Today, I’m privileged to have Bobby Smith, a regular blogger at SelectAware, an online coupon site, share four ways to make cleaning easier.

When it comes to an easy way to keep my home clean, I have a listening ear. As a task-oriented individual, I prefer to clean from top to bottom within a few days and be done with cleaning for the next week or two.

For some reason that next week or two turns into five or six weeks requiring  another top to bottom cleaning.

Realizing that my current cleaning is not really working for me anymore, I am listening and receiving these tips from Bobby as Cleaning Hack #1 is calling my name.

As you consider your cleaning strategy, listen as Bobby shares these insightful solutions to keeping our homes clean. ~ Tracy

4 Cleaning Hacks to Make Cleaning Your Home Easy

Photograph used by permission from Suzanne Dubose Photography

Cleaning is one of those tasks best fit into the “habits” territory. Generally, people either tend to love it or hate it, but changing how you go about it seems to take major effort.

Often, we clean based on how we were raised. If our parents showed us a number of useful cleaning tricks, we just continue to use them as adults, rarely seeking out new methods or products.

We’ve heard it takes 21 days to form new habits. Try using these 4 cleaning hacks to make cleaning your home easy over the next 3 weeks and see if new habits are formed for you!

Cleaning Hack #1 – Clean Daily

Although it sounds terrible to clean every day, by dedicating a small amount of your time daily to cleaning, it’s remarkably effective. With a small checklist, like this one from Real Simple, you can cover the basics of picking up and wiping down surfaces quickly.

No more embarrassment when an unexpected guest shows up at your door!  Other benefits: keeping up with your stuff, feeling more productive and an increased positive outlook.

With daily cleaning underway, it also cuts out time for a more intense scrub down later. The more intense oven scrubbing and refrigerator clean out are more likely to get done quickly when everything else is already in order.

Cleaning Hack #2 – Simplify Your Products

The grocery aisle is loaded with various cleaning products, all designed to help you tackle specific cleaning tasks. But, are they really necessary?

Chances are, you can eliminate most of what’s in your cleaning basket and pare it down to a few key products. Baking Soda, vinegar, ammonia, dish detergent, and hydrogen peroxide can do wonders in cleaning your house.

Buy in bulk when you do need to purchase cleaning products, and be sure to utilize all available coupons for discount stores to save both time and money in the long run.

Cleaning Hack #3 – Use the Right Equipment

While reducing the number of cleaning products makes cleaning your home easier, sometimes you have to pay more attention to the tools needed. It’s remarkable how much faster and easier cleaning becomes with the right sponges, rags, and scrubbers.

Another trick is to use cleaning gloves. People become more inspired to scrub harder and tackle dirtier jobs while wearing gloves.

And don’t even think about buying cheap equipment. Find the best vacuum you can afford by seeking out coupons, rebates and more  to maximize savings opportunities and eliminate frustration down the road.

Cleaning Hack #4 – Get Organized

One of the simplest and most effective ways to make cleaning your home easy is to get organized. Purge closets of unnecessary junk and straighten them out with a system for where things go.

Quit throwing junk into drawers and use drawer organizers instead to keep everything in order. Try bins and boxes with labels to help keep stuff contained.

When everything has a place, it makes it far easier to put it back there and take care of your stuff.  Which leads us right back to Cleaning Hack #1….

At first glance, good cleaning habits can seem hard to get implemented. However, with these four cleaning hacks to make cleaning your home easy, it’s far more manageable. And like every good habit, once you see the results, it’s worth it.

This post is authored by SelectAware, a leading online coupon portal for thousands of major retailers and merchants.

I’m honored to have Emma Macmillan, a professional writer, present a how to clean a dust pan and brush segment.

Though I rarely use a dust pan and we don’t have a brush, I’m not sure I’ve ever cleaned the dust pan.

To clean my floors, I sweep with a broom and dump the contents onto our carpet. I pick up any large pieces or strands of dust, and then vacuum.

When I use my dust pan, I am usually cutting hair. After having placed all the strands into the trash, I just wipe out the dust pan.

Realizing that picked up does not mean it is cleaned, I will clean the dust pan on its next use.

Without putting you on a guilt trip but alerting you to the why and how, Emma shares three methods to clean a dust pan and brush. Thank you, Emma, and happy cleaning! ~ Tracy

Domestic Cleaning: How to Clean a Dust Pan and Brush

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Believe it or not, you need to clean your dust pan and brush with every domestic cleaning session.

Because the two are so small and contained, we tend to ignore the fact that bacteria gets trapped in the bristles of the brush, serving to infect every new surface it apparently brushes clean.

House cleaning will invariably involve a dust pan and brush at some point. You most likely rely on the device in attending to the line of muck you’ve just swept to one side with your broom.

There’s nothing wrong in doing this, only you will be left with a pretty dirty brush and dust pan afterwards.

Especially when it comes to kitchen cleaning, all sorts of debris are ultimately removed via the dust pan and brush.

Homes with pets are obviously going to have twice as much bacteria floating around, in which case, there’s even more of a pressing need to clean your small-scale cleaning equipment more often.

So how do we do this? There are a few different ways, so choose your preference from the following:

1. Bucket of Lemon Juice and Vinegar

Simply slice a lemon in two. Then take one half and place it in a small bucket, resting it diagonally and having the inside face outwards – as if greeting the sun. Put a full kettle on to boil.

Once boiling, pour the water directly onto lemon slowly and carefully, gradually filling the bucket. The aim here is to release small doses of pure lemon juice into your solution without de-juicing manually – without getting strands of messy pulp in your mix. Then, add two cap-fulls of white wine vinegar to the mix and stir with a wooden spoon.

Slowly proceed to place the brush and dust pan into the mix, ensuring all the brush’s bristles are submerged. Now grab an old rain coat and place it over the bucket in order to trap air. The steam circulating beneath will thus become so strong that, with the assistance of the lemon juice and vinegar, will serve to penetrate the bristles and remove debris.

Let it sit for 5 hours before removing the brush and dust pan and rinsing them in the bath with hot water. Pour your solution out, mindful not to clog your drain with debris that came off the brush.

2. Use the Washing Machine

This one is simple but is a waste of laundry detergent since you will need to wash the brush and dust pan alone while applying the standard amount of detergent.

If you prefer to use your wash machine however, simply proceed to connect the brush and dust pan together before wrapping a bath towel around the cleaning apparatus. This bundle will prevent a noisy washing machine as it throws the tools around.

Protect your kit this way as the plastic could chip off otherwise. Apply your regular dose of detergent and put on a half hour wash. Dry outside in the sun for 4-5 hours.

3. Vacuum and Air Dry

If you don’t want your brush and dust pan to get wet at all, then you can always vacuum the set and place it outside afterwards. While this is okay in the short term, you’re advised to clean with hot liquid before too long.

To vacuum, use the end of the hose. Hold it closely to the brush. The cylindrical hose end of the vacuum is good on the brush since it lets you really get into the bristles. Push the hose end right into the brush and comb over thoroughly before combing the dust pan as well.

Proceed to connect the brush and dust pan together again before placing them outside in the sun for 4-5 hours.

Emma is part of a team of professional writers, who, with enthusiasm and flair to detail, create content on home, renovating, cleaning etc. related topics. For further information check: Pimlico cleaning home.