It's no secret that we all want to live in a clean space. However, between work, school, working out, going out, and spending enough time with friends and family, it's hard to find time and energy to clean. Since not all of us can afford cleaners, we've put together this list of cleaning hacks so you can have your cake and eat it too -- without worrying about the crumbs.
1. Scrub Those Floors
Water, vinegar, soap, and olive oil. All things you can find in your kitchen cupboard, and all things you can mix to clean every floor in your house and balcony. You don't even need to run to the store.
These ingredients will also come in handy for other home-made, home cleaning recipes, so it doesn't hurt to keep them around and readily available. Plus, some of these are great to make salad dressings with.
2. Sparkling Jewelry
If you don't wear certain jewelry often, they become black and tarnished. Easily brighten up your jewelry, and make your pieces look brand new by mixing water with baking soda and swirling them around.
You don't need to take it into the store, or buy any other fancy product. If you find that after the mix, the jewelry still isn't clean, run a microfiber cloth around the pieces and you'll see it shining in no time.
3. Vacuum For The Couch
Couches are a haven for pet hair, fleas, and all other bits and pieces of food and bacteria. Instead of taking off the cushions and shaking them out, or hiring professional couch cleaners, just use your vacuum!
The power of the vacuum will suck all of those nasty things we just mentioned right off the surface, so the next time you take a power nap or Netflix and Chill, you don't have to worry about what you're sitting on.
4. Oven Window Shine
Oven windows get greasy and sticky FAST. The best and easiest way to clean your oven window is with baking soda and vinegar -- our star combo. Not only does it clean well, you won't have toxic chemicals floating around your oven when you use it next.
If you're still suffering from greasy stains, use a super textured sponge. This will peel and pick at the individual spots and remove it with the chemical reaction and physical abrasion.
5. Tub Scrub
This recipe from Instagrammer Julianna Evans gets rid of super tough stains in your sink and bathtub. Follow the recipe, and store it in a mason jar, or recycled sauce jar or candle holder.
- One cup baking soda
- Small splash of white vinegar (not a lot of your tub scrub will quickly become a 3rd grade science experiment 😜)
- 2 tbsp castile soap (dr. bronner’s unscented)
- 10 drops lemon
- 10 drops thieves
- Filtered water
- mix until it’s your desired consistency (kind of like toothpaste)
- Small splash of white vinegar (not a lot of your tub scrub will quickly become a 3rd grade science experiment 😜)
- 2 tbsp castile soap (dr. bronner’s unscented)
- 10 drops lemon
- 10 drops thieves
- Filtered water
- mix until it’s your desired consistency (kind of like toothpaste)
6. Drain Stains
If you find stains from food that's been stuck in your kitchen sink drain for too long too hard to remove, look no further than this easy solution. Pour baking soda on the drain and anywhere you see gross, dark spots.
Then, boil a full pot of hot water and slowly pour it down the drain. The temperature of the water, along with the amount, will react with the baking soda and remove the grime pretty quickly. Scrub away anything that remains.
7. Beautiful Sprays
Sometimes, all you need to motivate yourself to clean is a nicely arranged cleaning supplies supply! Use labeled spray bottles to keep your different scented, varying in use products in order.
The fact that the products are in spray form, and not bottles, makes it super tempting to just pick up and spray a few places here and there. Also, the scent will be more prominent in the room.
8. The TowNew
Nothing screams lazy cleaning like a self-opening garbage can. This cute and oddly beautiful trash can opens up so you can toss away anything at any time. No more excuses!
Keep one in every room so you never have trash just laying around for days. It's also super sanitary, so you don't have to worry about touching anything gross when you go to open it up.
9. Baby Vacuum
Sometimes you don't want to wait for your powerful vacuum to finish charging, or carry it from one room to another. A mini vacuum is great to keep in the living room magazine basket or around the kitchen for quick pickups.
It sucks up all the tiny crumbs, dirt, and other substances from practically any surface. You can even take it on the go and use it to clean your desk space at work!
10. Elbow Grease on Clothing Stains
You may not believe it, but elbow grease can totally double as a heavy duty stain remover! That's right, the product that can remove oil stains on your car can also bring your fabrics back to the outfit rotation.
"When the husband decides to total his shorts eating a loaded burger.... Doh!" writes Instagrammer Workhorsejo. "This is it, the moment of truth. 1. Spray, 2. Wash that's it! The result is amazing, no scrubbing, scalding or double washing. Bravo"
11. Ayala Vac
A clean car means a clear mind while driving. Get rid of the "stale Cheerios in the car seat" smell with a portable, large vacuum made for reaching crevices in cars.
You deserve a clean car! Car vacuums get in all those small cracks in your car that somehow accumulate massive amounts of dirt and food (hello, naughty toddlers -- we're looking at you).
12. Re-Shop Your Own Closet
When we don't clean our closets for awhile, many clothes fall off the hangers and get buried and forgotten about. Cleaning your closet means finding those items you haven't worn in months.
You'll discover some new outfit combinations, or decide it's time to declutter, and motivate yourself by figuring out which clothing items you wish to donate. It feels good and is a win-win situation!
13. Pure Castile Soap For Sneakers
Sadly enough, canvas sneakers get gross very quickly. Converse, Vans, and more have lots of white spots that if don't get cleaned instantly, leave their mark and memory. Pure Castile Soap to the rescue!
This cleaning product makes another appearance, this time to save shoes! Using a cloth or old t-shirt, dab some soap onto the contaminated areas, rub gently, and voila! You're ready to pair those shoes with more white.
14. Make Food, Not Waste
Organize your fridge by row so you A. never have to clean it again and B. reduce the risk of produce going bad before you use it. Use the saved money to buy more food, or hire a cleaner (now that's a good lazy girl hack!)
On an even more positive note, an organized fridge will encourage you to cook more, or eat more at home which means a healthier lifestyle for you. Now this is what we call a triple win.
15. Computer Putty
Not only do our laptop keyboards hold tons of germs from our sweaty palms and fingertips, but they also contain tons of dust and dirt in between the letters from years of use.
The easiest way to clean between the cracks is with computer putty, which sticks enough to grasp onto the dirt but doesn't leave any residue on your computer. Say goodbye to those Dorito crumbs from the time you binge-watched YouTube!
16. Toothbrushes As Your Best Cleaning Mate
Toothbrushes are great for brushing your teeth (hopefully you do that at least twice a day), and they also make great tools for cleaning hard to reach spots. Thick bristled brushes can really overpower dirt stuck in vacuum-proofed cracks and corners.
Whatever you do, make sure you keep that toothbrush labeled or away from the ones you actually put in your mouth...that would be quite a tragedy. We reccomend buying the toothbrushes from the dollar store -- your dirt doesn't deserve Colgate ones.
17. Lint Rollers Are Life Savers
Lint Rollers are an incredibly fast way to pick up dirty from any fabric based surface -- your couch, your rug, the bedspread, fabric chairs, you name it. They're super cheap, and not electronic so it's always ready to use.
No more pesky pet hairs stuck to your favorite fabric items. Lint rollers come in many forms, including the sticky round ones, and gridded flat ones that can be reused for years to come.
18. Shaving Cream For Carpets
Odds are you probably have shaving cream in your shower -- if not, props to you, grow your hair out any way you'd like! But if you do have some handy, it's great to get rid of carpet stains.
From coffee spills to pet vomit and everything in between, just spray a little shaving foam onto the carpet, gently dab with a cloth, and let it dry. You'll find your stain gone before you know it.
19. No More Coffee Rings
Hydrogen perxiode can do a lot more than just take care of your cuts and bruises! It has so many surprising uses for around your home, including getting rid of the toughest stains on marble.
Once marble countertops get stained, it's incredibly hard to clean. But if you dab a bit of hydrogen peroxide on it, and gently scrub, you'll be able to lift almost any mess without stress!
20. Dryer Balls
Doing the laundry is daunting because it can be such a power-suck. You'll hear a loud rumble for hours and still discover your clothes to be wet. Using a dryer ball speeds up the dry time.
Dryer balls retain the heat they receive from the dryer and speed up the process. Your laundry will dry faster, thus reducing drying times in your load of laundry, and saving time and energy!
21. Lampshades Need Love Too
Some lampshades collect gross gray dust, pet hair, and bacteria. You don't want to keep that thing around with it being a giant allergen. A rounded lint brush can also solve this problem.
It will easily peel off all of the gross bits that stick onto the lampshade, and it's roundness makes it easy to reach all parts of the oddly shaped piece of furniture.
22. Wait, Don't Put That On Your Face!
Did you know that a dirty makeup brush holds more bacteria than a toilet seat? How does that make you feel the next time you go to put on foundation or even worse -- eye makeup?
Make up brushes harbour so much dirt from nasty bacteria, dead skin cells and oils and they don’t take long to build up on your make up brushes. Clean your brushes at least once a week with a good brush cleaner.
23. When Life Gives You Lemons...
Use them to clean! Lemons are great for getting rid of heavy grease stains on pots and pans. Next time you do a fajitas night, be sure to make a mixture of baking soda and lemon and scrub that pan.
Sometimes, soap just doesn't do the job. And we're ok with that -- because lemons are pretty cheap and most of the time, they smell better than heavy duty chemical cleaning alternatives.
24. We Didn't Start The Fire
But the lint filters in our dryers can. If you've washed and dried your clothes, and still find yourself not satisfied with the level of cleanliness, your dryer might be the issue.
Be sure to clean out your lint filter at least once a week, that way you avoid putting your delicate clothes through another washing and drying cycle. It will also minimize risk of starting a fire from a built up filter.
25. Get Those Cobwebs!
Not all of us have storage space for a ladder, yet we constantly find cobwebs all around our ceilings. Lazy girl hack? Just lift your Swiffer or broom to the ceiling, and hold the end of the stick for maximum access.
You can easily bring down those cobwebs in seconds, without climbing a ladder and getting up close and personal with the dirt. Say adios to gross, hanging dirt and hello to a cleaner home.
26. Stay Away, Sand!
Find yourself an avid beach-goer? Have a kid (or more) that can't stay out of the sandbox at the playground? Sand is incredibly difficult to clean because it's just so darn small.
If you want to avoid having sand around your house for days after every encounter, simply rush to the shower as soon as you come home, and get undressed in the shower itself. Wring out the clothes on the spot so you don't worry about tracking it all around the house.
27. More Shoe Care, Please!
Toothpaste keeps your teeth white, and your shoes sparkling. To get grime off your shoes, dab a bit of any toothpaste, rub it around, wait 10 minutes, and then clean it off with a micro-fibre cloth.
Toothpaste is a fabulous whitener and a cheap cleaning alternative. Grab the cheapest one from your supermarket and store in your cleaning cupboard for those dirty stubborn marks you can pick up on the whites on your trainers and shoes. .
28. A Blender Game Changer
Whenever we use our blenders, little pieces of whatever we blended get stuck between the blades and can be difficult - or dangerous - to remove with a sponge or fingers.
After you have finished making your morning smoothie using your blender just half fill with warm water and a tiny drop of washing up liquid. Pop it back on the unit and blast for 5 seconds. It's the quickest and safest way to clean your smoothie maker and the blades will stay super clean and any discolourment shall be avoided!
29. Baby Oil for Babies With Crayons
It happens. You turn your back for one second, and before you know it, your kid has made a mural from crayons on your beautiful, once-clean walls. What are you going to do now, paint over it?
No need. Baby oil removes pesky crayon marks pretty quickly. Dab some oil onto a cloth, wipe off the crayon, then wipe off the baby oil with warm water and soap. Crisis averted.
30. Makeup Brushes For Toy Cleaning
Have beloved figurines or breakables that need dusting? A cheap makeup brush will do the trick. You can find one for literally a dollar at any pharmacy, and use it as a duster.
They are gentle, and vary in size so you can reach every nook and cranny without risking destroying your favorite memorabilia or your kids' latest creation. Just be sure to keep it separate from your makeup kit!
31. Smellin' Good.
Candles aren't just great home decor. They're also amazing at giving your home a clean smell, without doing any scrubbing or cleaning at all! It's a super easy hack, and it's quite affordable.
Make your home smell clean, fresh, like cookies, or a mountain easily. They're better than room sprays, which are often filled with chemicals, and the scents that disappear after a few minutes.
32. A Checklist
Sometimes, having everything spelled out for you gives you more motivation to get stuff done. Write down everything you need to clean in each room on a regular basis, and have fun checking each box off.
You can divide the rooms into days, so you don't have to spend an entire day a week solely dedicated to cleaning. Having your work in writing will help you set your mind to finishing it strong!
33. IRobot
Don't like cleaning? Get a robot to do it for you. Yes, you can be just like the Jetsons just by dropping a couple hundred bucks. While an iRobot is expensive, the time it saves you from cleaning adds up.
You can set the automatic vacuum to go off at any time, so you can avoid the noise and be away from your home, but come back to a pet-hair free, dirt-free spotless floor. Not wearing slippers feels great.
34. Make That Steel Sparkle
Dish detegrent and hot water is the go-to solution for cleaning your steel appliances. Just mix the two ingredients together and use a micro-fibre cloth to apply and wipe it all over your fridge, and anywhere else that needs.
Then, find lots of fun magnets and photos to pin back onto your fridge. It's a great place to display your personality, or feature your kids' latest artwork from camp.
35. Swiffer Wet Jet To The Rescue
"This all-in-one mopping system breaks up and dissolves tough messes for a powerful clean. Its cleaning solution loosens dirt and lifts it off the floor, pulling dirt and grime into the WetJet pad and locking it away for good."
People stand by their Swiffers, and with good reason. "I keep it handy for quick spills and messes. It works when I need to do a full mopping as well. As a busy mom, it makes my life easier, and that’s what is important to me," reads a review on their official site.
36. Anti-Bacterial Cleaning Pads
Whenever we run out of paper towels, it takes us ages to go out and buy more, then actually use them to clean. Using anti-bacterial cleaning pads eliminates the need -- and delay -- of paper towels and other wasteful disposables.
These reusable cloth pads from Minky are super cheap (about 2 bucks a pop). The scrubbing side is ideal for quickly removing burnt on stains and marks, whilst the microfibre side simply lifts away grease and grime. Each pad is treated with a long-lasting, anti-bacterial protection preventing the growth of bacteria on the pad.
37. Icky Spots To Clean
We spend lots of time cleaning, but still feel like the house is dirty! Want to know why that is? Because we're not paying enough attention to all the spots we need to reach and sanitize!
This image highlights some places you need to clean that you didn't even think of, like light switches, coffee maker/appliance buttons, the TV remote, door handles, and more. Once you reach these spots, you'll feel loads better.
38. Clean Dishes, Soft Hands
What often deterrs us from washing dishes is the harsh dish soap, and as a result: extremely dry, cracking, painful hands. But there's a way to clean your plates while saving your hands from damage.
Simply buy any dish washing gloves, lather your hands in hand moisturizer, and wash away. Not only does it protect your hands, but the steam will help the absorption, you can feel silky smooth even after minutes of scrubbing.
39. The Pink Stuff
This versatile cleaning product can be used for pretty much anything! Hard water buildup, cooking stains, pot and pan residue, you name it. This pink product is loved by all, and for good reason.
"Whether you’re cleaning tiles, glass, paintwork, outdoor furniture, cook tops or sinks, The Pink Stuff range will rid your surfaces of stains with ease," reads the Australian based product website.
40. Cleaning Cart
"If you have a lot to clean around the house use a little cart like this to wheel all your cleaning products so you don't have to run to the cupboard constantly."
You can buy this cart at Ikea, free up some under sink storage space, and keep your favorite and most frequently used products on the go around your home. Sounds like smooth sailing.