Master guide to home cleaning – home cleaning tips & hacks

A clean house is a wonderful thing, but getting it there can be tricky. With kids, pets, limited time, costly supplies and the wonder if they are safe for your family, creating and keeping a clean house can be difficult. We found lots of great, safe, tricks and hacks we put together in this home cleaning tips & hacks guide.

1. Carpet cleaning tips

Carpet is difficult to keep clean, then layer on pets and kids (think pet hair and ground in crackers) and it becomes almost impossible. Here are some quick and easy carpet cleaning tips from the pros:

• Pick up pet hair with a dryer sheet, use a lint roller or squeegee or pet or other hair (source: www.londoncleanprof.co.uk)
• Remove stains with a vacuum, water & vinegar, towel and steam iron (source: www.londoncleanprof.co.uk)
• Baking soda to the rescue for pet or other accidents (source: www.londoncleanprof.co.uk)
• Traditional club soda is great for beer, wine or other deep stains (source: popularmechanics.com)
• Use a steam iron and towel for wax stains. The trick is to heat the wax back to a semi-liquid state for best removal chances (source: popularmechanics.com)

2. Best way to clean tile floors

Cleaning a tile floor can mean a hand scrubbing, using an expensive tool or a good old fashioned mop & broom. No matter how you do it, there may be a better way!

• Ceramic floors: keep ceramic tiles clean with a once a week wash for bathrooms and biweekly for kitchens or high traffic areas. Use a clean cloth rather than a mop, which can push dirty water in your grout lines, making it look worse. warm water or add a few drops of soap (source: homedepot.com)
• Best tools to clean tile floors: a clean mop or cloth, grout brush and water are easy and inexpensive tools. Some love a more modern solution like an all-in-one floor tool. We’ve read great things about the Shark steam mop, Bissell Crosswave or the O-Cedar ProMist.
• Top tip: keep your grout clean. The dirtier the grout looks the worse your floor looks. Baking soda & water with a small grout tool can do wonders for grout. Make sure to try a silicone based grout sealer for lasting results (source: diynetwork.com)

3. Spring cleaning tips – Fall cleaning tips

Spring & fall are great times to clean out closets: both your linen and clothes closets. Why? Well with the changing seasons and temperatures, it is a great time to check the quality of your past clothes, towels or bedding to see what needs replacing for cheap during off-season sales. It is also a natural time when we are putting clothing away to sort through what has and has not been used.

Many times we focus spring cleaning on deep cleaning tricks or fall cleaning with fall decorating. Take the time during your spring cleaning to clean out the hall closets or extra closets in a bedroom. Donate or sell your clothing to a store and feel a sigh of relief!

4. Quick cleaning tips

Busy schedules mean you may not be able to deep clean as often as you like. Don’t be deterred, a quick cleaning method can help you and your family keep a clean house.

• Create a 5 minute cleaning routine for the morning and before bed (source diynetwork.com)
• Focus on visible areas with your schedule: tubs, sinks, toilets, countertops
• Have a 30 min speed clean during the week or weekend (source womansday.com)
• Organize your entry ways to give space for daily items like backpacks, shoes, coats or laptop bags. This reduces clutter and makes cleaning much easier
• Most important: Enlist the whole family to help. Everyone has a task to do each day. Cleaning is part of everyone’s job so discuss as a family what you do each day, each week and how you can all contribute to the housework

5. Deep cleaning house tips

Now you have some time to do some deep cleaning, remember: top to bottom. Deep cleaning can mean a lot of things to different people, but whatever it means to you, here are a few tips to get you and your family started.

• Make a game plan and list. This will keep you organized and help you ensure you have the right tools for each job before getting started (source care.com)
• Manage your time well: start laundry early on such as bedding, curtains, bath/kitchen mats so it can run while you are working
• Start in one room / level of your home and work your way down
• Find individual tips for each room on the makespace.com blog!
• Tackle larger rooms and projects in small parts. Cleaning blinds can become tedious so try one room at a time for this project, same with baseboards. Or break rooms up by team so you each tackle a few large projects, or if one person loves a project let them go nuts!

6. DIY laundry detergent

One of the most requested home cleaning tips and tricks is to DIY laundry detergent. We share some great sources below for any special considerations. Make sure to read about what your washing machine needs or if there are concerns from manufacturers about powders vs liquids. As always, you should make sure that your DIY laundry detergent will fit your washing machine requirements before using. Read more about homemade detergent options on our post.

• DIY laundry detergent hard water – swordfightsandstarrynights.com
• Great DIY laundry detergent soft water – wellnessmama.com
• Borax free DIY laundry detergent liquid – brendid.com
• DIY laundry detergent HE safe – powder diynatural.com

7. Bathroom cleaning hacks

The dreaded bathroom! Often can be one of the dirtiest places in your house, and for good reason. We do a lot in our bathrooms so they need a lot of care.

• Do a quick clean daily: wipe off counters with water and a sponge or cloth, spray your shower/bath with a DIY daily spray
• Use a toilet gel or stick to keep your toilet clean between uses
• Find products to help with each task and keep them handy by incorporating into your decor. Such as using glass containers for a simple vinegar spray
• Keep your bathroom simple and minimize decor to expedite cleaning
• Try these cleaning hacks from Apartment Therapy for more in-depth details and tricks

8. Kitchen cleaning tricks

Another tough room is the kitchen. We live a lot of our lives in this important room, so keeping it clean and healthy is important. Create a clean, fresh and safe kitchen with these quick kitchen cleaning tricks and tips.

• Trash can smelly? Put a lid on it or use a cotton ball with essential oil for a lasting fresh scent. A quick spray of Windex or cleaning product directly in the trash is another quick tip (source: thekitchn.com)
• Keep your sink clean and smelling good with simple baking soda as a scrub. This is easy to do: sprinkle in baking soda into a wet sink until it forms a paste. Wipe your sink to spread the paste around and wait. Perfect for ceramic sinks or sinks with stains and when it washes down, freshens your disposal!
• Clean as you cook. Whether your coffee is brewing, a meal is finishing in the microwave or oven, take the time between to wipe counters, sweep the floor or other tasks. If you do this daily, you will immediately notice a difference
• Do a 20-30 min clean once a week to remove stubborn grease or complete a deeper clean
• Reduce clutter on your counters to make cleaning easier and improve the look of your kitchen

9. Best natural cleaning products

Often cleaning products contain a lot of chemicals, harsh scents or are a mystery to many of us. If you prefer something more natural, or with less ingredients, we found some great natural cleaning products you can buy or DIY. For more information, check the ewg.org site for more in-depth information.

• Baking soda – Baking soda is great for your kitchen, bathroom, even your teeth as a toothpaste! The best part is it is inexpensive and found in a lot of DIY cleaning product recipe lists.
• Vinegar – Vinegar is another staple cleaning product you will find in many DIY cleaning recipes and is a great disinfectant and highly versatile.
• Isopropyl alcohol – great for disinfecting as long as it is at 70% concentration. The scent can be overwhelming so add in your favorite essential oil. Many people use on the bottom of their shoes to prevent tracking disease or on counters to disinfect.
• Hydrogen peroxide – another staple that doubles for your first aid kit. Take care to not bleach items with hydrogen peroxide or test a space before you use on a new item or surface
• Brands:
  • Method products
  • Grove products
  • Seventh Generation
  • Common Good

10. Best DIY household cleaner

Now you have some staples for your cleaning tool kit, you may be looking for a highly versatile DIY household cleaner that can do a lot. Look no further than these great ideas and one great recipe from trusted site Better Homes & Gardens.

Better Homes & Gardens All Purpose Cleaner:

• 3/4 cup hydrogen peroxide
• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon unscented liquid Castile soap
• 10 drops tea tree oil
• 20 drops lavender essential oil
• 2 cups water

Add ingredients to a 24-ounce spray bottle; shake. Use for general cleaning needs.

11. Exterior house cleaning ideas

Part of a cleaning routine should include the exterior of your home to prevent critters and pests from making your home their own. During the season changes is a great time to clean or clear gutters, remove leaves, plant flowers and spruce up home security. Need a seasonal cleaning schedule? Here is a great option from patch.com you can follow for each season.

Try our 31 Simple Weekend Projects article for more exterior and interior tips & tricks.

Home cleaning tips & tricks – final tips

One consistent theme for home cleaning tips and tricks is to create a schedule or list. We are all busy and cleaning can become an afterthought. By incorporating cleaning into your daily schedule, saving bigger jobs for a weekly or monthly project, and enlisting your family members to contribute, you can ease the burden of keeping things clean.

Never underestimate the power of organization for cleaning. Decluttering your home not only improves the look and makes it feel instantly cleaner, it also makes it much easier to clean when clothes, shoes or other items are picked up and not in the way. With a little planning, making a happy cozy house into a happy cozy home is easy. Keeping it clean can be even simpler.