Can we let you in on a little secret? Despite what social media might have you try to believe, most mere mortals don’t have time to clean their homes and make them all shiny and sparkly. A lot of people can’t afford to pay for extra help to clean their homes, so how are most people cleaning their homes? They’re doing it with less time, less effort and with the right kinds of tools like pet hair remover brushes instead of vacuum nozzles. It’s all about understanding cleaning hacks and how to make the most out of your day. Keep reading to discover eight cleaning hacks that are super satisfying.
1. Your Time Matters — You only have so much time and energy in a day. Focus on the areas that see the most traffic. According to a survey, over 80 percent of women consider clean floors and vacuumed carpets the top priority for a clean home. That may be the most important thing to you, or maybe you prefer to focus on a sparkly kitchen or fresh-smelling bathroom. Whatever it is to you, decide what area matters most to you in your home and focus on that area when you clean your home. Whether you decide to set aside time daily, weekly or every other week, get into the habit of setting aside time to clean the most important areas of your home.
2. Declutter Later, Clean Now — You walk into your kid’s bedroom. You pass by the living room. There are toys and books scattered everywhere. You find a random old soda can behind the couch. Where did all this clutter come from? At some point, you need to stop wrestling with the clutter and decide what you want to focus on cleaning now and declutter later. If you need to focus on vacuuming the carpet or polishing the floors, focus on that first before you start lining up all of your kid’s rubber ducks in a row.
3. Use the Right Tools — No one wants to lug a heavy vacuum up and down stairs, especially not ones with cords that you can accidentally trip on. Save yourself the effort and stress by using a large pet hair remover. This tool works wonders on your carpet stairs and furniture. You can even use it on clothing to remove any leftover dog or cat hair. If you have a pet at home, you can even use this as a brush directly on your pet to help remove excess fur from their coat.
4. There’s a Method to the Madness — To be as efficient as possible, follow a pattern when you’re cleaning. Whether it’s your desk at the office, your car or your bathroom at home, don’t give yourself more work cleaning than you have to. Start from the top and work your way to the bottom. Start from one side and move to the other. That way, you’re not going back and forth and cleaning over what you already cleaned. When you clean from the top, any dust from the top will fall to the bottom so you only have to clean once. If you start from the bottom, you’re going to have to clean again when debris falls from the top.
5. Affordable DIY Cleaners — Save money and a trip to the grocery store by making your own DIY cleaners at home. Have steel faucets or sinks at home? Clean up leftover stains with lemon and salt. Sprinkle salt on your steel faucet or sink. Cut a lemon in half and rub the faucet with it. Rinse with warm water and you’ll have a shiny finish in no time. Have any unwanted odors from your couch, carpet or curtains? Just sprinkle some baking soda, let it sit for 30 minutes and vacuum up the baking soda.
6. Clean While You Cook — Here’s another efficiency trick. Just like you might whistle while you work — or at least listen to music — to stay focused, try cleaning while you cook. While you’re waiting for a pot to boil or the oven to heat up, put dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Wipe up any sauce off your kitchen counter. Take out the trash.
7. The Art of Micro-Cleaning — You don’t have to set aside hours every week to clean. Sometimes, you just need to clean as you go with micro-cleaning. Have five minutes to spare as you wait for the drip coffee machine? Now’s the perfect time to grab your pet hair remover brush and make sure your clothing is free of any pet hair, or run it over your couch to remove any extra dog fur.
8. Organize the Dishwasher — When you load the dishwasher, don’t do so haphazardly. Put all the forks, spoons and knives in the utensil holder of your dishwasher. Line up all the big and small plates. Put the bowls and pots on a rack where you can easily find them. That way, once your dishes are sanitized and dried, you’ll be able to put everything back where it belongs as efficiently as possible.
