Let’s face it, cleaning stinks—it’s dirty, thankless, and endless. Even though we all have to do it, nobody actually likes doing it. But we have good news!
We’re about to make this bothersome, pain-in-the-neck chore a whole less taxing for you. Check out our 20 ways to make it possible to be lazy and clean like a pro:
Help your shower clean itself.
Scrubbing on your hands and knees to get your shower clean is so unnecessary. All you need to do is spray on a no-wipe tub and shower cleaner after every bath or shower that you take, and the product will do the dirty work for you!
It lifts up soap scum and grime, and protects the surface so that hard to clean dirt, mold, and water scum can’t accumulate.
Clean Your Coffee Pot With Vinegar
Over time, you might start to notice your morning Folgers developing a skunky edge. That’s because the inside of your coffee machine is filthy, which is gross and upsetting, but probably not enough to break your caffeine addiction.
So here’s what you do:
Sprinkle baking soda on your couch to remove stains and odors.
Got a stinky sofa with some unsightly stains? Don’t scrub and ruin your fabric. This easy hack should do the trick!
Simply sprinkle baking soda all over your sofa cushions (the base and the backs) and leave on for 30 minutes, or overnight. Then vacuum everything up to reveal a brighter, cleaner, more pleasant smelling piece of furniture.
Remove upholstery stains.
Got super set-in, hard-to-remove couch stains? Try using a little shaving cream (not the gel kind) to get it out.
Rub the cream into the stain and leave it on for 30 minutes to overnight. Then blot it dry with a clean cloth. Watch the stain easily lift away!
Clean window blinds.
Window blinds can get pretty dusty and grimy, and, unfortunately, pretty hard to clean. This hack makes cleaning them effortless!
Put your hand in an old sock and dip it in a solution of half vinegar and half water. Grip onto each slat and clean both sides of the blind at one time.
Clean your blender.
Take the tedious scrubbing out of cleaning your dirty blender by letting the appliance do all of the work!
Fill the blender with warm water and add a couple of drops of dish soap. Set the speed on high and let ‘er rip for a couple of minutes. Rinse the soap out and let it dry completely.
Freshen up your keyboard.
Studies have shown that keyboards are one of the most germ-laden places in your home or office.
But this tip will help them stay sanitary (and helps keep you healthy). Simply dip a toothbrush in half vinegar/half water solution, and clean on and between your keyboard keys.
Clean your sponge.
Sponges provide the perfect environments for breeding mold and bacteria—not exactly something you want on the thing that you wash your dishes with.
Clean your sponge often with this foolproof hack. Pop it into the microwave for 30 seconds and all bacteria will be gone! Just wait a couple of minutes to pull it out of the microwave—it can get pretty hot.
Use vinegar to clean hard water spots.
Spots left on your fixtures from the minerals in your water can be unsightly and super hard to get rid of.
But vinegar can do wonders on those stains! Just spray a half water mixture of it on your stains, let it sit for a couple of minutes, and then wipe it away.
Clean your microwave.
Splattered tomato sauce, bubbled over butter, exploded eggs…all are proof that you use your microwave often. Even though these handy appliances can get pretty nasty, there’s an easy way to make them look like new again.
Put equal amounts of water and vinegar in a microwave-safe bowl, then set your microwave on high for 5 to 10 minutes. Let the inside cool, then wipe it down with a sponge or paper towel. So easy!
Remove grease stains.
Grease stains can be nearly impossible to remove from carpets or other surfaces. That is, without this easy hack!
Mix four parts rubbing alcohol with one part salt, and rub the mixture into the stain. Let it dry thoroughly and vacuum up any remaining salt or particles.
Clean a burnt pan with vinegar, water, and baking soda.
Before you throw away your expensive, favorite pan that’s been burnt to a crisp—try this first:
Pick up small pieces of glass.
It’s a really bad idea to pick up tiny pieces of glass with your hands. This is a better idea!
The tiny shards will stick to the moistness, leaving nothing to get into unsuspecting bare feet or fingers.
Clean your tile floors.
Got tile grime? No problem! Vacuum the area that you need to clean, then grab some light detergent and a rag.
Dip the rag into the detergent and start scrubbing! Is the grout super stained? Dip a toothbrush into the detergent and us the hard bristles to lift dirt away.
Clean sneakers with toothpaste.
There’s (almost) nothing more disappointing than when you get the first dirt mark on your new sneakers. Your toothpaste comes to the rescue!
Dip a small rag into some toothpaste, dampen the cloth, and apply it to the stain. Watch it quickly lift off to reveal bright sneakers, once again!
Get your pillows white.
Nobody wants nasty, yellow pillows. Try putting your pillows in the washer on the hot water delicate setting with a little detergent and some bleach.
After they’re done being washed, throw them in the dryer on a low setting. Watch your pillows emerge like new again!
Keep dust away with dryer sheets.
Dusting is a dirty job that doesn’t seem to last very long. Make your job easier by using drying sheets to dust the dirtiest of surfaces.
The additives in the dryer sheets attract the dust (so it’s not flying around and you’re inhaling it) and coat your furniture to repel dust build-up—allowing you more time between cleanings!
Clear crayons off the wall with toothpaste.
As much as you love your kids, you don’t love their artwork on your beautifully painted walls.
Get rid of crayon scribbles on walls by applying a layer of white (not gel or colored) toothpaste to the markings with a sponge. Leave it on for an hour or more, and then rinse it with a damp, clean sponge.
Make oven cleaning easy.
Not-so-long-ago, you had to leave your house to avoid the toxic fumes emitted while you cleaned your oven. Oven cleaning has gotten easier but it’s still not a great job.
Eliminate this arduous task altogether by placing a sheet of foil at the bottom of your oven; it collects bubbled over cheese, spilt juice, and tumbled down cookie dough. When the foil gets too dirty, just pull it out and replace it.
Clean your dishwasher.
Seeing as though you eat off of the items that are supposed to be cleaned by a dishwasher, a dirty dishwashing appliance is actually pretty gross. There’s an easy way to get rid of everything that builds up in your dishwasher (food, grease, soap scum).
Simply sprinkle some Tang (yes, the orange-flavored beverage you loved as a kid) or Gatorade powder mixture in an empty dishwasher and run it on super hot. The citric acid in the powder cleans the inside to a sparkling finish!
