10 Spring Cleaning Tricks For Everyone

Lazy cleaning is all about minimizing the effort. But, minimal effort doesn't have to mean you live like a slob - it just means you need to know some cool tricks tools that will help do the work for you, or at least make it less painful.

Make a salad

Go ahead, prepare lunch. Now, while you're at it, shake some of that vinegar into your sink, along with some baking soda. The combination "is one of the most effective ways to unclog and deodorize drains," said Reader's Digest. "It's also far gentler on your pipes (and your wallet) than commercial drain cleaners."

Vinegar is a miracle substance that can do everything from cleaning stainless steel, glassware, and coffee makers, to trapping fruit flies, so make sure to stock up.

Freshen up your microwave

Vinegar is also the perfect product to use in a dirty microwave. Add a half-cup of it to two cups of water in a microwave-safe bowl, turn it on for three minutes, and then let sit for a minute or two after. The inside of the microwave will be nice and steamy, so you can easily wipe it clean without almost zero effort.

Do some laundry

So, you got all excited about spring cleaning and washed all the towels, blankets, and stuff that had been at the bottom of the laundry basket since last spring. Now that stack of clean stuff is so tall it's about to tip over and hit the floor, which means you'll have to re-wash everything, contributing to the time and hassle that is doing laundry. Or maybe that just happens in our house. The truth is, the least painful method we've found for putting away laundry is to fold/hang while you're watching a favorite show. Laundry is a mindless task that requires little, if no, brain power, so it'll hardly take any attention away from the TV screen.

Dust away

Don't have any dusters? Raid your laundry room for some fabric sheets. They're especially useful for baseboards and blinds, because "the chemicals in dryer sheets help to repel dust," said Buzzfeed.

Clean the floor

Socks make great floor cleaners, especially the fuzzy kind you can pick up for a buck at the supermarket. If you want to have a little fun, turn up the music, spray the bottoms with some all-purpose cleaner, and have a family dance party on the hard surfaces in the house.

Or, pick up a pair of these microfiber slides, $11 at Amazon. "That way you can clean while you walk to the kitchen to get another serving of ice cream," said House Beautiful.

Clean the blinds

A sock on the hand sprayed with cleaning solution or vinegar also makes a great tool for cleaning dusty blinds, and, the bonus is that you can entertain yourself with sock puppets when you start to go stir crazy.

Clean the carpets

If you have visible stains on your carpets, it's safe to say there's probably far more disgusting stuff down in the fibers that you can't see. But let's get real. You know you're not going to go to the supermarket, bring home one of those giant rental cleaner things, and push it across your floor over and over, emptying out the nasty tank and refilling it again and again in what is - at least - a several-hour commitment to your floors. If you were willing to spend that kind of time cleaning, you wouldn't be reading something about cleaning tips! Search Groupon for carpet cleaning specials and get on the phone and make an appointment already.

Clean the bathroom

Is there anything as demoralizing as having to clean the bathroom? This is the place where breaking up the tasks and allowing products and tools to do the work for you comes in very handy. Go and liberally spray those counters and sinks and move along to another task while the cleaning product eats away at the grime - or, go back to your book or video game. In a few minutes, you can go back and wipe up the mess. If your surfaces are in really bad shape, you may need to repeat the process or ramp up the product you're using.

Don't have a sponge or anything you can use to scrub? Grab an old toothbrush. It's especially useful for getting in the little spots around your faucet that a sponge would have trouble reaching. A toothbrush dipped in bleach is also a great tool for cleaning up any spots in the shower that need extra attention, and for cleaning around the bath faucet and drain.

Now, you've got to tackle that toilet. No one enjoys this task. No one. But it has to get done. If you're heading to the market for cleaning supplies, look for Borax. "Toss a cup of Borax in the toilets overnight and shut the lid," said the TODAY Show. "Leave it overnight. In the morning, flush and get on with your day!"

Don't have any Borax and can't make it to the store? Grab a can of Coke. "Due to its acidic nature, Coca-Cola can be used to clean toilets, cook a steak, and even make an emergency oil lamp! So if your toilet has rings and lime scale stains, but you've got no cleaning gear on hand, you can grab a can of Coke out of the fridge to make your porcelain throne sparkle," said Huffington Post.

Let it soak in

Nasty cooktop or countertops? No need to waste your time scrubbing. Spray it down, let it soak, and get back to watching The Voice. Come back on the next commercial and wipe it up.

Make it a game

You can keep your $300 Roomba. We'll take this $33 remote control cleaning brush from Japan Trend Shop. "Your dreams are answered as you literally can sit and have the RC Mop do the housework for you," they said. This radio control toy/genius cleaning item is recommended for ages 12 and up, but I'm pretty sure my 10-year-old will fight me to use it.

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