Picking my all time best cleaning tips is a tall order, but I’ve narrowed it down to the most effective and handy tips I know.
All-Purpose Cleaner
I know when you look in the cleaning aisle, you see so many different products and you’re trying to figure out: “Which one do I need for what task?” Obviously, there are tons of different products out there for tons of different applications but in my years and years of cleaning research and practice, I’ve come to learn that all-purpose cleaner is indeed just that. All-purpose. It cleans the majority of things that you need to clean in an average day. Of course, if you need a specialty product, go for it, pick it up, but an all-purpose cleaner is safe to use on the majority of surfaces in your home and beneficial to have in your cleaning basket. The best part is, you can make your own. A simple recipe is 1 or 2 cups of water and 1 or 2 teaspoons of dish soap. Now, if you want to get fancy, you can dash in 5 to 10 drops of your favorite essential oils for a great scent. It’s super gentle and super effective.
The S-Pattern
Now that you know about one of my favorite cleaning products, I’ll tell you about one of my favorite cleaning techniques: The S pattern. It’s much more effective than cleaning in larger circular motions, so it will save you time and energy.
If you’re doing a buffing pattern, a circle, you’re continually redepositing dirt back onto the surface you’ve already cleaned. This leads to streaking (and overall inferior results). The S pattern is a wave, starting at the top of the surface, working your way to the bottom. It allows you to collect all of the debris as you work your way down to the bottom of a surface, meaning you’re not leaving anything along the surface that you’ve already cleaned. Trust me, guys! Once you start using the S pattern, you will not go back.
Cleaning Toothbrush
For those of you who have been Clean My Space viewers for a while now, you guys know all about the cleaning toothbrush and for any of you who are new to Clean My Space, you might not have heard me sing the praises about an old crusty toothbrush – but I can tell you, they are miraculous when it comes to cleaning.
I didn’t believe this myself when I first got involved in the whole cleaning thing but eventually, but then I caved and took an out toothbrush and cleaned it out. I soaked it in vinegar and water for 30 minutes, then rinsed it. I started using it to clean all kinds of different areas (cleaning between uses) and discovered how incredibly effective it is. You can use it to clean light switch plates, TV remotes, bathroom tile, any cracks and crevices. It’s just that way to add an extra bit of edge to your cleaning without much more effort and by the way, it’s free, (already have old toothbrushes).
Toilet Brush Under The Lid
Every time I talk about this tip in one of our videos, people freak out. I don’t blame them because the toilet bowl brush in general is a really unappetizing thought, and then when you think about using it, and putting the wet bacteria covered brush back in the container? Well, there aren’t many things grosser than that.
This is a really easy way to deal with it: As soon as you’re done cleaning the toilet, put the brush underneath the lid, close the lid and just let it sit for 20 minutes. It’s no effort on your part and you get to put a dry brush back in the toilet bowl brush container, much less bacteria, odor and yuckyness.
Baking Soda & Essential Oil Deodorizer
If you want your room to smell great. This is a quick, easy, simple solution and you can use products that you already have at home. It’s like the ultimate DIY fix. Add one cup of baking soda to a nice container and then add 15 to 20 drops of my essential oils. Simply place it in the room and let the air and the baking soda and the essential oils do their thing. The baking soda helps deodorize the air and the essential oils help scent the space. It’s really good One-Two Punch and it’s very inexpensive and easy to do.
I’d love to know in the comment section below: Which tips was your favorite? Let me know if you have any great cleaning tips because I am always interested in learning more.
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thank you so much, dear, I think, it’s will work for my house cleaning.
I’m going to try the baking soda and essential oils for deodorizing a closet where we keep our laundry basket. Thanks!
Hey Melissa, Thank you so much for sharing this amazing post. It is very informative for my wife and helpful for me. I really like your blog. Please Keep sharing
This is a great web site to learn more and more.
Hello Melissa, Thank you for sharing such an amazing post. It is very informative and helpful for me. I really like your blog. Please Keep sharing.
Hi. Brand new to this site. Started off looking up if lemon essential oil was ok to use in cleaners around dogs. Got distracted and love your site. Hate cleaning, so always looking for ways around it. New to essential oils, so love the recipes. I haven’t been all through your site yet, so forgive me if it is covered. I am looking for tips on how to organize a very, very small pantry. It is the width of a standard door, then I have placed a stand-alone closet next to it.
Hello Melissa Maker,
1 to 4 Tips clear but NO.5
I am talking about your last (Baking Soda & Essential Oil Deodorizer), which essential oil do you recommend?
Any favorite oil. Citrus are good for cleaning/freshening applications.
I have to say I never thought about doing an “S” pattern while cleaning but it makes perfect sense. I will never go back to the circle cleaning again. We all no writing about cleaning is no fun task thank you for taking the time to write this and keeping it entertaining.
I did not read the article because the video is working for me well. Your Real Video helps me too. I try to see your video always. Appreciate for your effort. Great Creation as always!
Hello Melissa,
You are my favourite. your every post is awesome and your 5 Best Cleaning Tips too much valuable to me. I already bookmark it and I follow these tips. Thank you
I love my all purpose cleaner – 50/50 water and vinegar with a squirt of dishwashing liquid. Great for the entire house from windows and mirrors to greasy kitchen areas to soap scum in bathrooms and even cleans painted walls without removing the paint!
Right at the start of the video, house shoes on the bed…OMG!! Yeah, that just screams of cleanliness… Not!
my favorite was the room deodorizing tip. I have all boys, a dog, and a bird in the house. This will definitely come in handy. Thanks for the additional links. I sometimes view the Clutterbug site as well!
My favorite tip from the video was to place the toilet bowl brush under the bowl while it dries. Genius idea. I’m off to clean my toilet right now just so I can try this!
Loved the Baking Soda and Essential Oil tip! Please more cat care/cleaning tips in the future. 🙂
I stopped buying all-purpose cleaners and only use your all-purpose cleaner recipe, however, I thought you added vinegar to this mix? Anyway, this is my favorite tip because it is a cheap, easy and non-toxic cleaner to use everywhere.
Hi Melissa, thank you for all you do and share. My favourite is the toothbrush for detail cleaning. I’ve used this for years. It just gets every bit of grime on just about anything. The second would be the toilet brush airing, so simple, so effective.