I’m here today with some of the best cleaning hacks and tips on cleaning that might make the job easier — or at least more bearable for you! And if you’re lazy like me or don’t like to use a lot of commercial cleaners, then these cleaning tips will really help you out the next time you’re looking for the best way to clean a wooden surface, get rid of unpleasant smells, and more…
These cleaning hacks go deeper than the daily fast and simple habits to keep a clean and tidy home and some of my other tips about how to clean your house. Really, you can use them all to enjoy a much cleaner home with much less effort. You can thank me later. 😉
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When You Don’t Want to Clean Anything (But Have To)
Sometimes, it’s just sooo hard to get motivated enough to clean.
There are days when you’re running around like a crazy person all day and the last thing on your mind is cleaning up your house.
Other times, you feel really lazy and don’t want to do anything at all.
Often, it seems like just as soon as you start on one thing, another mess pops up and the cleaning cycle starts all over again.
Unfortunately, we can’t always call in professional cleaners and let them handle everything. That’s why I’m sharing 19 hacks and tips that will make cleaning seem less daunting or overwhelming — and hopefully faster! Then you can use your free time for doing things you actually enjoy!
Let’s get started…
Cleaning Hacks For Clean House Basics
From kitchen cleaning hacks to cleaning floors and bathrooms, these tips will help you keep up with the pesky jobs that we always seem to procrastinate on instead of just doing them.
For good measure, I’ve also included some miscellaneous cleaning hacks that might motivate you to take your cleaning a step further just so you can try them out.
DIY Carpet Deodorizer with Two Ingredients (It Works!)
This DIY carpet deodorizer is the perfect solution for when your carpets start getting *that smell* from pets, children, or just everyday living.
It only takes two ingredients; baking soda and essential oils! Not only will your house smell fantastic, but also be safe from any harmful fumes given off by perfume-soaked carpets.
How to Clean Hardwood Floors
Cleaning hardwood floors isn't always an easy job. You can do light cleaning maintenance with a simple push broom and cordless vacuum, but you have to be very thoughtful about what you use for deep cleaning.
Jenn breaks down the tools and cleaners you need to make the job super-simple for different types of finishes.
How to Remove Dog Urine Odor From The Carpet (Naturally)
If you're looking for a natural way to get rid of dog urine odors from your carpet, try this simple recipe. All it takes is hydrogen peroxide and baking soda mixed with dish soap!
*Note: I’ve found DIY carpet cleaning solutions don’t seem to work very well on male cat urine, but are usually quite effective on dog urine.
How to Clean Your Baseboards Without Bending Over
Bending over to clean baseboards can be a pain (literally!), but there's an easy hack that will get the job done. Grab a towel, a broom, and a headband -- and click through to watch the video of this simple tip in action.
You may also use this idea for removing cobwebs and cleaning ceilings, paneling, and crown molding.
How to Clean Vinyl Plank Flooring and Keep Them Sparkling New
Did you know you can remove scuff marks from luxury vinyl plank floors with some WD-40 and a microfiber cloth? Yep, it works!
Beyond that, check out all the information about cleaning and maintaining your luxury vinyl plank floor. It's all right here -- the tools you need as well as a DIY floor cleaning solution recipe and tips for preventing and covering scratches.
How to Deep Clean Your Oven the Easy Way – Without Harsh Chemicals
This is for people who like to say their oven is messy, but it’s really just mostly some drips in the bottom and maybe a little bit of splatter on the door. If that’s you, painting this DIY baking soda paste natural cleaning mixture on your oven and then following these directions should get you back to having a sparkling clean oven pretty quickly!
(For the rest of the people who maybe haven’t cleaned the oven in a really.long.time -- embrace the high heat self-cleaning feature available on most ovens and then just wipe out the bottom messy stuff afterward.)
Cleaning Tips for Oven Racks
You want EASY when your oven racks are super-messy? This mostly hands-off method of cleaning outside using commercial oven cleaner will give you clean oven racks AND keep any mess out of the house. (Hey, sometimes a job just needs to get DONE without an hour of scrubbing, know what I mean?)
How to Clean Instant Pot Multi-Cookers
So, maybe you're like me and never purchased an Instant Pot simply because they look super-hard to clean? Well, guess what -- most of the pieces that need to be cleaned can go right into the dishwasher! Plus, a toothbrush and damp cloth pretty much take care of the rest.
Luna's article has more tips for the occasional super-deep-cleaning, but rest assured that we don't have to dread the task of cleaning this cooking appliance.
Easy Tips for Cleaning the Dishes Quickly
I make no secret of the fact that I *hate* doing dishes. But the tips in this article really do help… like using very hot water to start, paying attention to the order you wash dishes, washing in the little moments of time while food cooks, and not being afraid to let things soak in soapy water for a while instead of impatiently scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing...
How to Clean Your Microwave Without Scrubbing or Chemicals
Stacie shows us her favorite way to easily clean up that caked-on food that somehow spatters all over the inside of the microwave. You'll love this simple process using just lemon, white vinegar, and water -- and no scrubbing! A clean microwave is just minutes away...
*Note: My favorite way to avoid this issue almost completely is to use splatter covers. Yes, sometimes things spill onto the glass turntable -- but that just requires a run through the dishwasher or a quick wash and rinse in the sink.
How to Remove Hard Water Stains From Toilets
Finally! Your solution to getting rid of that ugly hard water ring in your toilet is here! With a special drywall screen and Bar Keeper’s Friend, you’ve got what you need to fix that problem!
Jessica says this can be done in less than 5 minutes, and you’ll want to follow her steps to make sure you do it right. 5 minutes from a clean toilet that actually LOOKS clean? Count me in!
Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner Tablets
These easy DIY toilet cleaning tablets are made from baking soda, vinegar, and drops of essential oil (or lemon juice if you prefer). They’re simple and fast to make, and Marissa explains how they can keep the toilet cleaner so we don’t have to scrub it as often!
How to Get Your Bathtub Squeaky Clean
Much like the oven, the tub and shower can easily get out of hand and then require extra attention. I appreciate Lorena’s use of a commercial cleaner when necessary (although I don’t think I would stand barefoot in the tub at the same time), and what I really love is her recommendations for the exact scrub brushes and sponge that make the process most effective.
*Note: I’ve long recommended the same daily shower spray as this article. It really does make a difference on extending the time between deep scrubbings! Another hack is to fill a dish scrubber with vinegar and dish soap, hang it in the shower, and use daily or whenever you notice areas of soap scum.
Sock Matching Hack With the Cricut EasyPress Mini
Oh I love this! With Jane and Sonja’s embellishment hack for matching socks, folding laundry just got easier. In fact, easy enough for little ones to do instead of you! 😉 Hmmm… I can see this working for more than just socks. Full tutorial in their post.
How To Clean White Sneakers
Without much effort on your part, this simple hack using straight detergent and an old toothbrush just might save those white sneakers you used to love so much.
*Tip: Sanitize and save old toothbrushes for cleaning. They can clean all kinds of things, and you won’t feel bad about tossing one if it gets a little too grungy.
Cleaning With Epsom Salts
Did you know equal parts Epsom salts and liquid dish detergent can be used to clean your tile and grout? Love this!
The natural abrasive property of Epsom salts means they can be used for a wide range of cleaning tasks. Angie shares even more of her favorite ways that you can use this natural cleaning solution.
Easily Clean Wood With Just 2 Ingredients
Wood can be a pain to clean since it's porous and the dirt gets stuck in those pores. But not anymore! Here's how to easily clean wood with just two ingredients you probably have on hand.
Get your wood looking clean and new again! Mary's 'salad dressing' recipe for mixing vinegar and olive oil together and using it to clean wood is really pretty genius!
How to Clean Window Tracks [The Simple Hack that Works Every Time]
Tanya has a great system for cleaning window tracks that only takes about 5 minutes per window. It uses compressed air to help you really get all those tough areas clean!
Hmmm… I’ll bet this would work on sliding door tracks also.
Want a Cleaner Home? Water is the Answer.
I honestly think I may have loudly exclaimed ‘Yes!’ when I first read this post.
Melissa says, ‘Do you want a cleaner home? Only let your kids drink water.’ This is probably one of THE best cleaning tips ever -- it's pure gold! Read the entire post for her reasons and tips on how to make it happen.
31 Cleaning Sponge Hacks that are Insanely Useful (And That Work)
I'm not usually a fan of using sponges for cleaning, but these cleaning hacks that use sponges have started to change my mind. My favorites are numbers 12 and 25.
More Cleaning Tips and Resources
7 Ways to Get Motivated to Clean and Declutter
Simple Fall Cleaning Checklist To Get Your Home Ready For Cooler Weather
How to Clean a Cluttered House Fast: The One-Hour Cheater Method
Need more help for regular cleaning? My 27-page Essential Cleaning Planner has everything you need!
This cleaning planner was designed to take the stress out of cleaning. Create your personal scaled-down cleaning plan, or use the checklists as-is to stay on top of the exact cleaning and maintenance tasks that will keep your home clean and comfortable.
Favorite Cleaning Products
Everyone has those favorite cleaning tools and products that make the job just a little easier. Here are some of the things I use:
Method Products: I use the all-purpose spray cleaner (which also works fairly decently on glass), the Wood for Good daily cleaner, and the foaming hand soap every day.
I also love the bamboo-scented antibac spray cleaner, but a little scent goes a long way… You don’t want to douse your entire bathroom with it or clean every single door handle and light switch in the entire house at once.
*Tip: You can refill the foaming soap pump with some dish soap and water several times before having to replace it with a fresh container.
Concentrated Murphy’s Oil Soap is a great all-purpose cleaner. I keep a spray bottle with a slightly heavy-duty mix on hand for quick cleanups. It’s also a good floor cleaner, especially with the amazing O-Cedar EasyWring spin microfiber mop.
There’s pretty much zero chance I’m going to vacuum the entire house and mop every day. But I have pets and live in a dust-magnet house, so I love my lightweight Swiffer sweeper and heavy-duty refills (a DIY version works if the floors aren’t too bad).
Even if I don’t get every corner, I can quickly zip around and stay on top of the worst of the dust tumbleweeds and pet hair.
Bar Keeper’s Friend: This stuff is magic for stubborn stains and rust in my stainless steel kitchen sink and does pretty well with burned-on stovetop messes. It’s also perfect for removing rust stains from the white porcelain bathroom sinks when we forget to fill the water softener.
Cleaning with this product is also the ONLY time I ever use a sponge (I think they’re really disgusting) — and it’s usually this one by Scotch-Brite.
To keep down messes in the microwave, we’ve used splatter covers for many years now — and thanks to those nifty devices, the microwave rarely needs a deep cleaning. Grab at least two, and you can have one in use while the other is in the dishwasher at any time.
Old rags and inexpensive microfiber cloths round out my list of most frequently used cleaning items.
Concluding Thoughts…
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression ‘a clean house is a happy home’ and I couldn’t agree more!
And I also know it’s not always easy to make that happen. Hopefully, these cleaning hacks and tips will make your life easier while inspiring you to keep your home nice and tidy.
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