mop back into your bucket of soapy water so you know that you are actually cleaning the floor and not just rubbing the dirt from one part of the floor onto a different part. It does take a few extra seconds to switch the rags, but I think it's worth it (and kind of fun). 

When you finish mopping, your cleaning water will be pretty much as clean as when you started! 

At the end of mopping day I throw all my dirty rags into the wash so they'll be ready for next time! 

~ElizabethRose