There are a few rare souls out there who love cleaning. But most of us would happily skip household chores if we had a team of cleaning fairies at our service.
It wouldn’t be so bad if the house would go ahead and stay clean for a while. When will self-cleaning houses become a thing?
While I can’t give you the secret to a self-cleaning house, I can share the tools and tips that have made cleaning easier and faster for me.
These are three of the best cleaning tools plus my favorite strategies to help you almost not hate cleaning. Together we can knock out the dust bunnies and maybe even have a semi-OK time.
Note: This article contains affiliate links. See my disclosures for details.
Brilliant Cleaning Tools
When you want to minimize your cleaning time and get the maximum results, you need to do two things:
- Clear the counters and tabletops.
- Clear the floors and rugs.
And you can knock out both of these tasks in a hurry with the following tools.
1. Keep a Spotless House With a Large Handheld Vacuum
My house has zero carpet, so I thought Eric was a little goofy when he said we needed a large cordless Dyson vacuum in addition to our regular vacuum. But I was wrong. Crap, I hope he doesn’t read this.
After I reluctantly started using this vacuum, I realized it makes it so easy to keep a spotless house. You know all those little spills that you probably wouldn’t want to get out the full-size vacuum for? You can just grab this cordless vacuum and get it done.
Crumbs under the table? Gone.
Run the vacuum over your kitchen, bedroom and bathroom rugs real quick to make everything look fresh and clean.
Perfect for Fur Babies
This vacuum is a cat owner’s second best friend (after the cats, of course). You can quickly tidy up when your cats roll around in cat nip and leave a mess behind. And if your cats shed as much as mine do, in minutes you can eliminate the cat hair they leave all over the furniture.
While the Dyson is on the expensive side, you might be able to find a refurbished one. That’s how Eric got a deal on ours.
There are more affordable alternatives, too. Search for “cordless stick vacuum.” Find one that works for your budget, and I bet you will hate cleaning a little less.
Related: See how it went when I hired a one-time cleaning service
2. Get Spick-and-Span Surfaces With Simple Green
Wouldn’t you love to be the homemaker who makes her own all-natural cleaning products, Laura Ingalls style? So would I, but I’m just not that guy right now.
When you hate cleaning, you have to remove as many barriers and steps as possible to make it easy to clean. So I use Simple Green every day as an easy way to clean up my counters and other surfaces.
That Non-Toxic Magic
Simple Green is a non-toxic, biodegradable all-purpose cleaner. I’m not an eco-friendly expert, but as far as I can tell this is the next best thing to mixing your own cleaner.
You can use Simple Green just about anywhere in your house. I use it the most in the kitchen. Just keep a kitchen towel handy, spray down the counters with Simple Green and wipe them dry for a fresh kitchen.
Since Simple Green is multi-use, it can help you can pare down your cleaning closet to just a few supplies. The Simple Green site has tons of instructions for using it on different surfaces. Clean up everything from stainless steel appliances and glass-top stoves to backpacks, changing tables and even toilets and showers.
Simple Green is concentrated, so you can dilute it to make it last a long time. I have the giant jug and use it to replenish a spray bottle with one part Simple Green and four parts water. I guess it’s almost like mixing your own cleaner. 😀
Related: Create a more eco-friendly kitchen with these easy swaps
3. Go Wild With a Dry Mop
Eric actually smiles from ear-to-ear when he runs around the house with the dry mop. He doesn’t hate cleaning like I do, but even I don’t mind wielding this cleaning tool.
Using a microfiber dry mop is the easiest way to remove dust and dirt from slate, tile and hardwood floors. Run it all across the bedroom hardwoods to protect your bare feet from crumbs. Do a quick clean under the coffee table or around the entryway.
It really shines at cleaning under baseboard heaters. This spot is a huge collector of dust and cat hair. Most vacuums won’t reach under baseboard heaters, but the dust mop cleans them out in a hurry.
Strategies to Simplify Your Cleaning Routine
In addition to the easiest cleaning tools, you need smart strategies to streamline your cleaning routine. This is what works for me.
Declutter Like Marie Kondo on Crack
If you haven’t read Marie Kondo’s book yet, get The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. This lady knows what she’s talking about!
Less stuff = less cleaning. Be aggressive about clearing out stuff that you don’t use or enjoy anymore. If it’s collecting dust and not making you happy or serving a purpose, it’s just costing you time to keep it clean.
For instance, I don’t mind dusting off an adorable mod cat accessory. It’s worth the cost of time for me. But old college textbooks, free stuff from a trade show or random crap on the kitchen counter? Byeeeeee.
Which unwanted items are just taking up space and time in your life? Send them out the door.
The more you declutter, the easier it will be to get and keep a clean house. And when you know how pretty your house can look, you might even start to like cleaning.
Related: Is the KonMari folding method worth doing?
Cut Out Extra Steps
Look for ways to make cleaning as easy as possible. For instance, you may want to keep a toilet brush and cleaner in every single bathroom to remove all barriers from bathroom cleaning.
If you see that a toilet needs cleaning, you can take care of it right on the spot without having to gather supplies. And you don’t have to drag used toilet brushes around the house (yuck).
This may be contradictory to the decluttering advice above, but sometimes having item duplicates can help you be more efficient. Consider if and when it’s worth it for you to keep extra supplies to help streamline your cleaning routine.
When You Really Don’t Want to Clean…
Finally, if you still really hate cleaning, even with the best cleaning tools and strategies, it might be worth it to hire a cleaning service. I tried it once (here’s how it went).
I hope you found some cleaning tools and strategies to make it easier to tackle your house cleaning.
My favorite way to simplify my cleaning routine is to hand Prentice the vacuum..lol. I do keep toilet brushs in each bathroom to make that task easier. Since Prentice retired we do the cleaning as a team which helps to simplify like you and Eric. He does the vacuuming, and swifiting floors and mopping. I do the bathroom cleaning, kitchen and dusting of all the furniture. Not fun, and I hate cleaning but at least we make it easier by sharing the “fun”.
Haha, great tip Judy! Make sure Prentice pulls his weight around there! 😀
I really dislike cleaning. But, I do enjoy a clean house. I am going to have to try Simple Green. One of the major things I hate about cleaning is all the harsh chemicals, especially the smells. If I could avoid that and still end up with clean surfaces then I’d be happy. A handheld vacuum would be nice as well. Our vacuum does a good job but is so heavy to lug around the house.
Same here…I don’t like cleaning but I can’t stand a messy house! I do like that the Simple Green isn’t toxic or harsh, and it doesn’t smell like gross chemicals. I use the standard cleaner and it smells fine. I haven’t tried the lemon or lavender. I bet the lemon would be good!
This post is seriously awesome! I’ve been wanting to get an easy to use vacuum that’s light but haven’t really looked into which one to get. I’m totally coming back to your post tonight to shop!
What about that dry mop? How do you keep it clean? Do you need to hand wash it?
I cannot believe you can set up house cleaning on Amazon! My mind is blown!
I needed this post! I’m a disaster in this area.🤦🏻♀️ Thank you!!!!
Thanks, Lauren! With the dry mop, you can just toss the microfiber cloths into the laundry to clean them. Mine get loaded with dust and cat hair, so I throw the bulk of that away and then toss the cloth in the laundry.
I was surprised about the Amazon cleaning services, too! You really can get anything on Amazon these days!
I don’t mind cleaning, tbh. I dislike having a dirty house more than I dislike cleaning. I’ve found that having a cleaning routine really helps me keep my house clean all the time.
“Marie Kondo on crack” perfectly sums up my decluttering method, haha. I’m not sentimental and I just throw everything out that’s not adding value!
I really want to get a cordless Dyson – my mum has one and I love it 🙂
Thanks for a great post x
Haha, I am pretty aggressive about decluttering, too. I get stressed if there’s too much clutter around. But I do have to fight my sentimental side sometimes! The sentimental clutter and the kitchen clutter are the hardest for me to get rid of. Kitchen stuff is hard because I always think someday I’ll have massive amounts of time to use my elaborate baking tools, but I am slowly condensing down to just the things I actually use.
I love having a cordless vacuum! It makes it so easy to clean up messes real quick.