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1. Microwave your damp or wet kitchen sponge for one minute to kill 99.9% of the bacteria lurking on it and potentially prolong its life.
2. And microwave a bowl of water + lemons for three to five minutes — then let sit for another five minutes to let everything steam — and you'll be able to wipe off every single dried-on food bit with one swipe of a paper towel.
3. Dab some mineral oil on a cloth or paper towel to instantly wipe off the buildup of sticky dust that always seems to gather on your range hood and the back of your stove.
4. Shine up a dingy cooktop using just the smallest bit of elbow grease: drizzle on dish soap and hydrogen peroxide, sprinkle on some baking soda, then grab your dish brush to quickly scrub in circles.
5. Seal your greasy stove grates in with a bit of ammonia to make years of gross build-up disappear literally overnight.
6. Soak a greasy vent hood filter in borax and water for fifteen minutes to make it look basically brand new.
7. Wrap encrusted sinks and sprayers with vinegar-soaked paper towels to dissolve any mineral buildup.
8. Spot clean cooked-on gunk in your oven by scrubbing with a homemade paste of dish soap, baking soda, and water.
9. Sort through your fridge, freezer, and pantry to toss everything that's expired, moldy, or otherwise past its prime.
10. Wipe down your fridge shelves and drawers with a 1:1 vinegar and water solution (or your favorite all-purpose cleaner), then wash any mysteriously sticky ones in the sink, just like you would a dish.
11. Shine up your stainless steel appliances with a coat of wood dusting spray to erase (and prevent!) those pesky fingerprints and smudges.
12. Simmer water and cream of tartar to easily scrub away those impossible burnt-on bits from your favorite pots and pans.
13. Descale and clean your coffee maker so it keeps brewing delicious pick-me-ups: just run it with vinegar instead of water.
14. Lift the flaps of your garbage disposal to brush off all the lingering bits of food and grease — the likely culprits behind its persistent stink.
15. Rinse out your dishwasher's filter in the sink, then run an empty, hot cycle with just baking soda. This will keep everything running smoothly and make sure your dishes always get as clean as they can be.
16. And combat those hard water stains you find on pretty much every load of dishes by adding a cup full of vinegar to the top rack.
17. Rubber-band a plastic bag filled with vinegar around your shower head to banish hard water and just generally deep-clean it.
18. The same trick works to de-scale your faucets — and if you have particularly hard water, you may even want to use some harsher chemicals.
19. Wash your moldy vinyl shower curtain liner in your washing machine with a couple of towels, and it'll come out looking as good as new.
20. Just like you did in the kitchen, go through your bathroom cabinets and throw away (/recycle!) all the makeup, soap, and other beauty products that are expired or that you don't use anymore.
21. Mix dish soap and warm vinegar together in a spray bottle for a quick bathtub cleaner that conquers all kinds of dirt and soap scum buildup.
22. And lay bleach-soaked cotton coil in your tub to vanquish the moldy caulk that no amount of cleaner or scrubbing seems to touch.
23. Smear some hydrogen peroxide and baking soda paste over your dingy grout, go do something else for a bit (like tackle other cleaning tasks), then wipe it up with a gentle scrub to reveal flawlessly clean lines.
24. During your regular toilet scrub, don't forget to reach all the way under to get the siphon jets, 'cause it gets gross under there, too!
25. And take off the toilet seat so you can really clean every last square inch.
26. Bust through cloudy hard water buildup on shower doors by coating them with glass cooktop cleaner.
27. And the hard water and rust stains in your toilet are no match for a pumice stone.
28. Alcohol + vinegar + water will shine up your windows, mirrors, glass, and chrome, and leave your bathroom smelling like, well...nothing.
29. Blast away dust build-up on your bathroom fan with canned air; turn the fan on first, and it'll suck up the dust to blow it all outside, instead of into your bathroom.
30. Ensnare the dust built up on your ceiling fan by putting a (dirty!) pillowcase over each blade, then sliding it off kind of slowly.
31. And generally dust and/or vacuum from top to bottom, so you don't finish dusting your doorframe only to realize that some of the debris settled on the carpet you *just* finished vacuuming.
32. Secure microfiber cleaning cloths to a pair of tongs, and you have pretty much the fastest way to dust a bunch of blinds.
33. Grab a coffee filter to dust off your TV without leaving fuzz or residue behind.
34. Run all your air vents through the dishwasher to rinse off more dust than the vacuum could ever hope to pick up.
35. And quickly dust all your lampshades with a simple lint roller.
36. Give your tile floors a truly deep wash using the ~slop mop~ method — it actually picks up dirt and grime, instead of just spreading it around.
37. Rip through all the twisted hair on your vacuum's beater brush with a simple seam ripper.
38. Rescue your pet hair-plastered furniture and rugs: spritz on a little water, then scrape it into clumps with a squeegee.
Bonus: Here are even more ways to clean up after your pets!
39. Sprinkle baking soda on your couch and mattress, then let set for about an hour to help absorb any odors.
40. And enlist the combined powers of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda to completely remove any mattress stains.
41. Launder your pillows in the washing machine so you're not sleeping on all the sweat, drool, skin cells, and other gross things that build up night after night.
42. Vanish some stubborn carpet stains with vinegar + dish soap + water — and the steam setting on your iron.
Ready to get to cleaning? Let's do it!
