Top 15 Cleaning Hacks to Save You Time and Effort

Stuck cleaning a certain part of the house? Wondering if a stain on the floor or carpet will ever come off?

 

In this article, we will explain how to save you time and effort with these little cleaning life hacks, that will make your house cleaner and your work faster.

Top 15 Cleaning Hacks to Save You Time and Effort

Stuck cleaning a certain part of the house? Wondering if a stain on the floor or carpet will ever come off?

 

In this article, we will explain how to save you time and effort with these little cleaning life hacks, that will make your house cleaner and your work faster.

Cleaning Hack #1: Gather all your cleaning tools in a caddy.

Whether it’s a caddy, bucket or tote, having everything you need to clean in one portable place makes it much easier to get the job done. You won’t waste time looking for tools while you clean, and don’t have to worry about gathering them before your next go-around.

mop

Cleaning Hack #2: Clear the clutter.

Before you even start cleaning, go room to room and pick up the clutter. As you pick up each item – magazines, books, old sneakers – consider whether you should put it away, toss it or donate it.

clutter

Cleaning Hack #3: Use toothpaste

Toothpaste isn’t just for teeth, or even shining shoes. Toothpaste will erase marker stains from wood  – a handy trick to have in your back pocket if you’ve got creative kids.

toothpaste

Cleaning Hack #4: De-stink the garbage disposal

Run a few lemon rinds through the garbage disposal and follow with cold water to dispel any sour odors.

garbage disposal

Cleaning Hack #5: Keep moving when you vacuum.

Don’t worry about getting every nook and cranny when you vacuum. Just keep moving through the house, running the vacuum in every carpeted room in one pass through.

vacuum

Cleaning Hack #6: Maintain your cleaning tools.

An often overlooked part of cleaning the house is maintaining your cleaning tools. Using a dirty mop or a vacuum with a full bag is much less effective, and you’ll end up spending more time trying to clean.

cleaning tools

Cleaning Hack #7: Wipe out wall doodles.

When your child’s artistic efforts end up all over your new paint job, scrub lightly with a damp sponge sprinkled in baking soda.

doodle

Cleaning Hack #8: Clear a slow drain

When you notice your drain is starting to clog, a 1/2 cup of baking soda down it, followed by a 1/2 cup of vinegar. Cover with a wet cloth to contain the science fair-like effects. Wait five minutes and then flush with hot water.

drain

Cleaning Hack #1: Gather all your cleaning tools in a caddy.

Whether it’s a caddy, bucket or tote, having everything you need to clean in one portable place makes it much easier to get the job done. You won’t waste time looking for tools while you clean, and don’t have to worry about gathering them before your next go-around.

mop

Cleaning Hack #2: Clear the clutter.

Before you even start cleaning, go room to room and pick up the clutter. As you pick up each item – magazines, books, old sneakers – consider whether you should put it away, toss it or donate it.

clutter

Cleaning Hack #3: Use toothpaste

Toothpaste isn’t just for teeth, or even shining shoes. Toothpaste will erase marker stains from wood  – a handy trick to have in your back pocket if you’ve got creative kids.

toothpaste

Cleaning Hack #4: De-stink the garbage disposal

Run a few lemon rinds through the garbage disposal and follow with cold water to dispel any sour odors.

garbage disposal

Cleaning Hack #5: Keep moving when you vacuum.

Don’t worry about getting every nook and cranny when you vacuum. Just keep moving through the house, running the vacuum in every carpeted room in one pass through.

vacuum

Cleaning Hack #6: Maintain your cleaning tools.

An often overlooked part of cleaning the house is maintaining your cleaning tools. Using a dirty mop or a vacuum with a full bag is much less effective, and you’ll end up spending more time trying to clean.

cleaning tools

Cleaning Hack #7: Wipe out wall doodles.

When your child’s artistic efforts end up all over your new paint job, scrub lightly with a damp sponge sprinkled in baking soda.

doodle

Cleaning Hack #8: Clear a slow drain

When you notice your drain is starting to clog, a 1/2 cup of baking soda down it, followed by a 1/2 cup of vinegar. Cover with a wet cloth to contain the science fair-like effects. Wait five minutes and then flush with hot water.

drain

Cleaning Hack #1: Gather all your cleaning tools in a caddy.

Whether it’s a caddy, bucket or tote, having everything you need to clean in one portable place makes it much easier to get the job done. You won’t waste time looking for tools while you clean, and don’t have to worry about gathering them before your next go-around.

Cleaning Hack #2: Clear the clutter.

Before you even start cleaning, go room to room and pick up the clutter. As you pick up each item – magazines, books, old sneakers – consider whether you should put it away, toss it or donate it.

Cleaning Hack #3: Use toothpaste

Toothpaste isn’t just for teeth, or even shining shoes. Toothpaste will erase marker stains from wood  – a handy trick to have in your back pocket if you’ve got creative kids.

Cleaning Hack #4: De-stink the garbage disposal

Run a few lemon rinds through the garbage disposal and follow with cold water to dispel any sour odors.

Cleaning Hack #5: Keep moving when you vacuum.

Don’t worry about getting every nook and cranny when you vacuum. Just keep moving through the house, running the vacuum in every carpeted room in one pass through.

Cleaning Hack #6: Maintain your cleaning tools.

An often overlooked part of cleaning the house is maintaining your cleaning tools. Using a dirty mop or a vacuum with a full bag is much less effective, and you’ll end up spending more time trying to clean.

Cleaning Hack #7: Wipe out wall doodles.

When your child’s artistic efforts end up all over your new paint job, scrub lightly with a damp sponge sprinkled in baking soda.

Cleaning Hack #8: Clear a slow drain

When you notice your drain is starting to clog, a 1/2 cup of baking soda down it, followed by a 1/2 cup of vinegar. Cover with a wet cloth to contain the science fair-like effects. Wait five minutes and then flush with hot water.

Cleaning Hack #9: Get Stains out of a cutting board

Run the cut side of a lemon over the board to remove food stains and smells. For extra cleaning power, sprinkle it with salt or baking soda first.

lemons

Cleaning Hack #10: Fill the gaps

If crumbs, papers or even flatware falls into the gap between your countertop and refrigerator, fill the void with nearly invisible plastic tubing.

counter top

Cleaning Hack #11: Clean those narrow bottles easier

Clean those narrow-necked jars and vases with small gravel (aquarium gravel works the best). Fill one-third of the jar with water. Add a handful of gravel, and then stir and shake the jar. The gravel will scour the inside of the jar clean. Dump the gravel into a strainer, give it a quick rinse (so it doesn’t stink!) and save it for next time.

gravel

Cleaning Hack #12: Use a tennis ball

Clean off shoe scuff marks from vinyl flooring with a clean, dry tennis ball. A light rub and heel marks are erased.

tennis ball

Cleaning Hack #13: Clean your broom

Yes, you are dragging the same old dirt and dust bunnies around the house if you don’t take the time to clean the cleaning tool itself. Shake out loose dust and debris by dragging the broom’s bristles along a firm edge. Then use your vacuum cleaner to get at the stuff that’s trapped deeper inside.

broom

Cleaning Hack #14: Carry your cleaning supplies in an apron

To avoid running back and forth, you keep all of your cleaning supplies in a bucket, right? That’s a great idea. But, what if you didn’t have to waste time remembering to haul that bucket around with you? A kitchen apron covered in pockets is just what you need to stash all your supplies on your person, so you can dash from room to room in a linear fashion. There’s no faster way to get from A to Z when it comes to cleaning!

apron

Cleaning Hack #15: Give your houseplants a shower

Leafy houseplants can develop layers of dust, just like any other resting object. Skip the painstaking process of cleaning them by hand. Like you, houseplants can benefit from a refreshing shower, so just pop those plants in the tub and let the cool shower run over them for a few minutes. Boom! You’ve just watered them, too.

houseplants

Check out our recent Blog Posts