There are plenty of viral cleaning hacks out there, but not all of them are as effective or safe as they seem.
Here are some cleaning hacks you might want to skip:
Sort and Categorize: Start by sorting items into categories like toys, clothes, books, and school supplies. This makes it easier to see what you have and identify duplicates or items that are no longer needed.
Use the “Four-Box Method”: Label four boxes or bins as “Keep,” “Donate/Sell,” “Trash,” and “Storage.” As you go through items, place them in the appropriate box.
Create Zones: Designate specific areas for different activities, such as a reading nook, a play area, and a study zone. This can help kids understand where things belong.
Utilize Vertical Space: Use shelves, hooks, and wall-mounted organizers to maximize vertical space. This helps keep floors clear and makes it easier to find items.
Incorporate Storage Solutions: Invest in storage solutions that are kid-friendly, like bins with easy-to-use lids, cubbies, or toy chests. Ensure they are accessible so kids can put things away themselves.
Review Frequently: Kids grow quickly and their interests change. Regularly reassess their belongings and storage needs.
Declutter the closets. Make the mornings easier but donating or putting into storage any clothes that don’t fit your kids anymore.
Establish a morning and after school routine. Try using our Daily Responsibilities Chart to teach your kids the things that need to be done!
Teach your kids to pack their lunches! Try setting up a lunch station to make it super easy for your kids to do it themselves!
Prep your pantry. Get rid of any old or expired items, and fill it with your school-year necessities!
Declutter and organize your entryway. Make it super easy to grab what you need and run out the door in the mornings!
Grab a garbage bag and throw away all the take out containers, tissues, and whatever else is hiding in your back seat!
This would include floor mats, seat covers, steering wheel covers. Give them a wipe down before putting them back at the end!
If you don’t have a handheld vacuum cleaner, your regular vacuum will work! Vacuum all the seats and floors, and use a smaller attachment to get into the cup holders.
Use a microfibre cloth and general disinfectant to wipe down all surfaces in the car.
Use a polishing cloth to make things sparkle!
Is there anything better than getting into a car that smells delicious!?
1. The air vent. The humidity in the bathroom makes dust stick extra well to the vent, so make sure to use a Swiffer duster every once in a while to keep it clean!
2. Around the toilet. A quick wipe with a wet cloth or paper towel around the base of the toilet and the floor surrounding is enough to keep this spot clean!
3. The tops of any cupboards or frames. Similarly to the vent, dust will stick to these spots because of the humidity! Give it a quick wipe whenever you’re cleaning the bathroom!
4. Underneath the plug in your sink. Toothpaste, hair and whatnot will hide under here so remove the plug to give a quick scrub!
5. Any high-touch areas. The light switch, door knobs, toilet handle, toilet paper holder, and anything else that someone would touch when using the washroom should be disinfected regularly!
1. The lips of the fridge door. When wiping down your fridge, always make sure to open the door up to wipe, especially if your fridge has double doors!
2. Under your toaster. You should lift up everything on your counter when wiping down, but especially your toaster! Empty that crumb tray every once in a while, too!
3. The filter of your dishwasher. If you have a newer dishwasher, it probably has a filter on the inside at the bottom. Pull it out and make sure it’s not full of food and other residue!
4. The underside of your cupboards. Every so often, wipe off the grease and dust that accumulates under there!
5. Your cupboard handles. They get touched ALL the time- they should get wiped down often!
We strongly recommend finding a multipurpose cleaner that you love and can use for almost everything! Our loved products include Mr. Clean Multipurpose Cleaner, Vim, toilet bowl cleaner and Windex! They cover just about everything!
We’ve all been there- we’re cleaning our bedroom, and then suddenly we’re cleaning all of our closets! How did we get here?! Sticking to the necessities, and setting time aside later for the extras, will make your regular cleaning feel more manageable!
Determine the tasks to be completed in each room, that will make you feel that the room is as clean as you want it to be! This will look different for everyone!
Having a couple daily tasks will help the “deep cleaning” feel a bit more manageable! For example, it may be easier to start cleaning the kitchen if you don’t have a sink of dirty dishes!
Distributing cleaning tasks among those in your household will definitely lighten the load for everyone! Decide what’s reasonable for each person to be responsible for.
1. Start off small. Choose 1 chore to delegate to each person, daily, weekly, and monthly. Increase them as your family builds this habit.
2. Make a chore calendar. Make a list of your family’s daily, weekly and monthly chores and keep it where everyone can see. Keep track of the chores that have been completed to make sure everyone’s helping out!
3. Help your kids learn their tasks. It’s easy to forget that kids need help learning something new, so you might have to do it with them at first!
4. Make it fun! Play music while cleaning, make a game of who can complete their chore fastest, or try something else that will help your family tolerate (and maybe even enjoy!) their chores!
5. Don’t give up! Habits take time to become permanent. Stick to your guns when enforcing these new routines!
1. Only dust with a Swiffer. When dusting, we ALWAYS use our 3-step dusting method! Start with using a Swiffer to pick up the dust, then wipe with a wet cloth and disinfectant, and then dry the surface.
2. Wipe around things. We lift up EVERYTHING! Whether we’re cleaning the kitchen counters, a shelf, the bathtub, everything gets picked up and wiped under ALWAYS!
3. Mop the floors without vacuuming. This is a huge no-no, and also counterproductive! If we don’t vacuum first, we’d just create mud on the floors. Vacuum first!!
4. Simply wipe tubs and sinks. They need a good scrub! Wiping them down isn’t enough to remove hard water build up or rust stains. We love Vim, which cuts through grime, and then we wipe down with disinfectant!
5. Leave the beds unmade. A perfectly-made bed is the cherry on top and makes a bedroom feel complete! We definitely recommend making your bed every day!
Electronics. Laptops, phones, iPads and other electronics should be cleaned regularly! Wipe with a damp microfiber cloth and dry with a polishing cloth. Make sure not the get the item too wet, and always unplug or turn off when cleaning.
High touch areas. Things like light switches, door knobs and remotes should get disinfected often to limit the spread of germs!
Vent covers and wall grates. Wall grates & vent covers get clogged with dust if they aren’t cleaned reguarly! Remove them to clean if possible, or use a cloth wrapped in something thin like a butter knife to clean in the crevices.
Your plants. Dirty leaves can halt plant growth and can have a negative effect on plant health overall. Dust your plants gently with a wet cloth to remove dust. Be very gentle, and only use water!
Pet beds and blankets. Pet beds and blankets are full of dust, hair and other debris! Vacuum your pets bed, or wash the removable cover if possible. Wash any blankets your pet uses in a separate load of laundry!