How to Keep the Kids Bathroom Countertop Clean – A Simple Hack

For years I struggled with how to keep the kids bathroom clean – and somehow I stumbled upon this simple hack.

It’s so easy, that I am kicking myself for not having done this a long, long, time ago.

Does This Situation Sound Familiar?

In our house, my four children share one bathroom.

I use the term children loosely – because these kids are teenagers and young twentysomethings now.

If it was hard keeping the kids bathroom clean when then were teeny, tiny tots, believe me, it is that much harder now that they are big children in adult sized bodies.

Think beyond gobs of toothpaste – to daily contact cases, razors for shaving those scruffy faces, and beauty products – all the stuff that comes with teenagers.

Whenever I ask any single one of them to clean the kids bathroom – they collectively say that someone else made the mess.

Maybe we acquired an invisible child along the way – a very messy one at that?

After awhile, as a parent, I just get tired of asking, strongly asking, yelling, and begging them to clean up the kids bathroom.

So I end up cleaning it myself.

I know. I know. I should stand my ground. I’ve tried.

When they are little, you have more options. You can go the “time out” route, the reward route, or the let’s do it together route.

But when they are teenagers – and really wonderful ones at that – I’m not up for punishments or allowance penalties.

They’re good kids. They work hard. They help me around the house and with errands. A lot.

They just don’t like to clean an overcrowded bathroom.

The kids bathroom in our house gets a serious workout on a daily basis.

I get it.

I am sure that this never happens in your house. But in case it does – here is the solution. You’ll be kicking yourself, too, when you see how easy it is.

More Practical Ideas to Help Organize Your Bathrooms:

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• What to Do With a Window in the Shower
• The Toilet Paper Holder With a Secret
• Tile Wainscoting for the Bathroom

Ditch the Towel Holder

Do you have a towel holder in your kids bathroom?

Maybe it looks something like this?

Or maybe it’s a cute little towel ring hanging on the wall by the sink?

Back in the day I loved putting out fancy hand towels to match the season.

But you know what? A hand towel is great for drying hands – but not so much for cleaning a bathroom counter.

Nor would you really want to use the towel that you dry your hands on to clean the sink.

So, really what are kids left with? Nothing.

They are not going to use the towel that is hanging there – and they probably won’t be resourceful enough to

• go find a rag
• clean the sink, and
• put the dirty cloth in the laundry.

Am I right?

So what else could they use to clean the countertop and sink in the kids bathroom?

You may have guessed it …

Get a Paper Towel Holder

Genius!

Replace the cloth towel with a paper towel holder.

Yes – the kind you would normally put in your kitchen – like this paper towel holder from Amazon.

But wait! That’s not all.

Next to that lovely paper towel holder, place a spray bottle of water or – if the kids are old enough – a cleaning solution.

Make it something fun like this honeysuckle scented all purpose cleaner. It will make the room smell nice as well.

Again, safety first – if your children are not old enough to safely use household cleansers, use water. It cleans up just as nice.

I have been pleasantly surprised at the difference this simple change made.

My kids actually wipe down the counter after they use the bathroom.

And, if does start to get a little icky – it’s super easy for me to go in and spritz the counter when the tools are sitting there.

This life hack has been a game changer in keeping my house from getting too messy.

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