30 Clever Home Cleaning Hacks Everyone Should Know

Clever home cleaning hacks everyone should know that will instantly save you time and simplify your home life. These easy hacks will help you keep your home cleaner and family more organised in a flash! Best of all, you can do most of these straight away!

Cleaning is one of those things we all hate to do but we’ve all got to do it! That’s life! Thankfully there are plenty of cleaning hacks everyone should know that will make those tedious jobs a whole lot quicker!

I am always on the hunt for new ideas to incorporate into my own home cleaning processes, to save me time and effort. Most of these time-saving cleaning ideas are so ridiculously simple, yet they save us a load of time every single week!

We’ve got some expert bloggers bringing you some of their best cleaning hacks to simplify your life and get the job done quicker.

CLEVER HOME CLEANING HACKS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW

Cleaning hacks are an essential part of every household. By using these tricks, you can save time and money while keeping your home clean and germ-free.

Find out what clever hacks these productive people incorporate into their home cleaning process to make life easier!

Create Your Own Cleaning Kit

Add your essential cleaning supplies to a small basket with handles or tub that you can move from room to room with you, keeping everything together. This saves you making multiple trips to get your cleaning supplies from where they are stored.

You can also go a step further and create a mini cleaning kit in each bathroom and kitchen area of your home if you have the storage space to do so.

Minimise Clutter

I find keeping on top of clutter and only allowing the things we actually to remain in our home use drastically reduces the time I spend cleaning.

This is especially true in the kitchen which has become a dropzone in our small house.

You can quickly declutter these 150+ items from your home if you need help getting started.

I was spending a lot of time moving items around without really thinking about how we use them.

As our tiny kitchen doesn’t have a pantry, I have to be ruthless with kitchen clutter, getting rid of multiples (muffin trays etc), our soup pot (as we use the slow cooker for soup) and the excess utensils have made such a difference.

Now my kitchen cleaning routine is mainly spraying and wiping – keeping the counters clutter-free makes them super easy to clean in just a few minutes.

This daily 5 minute tidy up habit will help keep your clutter under control too!

Contributed by Emma from Little House Lovely Home

Get Rid Of Toilet Stains With Citric Acid

If you have an old toilet system or one that has not been cleaned properly in a while, using a standard toilet brush and cleaner won’t make much of an impact.

While many people try bleach to get their toilet bowl clean, there is a better option – Citric Acid.

You can find citric acid in the baking aisle at the supermarket. It’s used as a common food preservative and flavouring, derived from citrus fruits such as lemons and limes.

Although in most cases, the supermarket variety is a manufactured version of citric acid.

Sprinkle a generous amount of the powder into the toilet bowl before bed and leave overnight or for 6-8 hours during the day. Then give it a good scrub with your toilet brush before you flush.

This process may need to be repeated a couple of times for really badly stained toilets and those with lots of build-up, but the results can be pretty amazing and much cheaper than replacing your embarrassing stained toilet bowl!

This will also work on descaling kettles!

Freshen Drains With Baking Soda & Vinegar

If your kitchen drain is getting stinky or seems to be slow to drain water, there’s probably some build-up down there which could lead to it clogging.

Instead of pulling out the toxic drain cleaner each time this happens, start a regular routine of freshening your drains with vinegar and baking soda once a week.

Start by pouring a cup of boiling water down your drain or running the hot tap for 30 seconds then pour 1 cup of baking soda into the drain.

You can leave this to sit for a few minutes if you like.

Then pour a cup of vinegar down the drain and cover with the plug or with a dishcloth. I prefer to use a dishcloth because of the fizzing reaction between the two products.

Wait 2 minutes then pour another cup of boiling water down your drain. This will not only help get rid of any bad smells but also helps with unblocking your sink drains as well!

Plus doing this as a regular habit will help with general maintenance so you aren’t dealing with a serious blockage situation.

Lint Rollers

One of my favourite cleaning hacks is to use the humble lint roller to clean all manner of things around the home: don’t limit yourself to clothes!

A lint roller has the advantage of being very sticky and is also very cheap to buy. Their adhesive surface will pick up very light things that can otherwise be difficult to get hold of.

Examples include spilled glitter on the floor (how does that stuff get quite so everywhere after the kids have been doing a craft project?!), pet hair, dust – especially when it’s in tricky places like the top of your bedhead (and if it’s material) or your lampshades.

Dust and dirt on the interiors of your car and sofas.

So next time you’re trying to figure out how to clean the dust off something, remember: lint roller!

Contributed by Clare from Epic Road Rides

Homemade Kitchen Spray

Keeping the kitchen area and cooktop clean throughout the week can seem to be a dreadful task. With this timesaving cleaning hack, I’m able to keep my kitchen pretty much clean and neat every single day.

I have a spray bottle with a vinegar-water solution handy in my kitchen. While cooking on my glass cooktop, oil splatters and makes the surface sticky and dirty.

Once I finish cooking, I always make it a point to just wipe clean the counter and cooktop with this spray solution.

The more time dirt and oil stay, the harder it gets to clean. A thorough cleaning can be reserved for later, but this hack just cleans the surfaces in a jiffy.

Make your own all-purpose cleaner: Mix one part distilled white vinegar with one part tap water and store it in a spray bottle.

Whenever spills and splatters happen, just spray the mix and wipe clean with a paper towel or kitchen cloth.

This can literally save you time and energy. I love the fact that the vinegar-water mix is free of toxic chemicals and safe to use in the kitchen. This natural formula has been used for ages and it works like a charm.

Contributed by Nitha from The Trailing Mom

Dust Your Blinds The Easy Way

To dust your blinds without making a mess put an old sock over your hand and run it over the surface of the blinds. The sock will collect any dust and your blinds will be clean.

Robot Mops and Vacuum Cleaners

I am sure that all of us at one time or the other have secretly dreamt of having a robot do our housework. Fortunately, this reality is getting closer and closer as technology evolves.

Two household tasks that utilize the technology available; thus saving you time when doing household chores are robot mops and robot vacuums.

No one really likes mopping their floor – the buckets of water or the wringing of the mop. It is one of those labour-intensive chores we detest.

Our favourite robot mop is the iRobot Braava jet 240 robot mop. It mops and sweeps both hardwood floor and tile floors.

Are you prepared to make vacuuming your home a thing of the past? Then we recommend a robot vacuum. Our favourite brand is the Roomba.

You have budget options such as the Roomba 690. If you want a really hands-off cleaning experience and you have money to spare go for the Roomba i7+. This Roomba will not only save you time by automatically vacuuming your home when programmed to do so, but it will actually empty its dust bin and resume cleaning. You can’t get more hands-off than that!

Contributed by Charmaine from LuvMiHome

Daily Cleaning Schedule

It might sound contradictory, but my time-saving cleaning hack is to clean more often! Hear me out on this one… I just do 20 minutes’ worth of cleaning each day, and then I don’t have a mountain of cleaning to tackle at the end of the week!

I made myself a little cleaning schedule and stuck it on the fridge.

The list includes tasks that rotate each day of the week, and each task is small and only takes a few minutes… like dusting a room, washing sinks and toilets, or doing a quick vacuum.

Then, I give myself 20 minutes each day to do that day’s tasks.

My cleaning schedule has been a weekend game-changer. Instead of setting aside huge chunks of time to catch up on the mess that has built up throughout the week, our family has more time for fun!

Contributed by Mary Beth from A Reluctant Mom

Find deep cleaning checklists and places you might have been forgetting to clean, for your less regular cleaning routines.

Get Rid Of Pet Hair With Rubber Gloves

If you’ve got a pet, you know that their hair can end up everywhere. To make cleaning up after them a little bit easier, try using a rubber glove. Just put the glove on and run your hand over upholstered surfaces and clothing. The hair will roll into a clump for easy removal.

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Bar Keepers Friend

A couple of years ago I heard about a clever hack that is definitely one of my all-time favourites.

The glass shower doors on our ensuite shower were impossible to get clean, with hard water stains left no matter what product we tried. And trust me, I tried so many different ‘cleaning hacks’ for cleaning showers over the years.

Someone mentioned Bar Keepers Friend in an online group and I thought, what the heck, what’s one more product to try? And thankfully, this one actually did an amazing job getting rid of soap scum and water stains!

The game-changing product is the Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser and Polisher Powder.

I sprinkle a generous amount onto a damp microfibre cleaning cloth and scrub it in a circular motion so it creates a paste on the glass screens. I always leave it on for a few minutes then rinse it down with the shower head or a bucket of water.

Other than a shower glass cleaner, it also works amazingly for polishing up stainless steel sinks and tap fittings or for cleaning burnt stains and rust off pots and pans. It’s definitely a cleaning product everyone needs in their home!

Although, make sure you do a test spot before trying on new surfaces as it does have an acidic compound.

In Australia, you can find Bar Keepers Friend products at Organised HQ or at your local supermarket. For the rest of the world, it is available on Amazon.

My other more recently discovered favourite product for cleaning soap scum and glass is The Pink Stuff Cream Cleanser with a Scrub Mommy sponge. A perfect pair!

Shower Squeegee

Minimise how often you need to clean your glass shower screens by keeping a squeegee in the shower.

Teach each person in the house to squeegee down the glass after they finish showering and this will reduce the water stains on the glass and make cleaning much quicker and easier.

The task is sure to get some groans from the rest of the family, however it takes less than 30 seconds to do a quick wipe down with the squeegee before they dry off.

Make Your Own Furniture Polish

You don’t need to buy expensive furniture polish to keep your wood furniture looking its best. Just mix 2 parts olive oil and 2 parts vinegar and one part lemon juice, and apply it to the surface with a soft cloth. Rub in a circular motion, and then buff to a shine.

Using Baskets

We use baskets to organise our linen cupboard. It has been a game-changer keeping everything organised and tidy.

I love the look of handwoven baskets. Not only are they beautiful, but they are a great way to keep your home organised in a simple way.

Using baskets to store items (instead of drawers, shelves, boxes, and furniture), can really take a chunk of cleaning time out of your day!

Sort things like kid’s toys, books, to-do items, electronics, and stationery into their own basket. When it comes time to pick up, simply toss whatever it is into its proper basket and you’re done.

The basket method really comes in handy in the kid’s room.

I keep blocks in one, trains in one, animals in one, etc. The kids can help me pick up toys quickly and easily. Our baskets stay on the floor (since we don’t use furniture), but they can be put on shelves as well.

 Contributed by Rebecca  from Innate Moves

Teaching Responsibility in Children

My cleaning and tidying hack is simply to remind my child to pick up one or two of his stray items from the floor when he is on his way from one room to another.

For example, his discarded socks can be grabbed and dropped in the laundry basket in the hall while he is on his way to his room. His books and toys can be picked up from the floor in the living room and taken back to his room to be put back in the right place.

This is great because it doesn’t feel like a huge effort for him, it can be done on his way. As it creates a good habit and a shared sense of responsibility, in the long run, this will save me more and more time!

I’d suggest getting kids started with chores as early as possible, even if you have to use cleaning games to get them started.

It will ensure all the cleaning and tidying in the home is not seen to be one person’s responsibility but for us all to share. It should benefit the kids by building up good habits that prevent mess building up as they grow older.

This will really help them in their adult life too!

Contributed by Angela from Reading Inspiration

Deodorise Your Garbage Disposal

If your garbage disposal is starting to smell, there’s an easy way to freshen it up. Just cut a lemon in half and run it through the disposal. The citrus smell will help to neutralise any bad odours.

Lining the Oven

A great tip when cleaning the bottom base of the oven or avoiding cleaning it is to line the base with a piece of foil or a clean oven sheet before using. This keeps the bottom base spotless without having to scrub.

All the drips will fall directly to the foil or oven sheet and not to the bottom base.

If you’re someone who uses the oven all the time, you exactly know how difficult it is to clean the base especially when the grease or residue has dried and/or stuck there for even a couple of hours.

This hack will reduce your time cleaning the bottom base or even avoid you from cleaning it.

Contributed by Allan from The Practical Saver

Homemade Oven Cleaner

Most people hate cleaning their oven. They can be difficult to clean and take a lot of time and effort.

When we upgraded our oven, we purchased a pyrolytic self-cleaning oven. 

When I use the self-cleaning function, sometimes smoke billows out of my oven (caused by fat heating to high temperatures) and around our home. This sets off the smoke alarm, and it isn’t healthy to breathe in the smoke!

Now when my oven needs a deep clean, I prefer to clean it myself using a mixture of baking soda and vinegar.

First I remove all the oven racks and leave them to soak in a bathtub filled with hot water and dishwashing liquid.

Make a paste out of baking soda and vinegar, and rub it all over the oven including the glass door (but not on the heating elements).

I leave the mixture to do its magic for a couple of hours. Use a wet cloth to wipe the oven, removing all grease, food and stains, and the baking soda mixture.

Finally, I remove the racks from the bathtub and give them a wipe-down with a damp cloth. Everything comes off the racks easily, leaving them clean and ready to put back in the oven.

Contributed by Natalie from Home Health Living

For a step by step on how to deep clean your oven, check out this guide & tips for keeping it clean between uses.

Clean Your Microwave Without Scrubbing

Microwaves can be a pain to clean, but there’s an easy way to do it. Just mix 1 part vinegar and 1 part water in a microwave safe bowl and microwave it for 2 minutes. You might also like to add a few drops of essential oil.

Then, wipe away any dirt or grime with a damp cloth.

Clean Your Windows Without Streaks

To clean your windows without streaks, mix 1 part vinegar with 4 parts water in a spray bottle. Spray the solution on your windows and wipe away with a clean, dry cloth.

Lining Bins & Cleaning Toys in Dishwasher

Thankfully, when it came to sorting out household chores between us, my husband got stuck with ‘bin duty’ and taking out the rubbish – a task I have done my best to avoid at all costs.

However, as I do most of the kitchen cleaning, I was always left to clean up afterwards. The juices. The drippy bin juices seem to leak out no matter what and pool in the bottom of the bin.

Instead, we now use a newspaper trick. We line the bottom of the trash can with newspaper to catch all these juices and simply roll it up and add it to the rubbish on bin night. No more bin juices for me!

I am quite lazy when it comes to cleaning the kid’s toys. If I see a blanket or a teddy that is looking a bit grubby, I am all too quick to chuck him in the wash. But all the plastic toys we have (and we have A LOT) is a little overwhelming.

I discovered this neat trick in the mothers’ group. You can actually put all your plastics through the dishwasher. So simple and so easy!

We do it with everything, but it is the handiest when it comes to Duplo. I simply put it in a zip-up laundry bag and chuck it in. Comes out bright and sparkly and ready for more play.

Much easier than the handwashing (that I conveniently never got around to).

Contributed by Felicity from BabyVine

Freshen The Carpet

If you have musty-smelling carpets or patches that might have suffered from pet or kid mess, sprinkle baking soda over your carpets and leave for a couple of hours. Vacuum it up and you will have fresh-smelling carpets. It can also help lift some of the stains.

Descaling Shower Heads

Easily descale a showerhead and remove lifemscale by creating a vinegar and baking soda combination. Add 1/3 a cup of baking soda and 1 cup of white vinegar to a small bag, such as a zip lock bag and tie it around your shower head so that it is soaking in the mixture.

Leave it for several hours or to soak overnight and this quick shower cleaning hack will have the limescale cleaned away like magic!

Clean Ceiling Fans Without Mess

Cleaning a ceiling fan can often result in making an even bigger mess in the room as you try and dust off the panels. Instead, grab an old pillowcase to cover the blades, one by one, and slide the dust clean.

All the dust stays inside the pillowcase and you can shake it outside or rinse it out afterwards, without covering your house in extra dust.

This cleaning method also works great for cleaning light fixtures without making a bigger mess.

How To Remove Hard Water Stains From Taps

Have you noticed those icky brown hard water stains that seem to form around your taps on the sink. They can be really hard to remove, even with scrubbing.

Instead, pour vinegar on a cleaning rag or cloth so that it is soaked and wrap it around the tapware. Leave it for a couple of hours and those stains should wipe away easily.

Quickly Clean The Bathroom

Fill a kitchen dish brush with 50/50 vinegar and dish soap. This is one of the quickest cleaning solutions for the bathroom in just a few minutes.

You scrub as you go. The dishwashing liquid helps to clean the surfaces, including tough stains and the vinegar will leave the shower glass looking so clear.

I keep a filled dishwashing brush in our shower rack alongside the shampoo and conditioner bottles for quick cleaning top-ups between full bathroom cleans.

DIY Toilet Cleaning Bombs

Make your own toilet cleaning bombs to speed up your toilet cleaning process. I mentioned using citric acid above. This is stepping it up to the next level. The best part is that you can make these in bulk.

Add 2 cups of baking soda, half a cup of citric acid and a few drops of essential oil then slowly add soda water to a bowl. Combine until it reaches the consistency of wet sand then press into a large ice cube tray.

Leave them to dry overnight then pop them out and store them in a sealed container for future use. Then just drop one into your toilet and let it do its cleaning magic!

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In a hurry? Learn how to clean your home in 2 hours or less and grab the free checklist. Or if you need something more thorough, get a room by room guide to deep cleaning your home.

Check out some of my personal favourite hacks and cleaning tips to save time and simplify my life!

• How to reduce cleaning time at home
• Deep cleaning checklist
• Natural homemade microwave cleaner
• DIY stain removal methods
• Ways to make cleaning fun
• How to clean your shower head
• Essential household items you’re forgetting to replace
• Fun cleaning games for kids and adults
• Fridge organisation ideas
• How to clean your house in 2 hours

What is your best cleaning hack everyone should know? Let’s hear them!  And share this post to Pinterest! Be sure to follow me on Facebook or YouTube for more cleaning and home organisation tips like these!