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:
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!
1. Use a butter knife for the tracks. Wrapping the butter knife with a cloth or paper towel will get in the tightest nooks and crannies of your window sills!
2. Wipe windows with a wet cloth before cleaning with window cleaner. A cleaner like Windex will simply spread around any dirt or dust so make sure to clean them first, them shine up with a window cleaner!
3. Clean screens in the bathtub. Use the shower head to rinse the screens and let them dry in the tub- your job just got a lot easier!
4. Clean your windows on a cloudy day. Sunshine will dry the window cleaner quicker than you want and leave streaks behind!
5. Open your windows if possible.You might be surprised at what gets trapped between the windows when you open and close them!
1. Start with the clutter. The less stuff you have, the less stuff you have to clean or clean around! Having a decluttered, simple space will definitely make keeping it clean easier!
2. Choose cleaning products you love. Cleaning products are not all created equally! Find ones work and smell the best, you’ll thank yourself later! Check out some of our faves!
3. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Figure out the standard of clean you want to set for yourself- you may be fine with things being “good enough,” rather than perfect! Your house doesn’t need to be spotless at every moment!
4. Set a timer. No one wants to spend the whole day cleaning, and you’d be surprised how much can be done in an hour or two! Decide how much time you want to set aside and let that motivate you to clean quickly, without getting distracted!
5. Make it fun. Entertain yourself with music, a tv show, movie, podcast or audio book. It’ll make the time fly!
6. Give everything a proper home. Tidying up goes a lot quicker when you know where each item belongs.
7. Reward yourself. You deserve it!
Pet hair- You’ll probably want to do a quick dust if you have a home with shedding pets! Guests may notice when they go home covered in fur! Give your couches a quick vacuum, too!
The smell of your home- Light a candle, crack a window or use an air freshener! The smell of your home is the first thing your guests will notice!
Baseboards in front of the toilet- You don’t need to stress about ALL the baseboards in your house, but when your guests are using your washroom they’ll probably notice this!
Clutter on common spaces- Cleaning up piles of junk on your coffee table or in your kitchen is a good idea!
Toothpaste in the bathroom sink- Definitely give your sink a quick wipe before guests arrive!
Floors- Depending on how dirty your floors are, they may need to be vacuumed AND mopped, but use your judgment!
The fridge- Your guests probably aren’t peeking inside!
The bedrooms- Close the bedroom door and worry about it another time!
The windows- Don’t waste your time cleaning something no one is going to notice or care about!
Cleaning out closets- Aside from the coat closet, your guests aren’t looking inside!
Organizing your kids’ toys- If your guests are bringing their kids, the toys are going to become a disaster right away anyways! And if they aren’t, they won’t notice!
The light fixtures- You’re the only one who notices the dust!
1. Toothbrush holders. Make sure you’re washing these regularly! Throw them in the dishwasher for a thorough clean.
2. Under the sink. Check frequently for leaks and drips, and clean up moisture right away.
3. Bath toys. If your kids play with toys in the bath, make sure the toys don’t allow water to get trapped inside, and that can be nearly impossible to clean!
4. Appliance seals. Seals on your washing machine and dishwasher are prone to mould, since their environments are so humid. Wipe them out every so often!
5. Shower curtains. Keep your shower curtain stretched to it’s full length to ensure it can dry properly!
6. Floor mats. Especially mats that get wet, like the ones at our front doors. Mould can grow under them so make sure to rinse them often.
1. Under your fridge. Chances are there is a ton of lint, dirt, food, and pet hair hiding under there and your fridge really should be cleaned underneath at least once a year!
2. Inside your garbage can. Just rinse out and wash with a little soap and water. If you’re noticing your garbage has been smellier than usual, this may help!
3. The feet of your chairs and bar stools. Especially if you have pets in your home, the feet of your chairs are pet hair magnets!
4. The cupboard under your sink. Whether you keep your garbage under your sink or not, this cupboard is bound to get dirty over time!
5. The air vent grille in your bathroom. Due to the humidity in your bathroom, dust sticks to the inside of the grille like crazy so the best way to clean it is to remove the grille to get into all the nooks and crannies!