How Clean is Your Toilet?

I apologise for the lack of pictures but I am still having computer problems. Anyway, I think this is one post that will benefit from a lack of images!

Generally I consider myself to be a clean and hygienic person but (I will let you into a secret here) I have never really known how to properly clean a toilet! There are many sites on the Internet advising on how to clean the toilet but they don't cover everything I need to know. For example there is a video clip of a woman using colour coded gloves (used specifically for cleaning the toilet) and then she turns the taps on whilst wearing them. Yuk! After she has cleaned the toilet she changes into another pair of gloves to clean the rest of the bathroom touching the same taps that she has touched with the 'toilet' gloves! Could somebody explain to me what you are supposed to do with the 'toilet' gloves after the cleaning session? Where do you store them?

Some sites advise you to wear eye protection whilst carrying out the toilet cleaning procedure. The reader is advised to clean all surrounding objects, bins etc as 'men don't always aim correctly' and items get sprayed! After reading all this I am feeling even more inadequate with my toilet cleaning as I never imagined that things surrounding the toilet were likely to be covered in pee!

I threw out my toilet brush many months ago as I didn't like the thought of the brush sitting in a soup of germs. How do you keep the brush clean? How often are you supposed to clean it?

Armed with eye protection, rubber gloves, paper towels, a sponge (although some people advise against this) cleaning powder, disinfectant, lime scale remover and bleach spray I am now equipped to clean the toilet. Surely I don't need all this paraphernalia to clean the toilet. Do I need to wear special clothes too? Maybe I should set aside some toilet cleaning overalls and put plastic bags over my shoes. Wearing a dust mask might be a good plan of action too, to protect me from breathing in undesirable chemicals!

This post is written tongue in cheek but I would seriously like to know how you clean your toilet, what you use and how you store the 'toilet' rubber gloves! There must be a simpler way to keep the lavvy clean!

Old Computer R.I.P

Normal posts to resume as soon as possible.

Middle Aged Mouse

I caught sight of myself in a shop mirror whilst out shopping today. Three words describe my reflection. Middle. Aged. Mouse. What happened? Where did I go? When did I go down that slippery slope to obscurity? I looked almost nondescript. I could easily blend into the crowd. I could even be the background.

I avoid mirrors as much as I can and only briefly look into one to apply a scant make-up each morning. Catching my reflection off-guard was a wake up call for me. I was so shocked by the dowdy image I portrayed that I vow to smarten myself up forthwith!

So here's to an updated, chic, contemporary and smarter version of myself. I certainly don't want to meet that middle aged mouse in the mirror again.

Yankee Candle Collection

I have a rapidly growing collection of Yankee Candles. The large jar candles are my favourites as they infuse the whole house with their wonderful aromas. Each morning I light my Good Morning candle in the kitchen. This one smells of fruity breakfast muffins. In the evening I light my blackberry scented candle in the living room.

With wonderful names such as Indonesian Ginger, Greek Fig and Blackcurrant, Rose of Morocco and Brazilian Passion Fruit, how can I resist? I change my candles to suit my mood. In the summer I tend to like the fresh and fruity scented candles and later in the year I prefer the vanilla and warm spiced ones.

My collection (obsession) doesn't just stop at large jar candles. I have small and medium jar candles, samplers, tea lights, tarts and tart burners and 3 wick candles. I like to think that I have a scent and a candle for every occasion!

There is candle wax in every colour imaginable in the Yankee Candle range. The green ones above are 'Granny Smith' as in the apple and not in as your Granny! The creamy yellow one is 'Sweet Honeysuckle' and the white one is 'Clean Cotton' which is supposedly one of the most popular scents in the range.

When the electricity bills go up I am all set for my evenings by candlelight!

September by John Updike

"The breezes taste

Of apple peel.

The air is full

Of smells to feel-

Ripe fruit, old footballs,

Burning brush,

New books, erasers,

Chalk, and such.

The bee, his hive,

Well-honeyed hum,

And Mother cuts

Chrysanthemums.

Like plates washed clean

With suds, the days

Are polished with

A morning haze."