I love cleaning! Not a lot of people do, but I find it therapeutic and cleansing.
But what I absolutely hate is wasting my time and energy. That is why I’m always looking for the best products that will make my cleaning routine more simple and/or enjoyable.
So here are ten different products that changed and simplified my cleaning routine forever.
1. SILICONE TOILET BRUSH
I know I just said I loved cleaning, but I don’t like cleaning toilets. I’m not sure anyone does.
I especially hate using regular toilet brushes, because I don’t find them practical or hygienic. So more than two years ago I started looking for an improved version of a regular toilet brush and I found a silicone brush from LooBlade.
I read some reviews and quickly ordered two. Once they arrived, I had to test them out and I loved them! I never thought I could be so excited about toilet brushes – I even showed them to my friends, haha. But they truly changed my toilet cleaning routine; they’re effective, clean and hygienic.
Unfortunately, this brand is no longer available, but many different brands have silicone brushes available today, so if you’re looking to replace your old brushes, maybe this is something you can try. I will link the silicone toilet brush alternatives and all the other products mentioned in the post if you want to shop them yourself 😉
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2. STYLISH SHOWER SQUEEGEE
As you will see in this post, I am a huge fan of Joseph Joseph products (not sponsored, unfortunately, hehe) because I find them stylish, innovative and practical.
So when I saw they designed a small shower squeegee that you can easily store on your shower door, I knew it would be a great addition to our bathroom.
I heard other people talking about using a shower squeegee after showering and how great it is to keep your bathroom clean and tidy, but I just never got into it because all of the other shower squeegees were big and bulky and not cute, so I always hid them somewhere, which meant I forgot about using them until it was too late.
But with this little gadget, I always remember to clean the shower door quickly, and not only that, my husband remembers as well – which is a huge accomplishment in my book.
And because we use it pretty much every time we use the shower or bathtub (sometimes we still forget, we’re only human), I have a much easier job when it comes to my weekly cleaning. So if you want to simplify your bathroom cleaning as well, this is definitely a gadget to go for 😉
3. VINEGAR
I know vinegar is not technically a product, but I still want to mention it because it truly helped me reduce the cleaning time in the bathroom.
When it came to window and glass cleaning, I just always used the normal glass cleaners that you can buy in the store. To be honest, I never found them truly effective, but I assumed that’s the best a cleaner can do with a though limescale.
Then everything changed when I started using vinegar on my taps, windows and glass surfaces. Because vinegar is slightly acidic, it helps break down the limescale without the need for extra elbow grease. So if you have trouble cleaning the limescale on the shower door, sinks and taps, I recommend you give vinegar a try – just make sure to use white vinegar only because red vine or apple vinegar can stain the surfaces if not careful.
I personally like to dilute the vinegar with 50% water and put it into a cleaning bottle spray for easy usage. Plus, water makes the vinegar cleaning solution a bit gentler on the surfaces and also on the nose because, yes, vinegar has a strong smell, even when diluted.
And then I just lightly spray the surfaces I want to clean, I wait a minute or two for the vinegar to start working and then I simply wipe the surfaces with my microfibre cloths. All that is left are super sparkly clean taps and mirrors.
4. KINFILL REFILLABLE CLEANING PRODUCTS
I already talked about the Kinfill refillable cleaning products in my 2020 favourites, but I will mention them again because, obviously, they’ve had a huge impact on my cleaning routine.
Before discovering the refillable cleaning products, I always did my best to find more natural, sustainable and eco-friendly products in recycled plastic. And even though I found some products that worked great, I was still not in love with the idea of constantly buying plastic bottles over and over again.
That’s why I also tried a few DIY cleaning solutions, and even though they were okay, they didn’t truly impress me – except for the vinegar glass cleaner, that one rocks, hehe!
So long story short, in 2020, I discovered a brand Kinfill which provides you with both stylish reusable glass cleaning spray bottles and small refillable cleaning solutions that you dilute with water. Their concept tackles the problem of constantly buying and binning plastic bottles because, in reality, most cleaning products contain around 90% water, so there is no need to buy a full-size bottle every time you run out of your cleaner.
Now you can only buy the remaining 10%, which is a concentrated cleaning solution that you dilute in their glass bottles you already have (you can also use any bottle that you have at home, I just personally love their design, and they bring me joy when I use them). So you’re basically making your kinda DIY cleaning solutions using their products.
I bought their Full House Collection, which includes a multi-surface cleaner, glass and mirrors cleaner, tub and tile cleaner, and a floor cleaner. And I love all of them, but as I said before, I find white vinegar with water much more effective for a glass and mirror cleaner, so this is the only product I decided to not repurchase in the future as I have an alternative that works much better.
Plus, they’re also vegan, not tested on animals, pet-safe, and have no nasties, so if you want to step up your cleaning routine make sure to give them a try 😉
5. CORDLESS VACUUM CLEANER
I know that cordless vacuum cleaners can be expensive, but honestly, this was by far the best investment that we’ve made to improve our cleaning routine. We bought our cordless vacuum cleaner more than 5 years ago, and it simplified our cleaning immensely. Whenever we need it, we simply bring it out and voila, we’re ready to go.
We bought the one from Dyson and so far it’s still going strong. Plus, I also love the charging station and how simple everything is.
This is the only vacuum cleaner that we have, and yes, a regular vacuum maybe a bit stronger and you can vacuum for as long as you want, but honestly, because we vacuum regularly and we don’t live in a big house, we don’t anything more than a good cordless vacuum.
My two partners in crime 😉
6. E-CLOTHS
I try to use as many reusable products as I can, and when it comes to cleaning, there is nothing better than good quality microfibre cloths that you can use for absolutely everything.
So when I saw the microfibre E-cloths in the store, I was really impressed with their statements and the fact that you can use their products with water only. I still prefer to use a little bit of cleaning solution with it, but I’m much more sparse than I used to be. And because they’re washable at 90C, you can simply disinfect them when needed.
I discovered this brand 6 years ago, and since then, I had a lot of time to test out a lot of their products. Here are my absolute favourites:
- General-purpose cloths that work great for pretty much all surfaces. I use them for our tables, kitchen tops, shelves, taps, sinks, wooden surfaces,… pretty much every surface that isn’t a glass or a mirror. I must admit that I also tried their bathroom cloth, kitchen cloths, stainless steel clothes, etc., but I was not all that impressed. I just feel that their standard general cloths do an amazing job and there is no need for the extra towels.
- Window cloths work great on glass and mirror surfaces because these cloths don’t leave any streaks or small microfibre hairs, so they’re truly wonderful if you want a good shiny finish after cleaning. I also use them as the last step on my taps to give them that extra shine.
- Floor mop is another favourite of mine. The mop is light and easy to use and, the best part, the mop heads are washable and reusable, which I love.
- Wash & wipe cloths are a staple in our kitchen. We basically use these instead of regular kitchen dish towels because I never liked how normal cotton kitchen towels feel in my hand, plus they’re usually not that absorbent.
- Kitchen dynamo is the last product on my list of E-cloth favourites because it’s our go-to kitchen product for our everyday kitchen cleaning. We use it on our kitchen surfaces, dining table and also for our sink and taps.
The general-purpose cloths with glass and window polishing cloths
7. CLEANING CADDY
The right size cleaning caddy for your needs can make or break your cleaning routine. I used to clean without one because I lived in a small apartment, and I simply grabbed the products that I needed, which I then carried around with me.
But when we started living in a bigger apartment, this wasn’t really working anymore. So I tried storing products in different rooms, but having duplicates always bothered me. Then I ordered a caddy, where I can keep everything that I need and it made cleaning so much easier. Whenever I want to clean I simply take it with me and I keep everything in one spot. So neat and smart!
If you want to create your own minimalist caddy so you can enjoy your cleaning more, then check out the blog post all about minimalist cleaning routine + tips.
8. RECYCLING BIN
Here comes another Joseph Joseph product – I promise I’m not sponsored 😉
We love recycling in our household, and whenever I find a bin that makes recycling easier I’m all for it! So the bin I’m sharing with you next is basically one bin with two openings to make recycling much easier.
We keep it in our bathroom, and before we had this little bin, I literally sorted our bathroom trash into our main bins – I told you, I’m a dedicated recycler.
So now, we don’t need to worry about that anymore; we just recycle everything on the spot. We use the big opening for recyclables, such as plastic bottles and toilet rolls, and the small opening for non-recyclables. Simple!
9. HAIRBRUSH CLEANER
I’m sure I’m not the only one who likes to have clean hairbrushes in the bathroom drawer, but unfortunately, in my attempt to clean my hairbrushes clean, I often pulled out some bristles, even though I tried to stay as gentle as I could.
So when I was in the store buying the replacement for the previous hairbrush I damaged, I saw this small little hairbrush gadget that supposedly helps with cleaning your brushes and decided to give it a go.
All of that happened around 3 years ago and I’m happy to say that the gadget absolutely works! I now clean my brushes weekly, and they’re always clean when I need them.
10. LAUNDRY DISINFECTANT
One of favourite products that helped me simplify my laundry routine is definitely a laundry disinfectant.
We don’t have kids yet, but my husband is a professional sportsman, which means I’m doing a lot of laundry. Plus, sometimes I have to get rid of the odour without washing items at a high temperature.
So when I found a laundry disinfectant, it shortened my washing time of those items almost by half while also making sure those clothes were deeply cleaned.
I don’t use it all the time, but only when items need a deep wash and they can’t be washed on more than 30 or 40C.
What are some of your cleaning staples? Let me know in the comments below 🙂
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