Browse links
US residents can opt out of "sales" of personal data.
*Pins* *Grabs the cleaning wipes*
It's really quite easy. Watch the how-to video here.
It's an easy process that you should do every few weeks. Read more here.
It's secretly collecting grease and bits of old food while you think you're grinding everything to oblivion. Read more about how to clean it here.
Then next time, you won't have to dust — simply carefully remove the wax paper that's there, and replace it with a new sheet. Get more uses for wax paper at This Old House.
Seriously though, look at that swab of germs. Read more about our phone test and how to get your phone spotlessly clean without damaging the protective coatings here.
More like eewwwbuds. Here's how to do it.
Germ expert Kelly Reynolds, Ph.D., previously told BuzzFeed Health that after you've been sick, you should replace it or thoroughly sanitize it by soaking it in hydrogen peroxide for 10 minutes, then rinsing it thoroughly and letting it dry.
Learn more uses for hydrogen peroxide here.
And while you're at it, wipe down the toothpaste tubes. Learn how one blogger won this little victory against her three kids (plus how to clean your toothpaste) here.
Think about it: People with dirty hands who are washing their hands touch this all the time. And yes, their hands will get clean afterward, but the dirt will build up over time. Get this cute dispenser here.
You're supposed to wash your bath towels every three uses, but you can't exactly keep track of how frequently other people use your hand towels. According to Good Housekeeping, hand towels should be washed every couple of days, or if you have a large family or lots of people living with you, possibly even daily.
And if you want to especially revive grimy towels, you should wash them every once in a while with vinegar and then baking soda — read more about how to do it right here.
Learn how to wash pillows in your washing machine here.
This is especially true if you like to have your pets in your bed, but even if you don't, your bed and pillows can be a happy breeding ground for bacteria (which is what makes them smell kind of funky after a while). But even if you don't feel motivated enough to wash your sheets once a week, at least toss your pillowcases in with your load of laundry. For our sheet (and pillowcase!) recommendations, check out this post.
All sorts of things end up on bedside tables — water cups, books, glasses, plants, vibrators, condoms — so it's a good idea to keep yours clean.
Get the plans to build this awesome DIY bedside table here.
A wipe works for most non-leather bags; for leather bags, use a leather cleaner of your choice. Then for the spot where you set it down, pick some sort of sanitizer. See more of this gorgeously organized walk-in closet here.
Lint rollers make quick work of all the dust, dirt, and fuzz that gathers on the screens. Get more brilliant cleaning ideas here.
Read more about how to make this hand-cleaning hack work here.
This one's incredibly simple; read the tutorial here.
It get nasty under there, too. Learn how to completely deep clean your toilet here.
You should definitely check your manufacturer's instructions before you go at it, but you can also find a good, basic tutorial on cleaning your laptop safely here.
Washing clothes, of course. Washing Legos? Who knew. Read the how-to here.
This is also a helpful way to de-germ your house after the cold or flu sweeps through. Learn how to do it here.
This one's easy enough: Just wipe down with a sanitizing wipe or spray with Lysol to get rid of germs. If there's dirt in cracks and crevices, gently scratch it out using the tip of a toothpick.
A cleaning wipe would work here, or you could use a squirt of hand sanitizer and a Q-Tip or Kleenex, like they did here.
It doesn't take long to brush and then rinse it off, but you should do this regularly to keep your unit running efficiently. Keeping this clean will also probably help with any dust allergies you have! The photo above is my AC's filter after three months of moderate use. I took it to the sink, rinsed it off, and now it's as good as new!
Harder toys will need to go in the dishwasher, and softer toys in the washing machine — read more about what goes where here.
*Assuming everything is safe to wipe down. If you, like me, have a tendency to toss old receipts and Kleenexes in your bag after you're done with them (instead of throwing them away), cleaning out and cleaning up your purse every once in a while makes a big difference. (See more photos of people's bags here.)
This tutorial is one of my picks because it uses rubbing alcohol, which actually does help disinfect. If the smell bothers you too much, you can add in a few drops of an essential oil of your choice.
One thing to note, though, is that with any cleaning wipe recipe that uses dish soap (and almost all of them do), you'll want to rinse whatever surface you just wiped down thoroughly, to keep bubbles from forming.