16 Super Easy Cleaning Tips That Will Blow Your Mind

Guest Post by Author Whitney Hollingshead

If you find yourself frequently wishing that the cleaning fairy would visit your home, this list of tips will give you some hope.  While cleaning will always require some work, isn’t it time you made cleaning your home easier?

1.  Grab some Tang drink mix.  Drop one teaspoon of the dry mix into your toilet bowl.  Let it sit for a few minutes, swish the solution around with your toilet brush and then flush.  The citric acid in the drink mix provides a great scrubbing agent!

 2.  For a simple way to clean your bathtub, fill your bathtub with hot water and stir in a couple cups of laundry detergent.  Let the solution stay in the tub overnight.  In the morning, drain the water.  Wipe down the surface of the tub and rinse with hot water.

3.  Keep your drains clear longer by pouring boiling water down any bathroom or kitchen sink at least once a week.  In the kitchen, you can add liquid dish soap to the boiling water to help clear out any grease that has accumulated. 

4.  Empty your dishwasher.  Pour half a cup of vinegar into the detergent holders and run your normal cycle.  This quick fix keeps your dishwasher sparkling clean.

5.  Do you have dishwasher safe plastic containers that have been stained red by tomato products?  Rub the clean container with lemon juice.  Set the container near sunlight to dry.  Once the lemon juice has dried, wash the container by hand or toss it in the dishwasher. 

6.  Are your stainless steel appliances looking smudged and grimy?  Pour a small amount of olive oil on a rag and buff your stainless steel surfaces.  This process will take your surfaces from cloudy to radiant.

7.  Use Windex glass cleaner to clean your stove top and countertop.  Simply spray and wipe clean.  If you have a countertop made from stone or concrete, you’ll want to be extra careful before applying any cleaning solution.  For example, check out these tips for cleaning a concrete countertop.

8.  Grab a pot and toss your dirty stove top burners inside.  Fill the pot with water until the burners are covered.  Add some baking soda and bring to a boil.  This process will make it much easier to wipe your burners clean.

9.  Are you frequently using your blender?  You will love this quick blender clean up tip!  Immediately after using, squeeze a few drops of liquid dish soap into the blender and add a few cups of warm water.  Run your normal blender cycle and rinse.

10.  Take care of that carpet stain with your toothpaste and an extra toothbrush.  Using the toothbrush, scrub the toothpaste into the stain.  Rinse and repeat the process until the stain is gone. 

11.  Scrub your baseboards with baby wipes.  Work from the top of the baseboard down to the floor.  This will quickly clean your baseboards and leave the room smelling fresh.  (Unless you hate the smell of baby wipes, of course.)

12.  Spray your windows, mirrors, or even the glass on your picture frames with an aerosol air freshener.  Then wipe clean with newspaper.  Newsprint doesn’t attract lint like cloth and paper towels and the ink won’t transfer to the glass.  The air freshener will clean the surface and leave the room smelling great. 

13.  Cleaning blinds can be a pain, but this trick will make cleaning your blinds a snap.  Grab a spatula (or any flat tool).  Wrap the end with cloth and secure it in place by adding a rubber band.  Dip the cloth end into some rubbing alcohol and use this tool to clean both sides of the blinds.  Rinse and repeat as needed.

14.  Vases for flowers can be especially difficult to keep clean.  Drop some uncooked rice grains into the vase and add warm water and liquid dish soap.  Swish the mixture around to dislodge gunk from the corners and rinse clean. 

15.  Make dusting fabric surfaces easy by using a lint roller.  Dust is especially hard to get off of fabric lamp shades, but a few passes with a lint roller and your shades will be looking new in no time.

16.  Do you have oil artwork in your home?  You may not think about all the dust and grime that has built up on the art itself.  Grab a slice of white bread and gently press the bread against the painting.  The bread will act as a sponge to clean up the built up grime.