15 Awesome Cleaning Hacks!

1. Laundry Bag In The Dishwasher

We recently talked about just how handy laundry bags are when it comes to washing delicate items like lingerie in the washing machine. Did you know that this wonderful little bag also works wonders in the dishwasher? We all have those items which we precariously place into the dishwasher and that inevitably end up near the drain at the bottom of the dishwasher. Put a stop to this by simply placing all small items into a laundry bag! Place it on the top rack and run the load through as normal.

And for all the Moms out there, this is also a great way to wash children’s toys as it both cleans and sanitizes.

2. Chalk For Greasy Fingerprints on Walls

To remove greasy fingerprints and other oily stains from your walls, all you need is a stick of white chalk, a cloth, and a little water. Just cover the stains with white chalk, wait a few minutes, and then wipe the chalk away with a damp cloth. Voila, stains be gone!

You can also use cornstarch or baby powder instead of chalk, but I find it’s easier to apply with chalk, and it’s fun to color on the walls every now and then.

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3. Aluminum Foil Dryer Balls

If you want a cheap and effective alternative to dryer sheets try tossing in a couple of aluminum foil balls in your next load. To do this take about 2 feet worth of aluminum foil, ball it up until it’s the size of a tennis ball and then just pop it in the dryer. Dryer balls are known to fight static cling and replace dryer sheets. And being that these ones are aluminum foil, they won’t leave any scent behind.

4. Save Silica Gel Packs

This isn’t so much a hack as it is just a good piece of advice for people who come across these every so often. Those little silica gel packs you find in various products—don’t throw these things away (and, according to the little package they come in, you should never eat what’s inside!).

What’s actually inside are little beads of silica gel which are awesome at drying things out by absorbing surrounding moisture. You can toss them in a travel bag to dry it out, or, one of my favorite tips, add silica gel packets to your jewelry box to keep silver pieces corrosion and tarnish free!

5. Shower Curtain Rod Bottle Holder

This is a hack Chad really wanted to try here at our home because, the truth is, the cabinet under our kitchen sink is a bit of a disaster and finding stuff is always a chore. So we bought a shower curtain rod (around $10) and installed it inside the cabinet under the sink. The end result was a unique storage solution for our spray bottles and microfiber cloths!

6. Dry Toilet Brush Under Toilet Lid

This was a hack that I’ve yanked from our very popular 3 minute toilet cleaning tutorial. When you’ve finished scrubbing the toilet and you have this drippy toilet brush, instead of placing it in the holder wet, leave the brush under the toilet seat to drip dry. I absolutely love this tip.

7. Dry Gloves & Boots With Rice

For those of you who actually experience precipitation where you live, you’re all too familiar with the ickiness of wet boots and gloves. So, when you have the wet boot or glove blues, all you need to do is place a sachet of plain rice into the shoe or glove, which absorbs moisture quickly and will help promote faster drying.

8. Pick up Pet Hair with a Squeegee

If you have cats or dogs, then pet hair is at the top of your cleaning issues list. I’ve heard this one from several of our community members before and my goodness—it works like a charm! Take a squeegee and simply rub it in short strokes along any hair-laden area, specifically carpet or upholstery, and watch to your horror as that squeegee yanks up 50 pounds of pet hair!

9. Speed up Drying Time with a Dry Towel

Here’s a quick and easy way to reduce the amount of time it takes to dry a load of wet laundry. All you have to do is put a clean, dry towel into your dryer, along with your wet clothes/towels. The dry towel will actually absorb some of the excess moisture making for a quicker more efficient dry time.

10. Bathroom Deodorizer in Your Toilet Roll

If you want your bathroom to smell fan-freakin-tastic—but don’t want to have any artificial scents in there—all you need to do is grab your favorite essential oils and add a few drops to the inner roll core. That way, your bathroom will have a pleasant scent which will be fairly low maintenance and gentle.

11. Fight Garbage Odors with Newspaper

I love this for two reasons. First, I hate, with a capital H, smelly, leaky garbage. I mean, nothing grosses me out more. So, if you’re not a fan of those nasty garbage fumes and drops of garbage juice just crumple up some newspaper and place it in the bottom of the garbage can. You can do this for the kitchen and even for your bigger garbage bins. The newspaper helps absorb odors and leaks. Amazing!

Our article 5 Ways to Make Your House Smell Great is the perfect guide to fighting nasty odors in your home!

12. Hangar Tag Trick

I did this in one of our recent videos, and some of you caught onto it. For those that didn’t, here’s the best way to hang your clothing so that it doesn’t fall down. Slip the garment tag through the top of the hanger hook and then place the shoulders on your hanger as usual. Now, your clothing will stay put! If your clothing comes with a ribbon you can use that as a hanging aide, and you can also criss-cross ribbon straps to help avoid items from falling off the hangers.

13. Quickly Clean a Blender

I love my blender to bits and pieces, and use it every single morning for my smoothie, which involves kale, spinach, berries, chia, flax, coconut milk and a bunch of other colorful, sticky and seedy ingredients. Needless to say, it gets pretty nasty each morning and can be quite a pain to clean—especially where time is limited. So, to easily clean it up, just fill it with warm water and a drop of dish soap, then turn it on and blend for a few seconds and then rinse thoroughly. So easy! It seems like common sense, I know, but I’ve been doing it the traditional way for years until I came across this tip.

14. Remove Clothing Pilling with Razor

If you get those tiny fabric balls on your clothing, you are a victim of pilling. The good news is, there is an easy way to get rid of them. You can use a dull razor blade to ‘shave’ off the tiny clusters and have a wad of tape handy to easily clean the razor. Even though you’re using an old razor be careful to not ruin your clothing. If you don’t have one available, you can use a cheap pumice stone to quickly buff off the tiny balls using short strokes and then grabbing the pile of pills.

15. Corn Starch to Get Grease Stains Out of Clothing

And finally, should you get a grease stain, you know the golden rule is to act fast! Blot up as much oil as you can with a paper towel by pressing down on the stain several times, and then color over the stain with plain white chalk or sprinkle some corn starch on the stain. The corn starch will absorb the oil on contact and you’ll see it start to form into a crust after a few minutes. Gently brush off the crust (being careful not to reset the stain) and then pre-treat with laundry detergent and launder the item as usual.

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