Whether you clean a little or a lot, cleaning your home is a job that’s just never over. Kids make messes and everyone’s got to eat, right?
But no one wants to clean all the time!
So here are 10 simple cleaning tips I use to get the work over with faster while saving money.
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10 simple tips to make cleaning your home easier
1. Keep cleaning supplies in key places (kitchen, bathrooms, car, etc.).
If you have a couple extra minutes while your kid is taking a bath, grab the bathroom cleaner that you have conveniently in the bathroom cabinet and freshen things up.
It’s totally worth it to have duplicates of your most-used cleaning supplies so you don’t have to hunt them down when you want to wipe up a spill or get the toothpaste off a mirror.
I keep a mini-microfiber cloth and a travel spray bottle of all-purpose cleaner in my van so I can wipe off fingerprints and dust if I have a few minutes.
2. Use quality cleaning supplies.
Cleaning should be as efficient as possible. For me, it’s completely worth the extra money to invest in quality cleaners and supplies. Plus, many of these last longer than their cheaper counterparts anyway.
Invest in a set of quality microfiber cloths like this one and you’ll use them for years to come. Barkeeper’s Friend is another product that I swear by to take off tough grime, especially for sinks and bathrooms.
Laundry isn’t exactly cleaning, but I noticed a HUGE improvement in the time I spent on laundry when we upgraded our washer and dryer.
3. Focus on the areas that matter most.
For our family, that’s bathrooms and the kitchen. If those two areas are clean, my priorities are satisfied.
The laundry room may be a little dusty and the basement steps don’t get vacuumed as often as they could, but at least the kitchen is a clean and pleasant place to eat.
High-traffic areas are great places to target as they naturally get messy day after day. Pulling in the help of a Roomba can give you an edge here.
4. An ounce of prevention…
Save yourself tons of time and effort by preventing messes before they happen! For instance, make sure kids eat only in the kitchen, wash hands after dinner and keep their rooms tidy.
(Check out this printable kids bedroom cleaning list, too.)
Keep a shower cleaner in the bathroom. Spraying the shower regularly will help prevent build-up of the grime and soap scum that is generally a pain to get rid of.
Alternatively, a simple squeegee to remove excess water from shower walls and doors does a good job as well!
5. Stock up on key cleaning supplies.
It’s silly to run out of trash bags or toilet paper when you can buy enough for a couple months and then not have to think about it again. I buy trash bags at Aldi 2-3 boxes at a time.
White vinegar is great to have on-hand as well. Diluted with water, it acts as a safe cleaning product that costs pennies.
Amazon makes it easy to stock up on cleaning supplies without having to leave the house!
6. Keep the shoes outside.
My house gets dirty enough and we don’t even wear shoes inside! It makes a huge different to keep all those dirt-tracking shoes out in the garage.
Plus, theoretically there’s never a problem finding your shoes, although my children have been known to lose their shoes in various spots throughout the backyard 🙂
7. Use cloth over paper towels when possible.
Microfiber or even the cotton cleaning cloth options do a much better job of scrubbing and picking up messes than paper towels. (Grab our favorite microfiber cloths here.)
Plus, it’s the more cost-efficient and sustainable option for regular cleanings.
(Although I do save paper towels for the ickiest messes.)
8. Maintain key areas and do a little every day.
There’s always going to be something more to clean, and deep cleaning simply can’t happen every day.
So instead of striving for perfect or giving up because you can’t achieve it, just get into the habit of hitting the most important areas every day and doing a little extra cleaning when you can.
It’s much easier (and less depressing) to do the dishes every day, but let them pile up over the weekend and it’s a mess no one wants to face.
Related: How to make spring cleaning easy
9. Don’t ignore your most important cleaning tool – your family!
Your family helps to make the messes so they should help to clean them up! Cleaning is a burden that should be shared by the whole family.
Kids can start helping out when they’re little. By the time they’re 9 or 10, they’ll be able to make a huge difference in your workload. Find great tips on chores and kids here.
10. Use non-toxic cleaners.
If you’re going to have your kids helping you, it’s important to use non-toxic cleaners wherever possible. It’s also better for our furry friends!
Here are 5 all natural cleaners that are safe even for kids to use.
Need even more cleaning tips?
Check out the following posts to help make cleaning easier and faster!
- 10 cleaning hacks only professional cleaners know
- THREE tips to stay focused while cleaning
- What to do if cleaning sucks
- Printable house cleaning checklist
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4 thoughts on “10 easy cleaning tips I use to save time and money”
Great and easy implementable tips.
“Do a little every day” is something I have to tell myself often. It’s easy to push everything off until your house is a complete disaster area, and then you’re left having to devote an entire day or even weekend to deep cleaning. Cleaning throughout the week a little at a time is definitely a huge time saver and makes the whole job less stressful.
Those are some great tips. I love numbers1, 4 and 8,
I really like keeping cleaning supplies handy in key rooms. I will much more likely to clean the bathroom when I am in there if I have cleaning supplies right there.
Number 4 is so true. I know it’s a cliche but it really works. A little bit of effort early on, almost always saves a lot of time and effort.
Number 8 is similar to number 4 in that doing a little bit every day is a consistent dose of prevention. But the other thing I like about it is that it builds cleaning habits so that your house is always clean and it is never a bit ordeal or project to clean.
Easy, simple tips – very nice. Thanks for sharing
This really makes me wish I had more people living with me. My BF is gone 8-5:30 for work and my Bipolar’s depression saps my energy. My family lives 14 hours away (driving distance).
This helped affirmed that I should just clean the bathrooms and keep at the kitchen so I don’t worry so much!