So this is my very first practical tip Thursday! Welcome!

If you want to share practical tips with me, please do! I’m always up for a new idea to make our lives easier!

To start with, here are a couple of items that I think are ESSENTIAL to have.

1. Rubbermaid Reveal Mop. — I love this mop! No icky “rope” mops, no icky sponge mops! I’ve tried both, and they just always look “icky” and make me think of germiness. With this mop, the pads are washable and reusable, PLUS you can use whichever cleaner you want in the bottle. I love that I can have multiple cleaners in multiple bottles (hardwood vs. tile, for example) and just switch them out! And did I mention the mop pads are washable and reusable?

2. Bona Wood Floor Cleaner. — This was recommended to me by the person who installed our new hardwood floors. It does do a beautiful job and makes them shine beautifully. I do not use “their” mop though, I use the Rubbermaid Reveal mop.

3. Swiffer Wet Jet. — Okay, so this isn’t a total “must have.” But sometimes I like the idea of being able to mop something and throw it away. Since I had this before the Rubbermaid Reveal, and had tons of extra stuff left over, I use the Swiffer on my tile floors, like the kitchen and the bathroom. This is great for spills and for weird ickiness in the bathroom, where you don’t wanna ask questions. You just wanna get rid of it and move on. (PS. My “wood floor guy” recommended that I never use the wood floor wet jet cleaner on my wood floors as it would dull them.)

4. Clorox Toilet Wand — To go along with my germaphobic- ways, I absolutely hate toilet bowl scrubbers. They are just NASTY. And in Europe, they leave it in a little holder beside the toilet, even in public bathrooms, and the holder is full of dirty water . . . Yeah. ICK. NASTY NASTY. I just can’t get over it.  So this toilet wand is great for this. Clean your toilet (with Clorox) and then push a little button and poof! the scrubbing piece drops right into the garbage can. No touching required.

So there are four of my best practical cleaning tips! Please feel free to share more with me, or pass them along for me to share later!