While I was cleaning my parents’ bathroom this morning, (Yes, I clean bathrooms. Believe it!) I started thinking of tips or suggestions that might be useful for next time. Here’s what I came up with.

1. Obey your mom right away. Doing the chore is inevitable anyway, especially since your father was present when the order was given to you.
2. There’s no work out like cleaning the bathroom. If you close the door, you not only have a work out, you’re working out in a sauna.
3. Try to be ambidextrous when scrubbing. You don’t want a worked out right arm and a flabby left. Best when right arm used for cleaning the wall, left for floor. Take my word for it.
4. Do not, and I say again DO NOT wear your favorite shirt or shorts while cleaning the bathroom. Believe the Clorox label when it says, “whitens.”
5. DO wear a plain white shirt and short or any other shirt or short you’re willing to sacrifice.
6. Tie back your hair. Have you ever seen Samara/Sadako come out of a bathroom? She didn’t come out of the well until some years after.
7. READ the labels. There’s nothing like following instructions.
8. I don’t mean to advertise, but JML’s product, Spotless, works! It takes a couple of tries though, but it’ll get the job done.
9. If you can get your hands on that product they sell in the Home Shopping Network, Restore something, get it! I’m not sure it works, but their demo is quite convincing. The mind of the couch potato attacks!
10. It is unwise to use your feet for cleaning. Keep in mind the phrase, “slippery when wet.”
11. Although it is very tempting, you can not use your brother’s toothbrush to clean the bathroom. You’d end up scrubbing in vain. You need a hard bristled brush. Besides, keep in mind all the bacteria that your brother’s toothbrush has. Do you really want that in your hands? Which reminds me…
12. … use gloves.
13. Oh! If you’re planning to extend your work out, you may use your brother’s toothbrush. *insert spine chilling laugh with a very bloodthirsty evil grin*
14. Make sure that the brush you took from the laundry room is clean. Remember you used it to clean your mud covered hiking boots.
15. You will feel frustrated if you count the number of tiles so don’t. The wall will end.
16. Flush the toilet before uncovering it. You’ll never know what price-less treasure you might uncover.
17. Dry the walls. Well, not actually bone dry. Just wipe of the water drops. Water stain is a killer.
18. Try doing the chore with a smile, you’ll have less wrinkles.
19. Distract yourself by thinking up of tips or suggestions for the next time you clean the bathroom.
20. Think of ways to punish your brother when he gets the bathroom dirty right after you clean it.

Above all, be proud of yourself. You’re helping out at home. It’s a good thing. Think of it as keeping the integrity of family values.