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    34 Lazy Cleaning Shortcuts You'll Wish You'd Known About Sooner

    You really *can* quit doing it all the hard way, I promise.

    1. Microwave a bowl filled with water + lemon for 3–5 minutes — then leave the door closed for a few minutes so everything can steam — and you'll be able to wipe off every single dried-on food bit with one swipe of a paper towel.

    2. Skip the elbow grease on those extra greasy dishes with cooked-on grime, and spray them with Dawn's Foaming soap instead. Wait 10 minutes, then all that gunk will wipe away literally like magic.

    3. Lay down a layer of wax paper or paper bags on the tops of cabinets and furniture (especially in the kitchen) to catch greasy dust, then simply swap it out months later when it gets grimy.

    4. Line your refrigerator shelves with absorbent, machine-washable mats to prevent small spills from drying to a sticky mess you have to painstakingly scrape off a little at a time.

    the shelf liners in green in a fridge, on inner shelves, doors shelves, and in drawers

    5. Pop one of these cleaning pods in your Keurig coffee machine and "brew" it exactly the same way you make a regular K-Cup, and you'll have a cleaner coffee maker in less than, like, three minutes. (Way more efficient than like, running a rinse every single time you brew coffee.)

    6. Save your stove from mess with stove burner covers that will be MUCH easier to clean than the regular stove would be...not to mention not too hard or expensive to replace with a new order when one get just too impossibly messy.

    7. Skip scouring big dirty travel mugs and water bottles. Instead, drop in fizzing cleaning tablets to banish those stains and get everything squeaky fresh and clean without needing any work or supervision from you. 

    Get a box of 12 tablets on Amazon for $8.

    Promising review: "I found these in a BuzzFeed article and figured eh, why not. I dropped in two tablets and let it sit for two hours. I dumped it out expecting to scrub a little, but nope. It took out EVERY. SINGLE. STAIN. Like it was nothing. It looks like a brand-new coffee pot, and now I'm annoyed that I've spent so much time and effort trying to get this stupid pot clean. It also leaves no smell behind whatsoever, so nothing to make your coffee taste weird." —Kindle Customer

    8. Make pet or lingering food smells vanish without lifting a finger: Just light a candle designed specifically to eliminate those sorts of scents.

    lavender green tea candle sitting on coffee table

    9. Pop a bunch of things in the dishwasher to clean them all at once while you go and do literally anything else: dusty AC vent covers, sticky stove vent hood filters, grimy glass light covers, and even wrenches and screwdrivers can stand a go.

    The blogger's dishwasher rack with all the listed items loaded in it

    10. Then clean all the gunk and scum out of your dishwasher by running it empty with a cleaning tablet.

    11. Gift your washer a similar deep-clean between loads with a washer cleaning tab specifically designed to keep it (and therefore the clothes you clean in it) smelling nice and fresh, too.

    12. Clean and polish your stainless steel in a single, quick, satisfying step with a brilliant spray-and-wipe cleaner. I've seen this at work at my parents house (more on that below), and it genuinely shines stuff, like, immediately.

    13. Spray some fume-free foam cleaner in your oven, let it all sit overnight, then easily wipe away the crud in the morning — the oven will look brand-new, and you get to spend more time catching up on your favorite shows.

    a reviewer's oven before, crusted in a thick dark layer of burnt food and grease, and after, no more grease and shiny stainless steel

    14. Dissolve hard water stains on your water faucets by wrapping them up in vinegar-soaked paper towels for an hour. The stains will wipe off in one go, and in the meantime, you're not scrubbing literally anything.

    The blogger's faucet before, caked with white hard water stains, and after, no more water stains in sight

    15. Or opt for miracle that is the no-streak, no-scratch The Pink Stuff, if you have a bunch of crud all around the house you want to take care of, but don't want to spend forever scrubbing down. Grab the tub and a rag, then go around and tackle everything — from that grimy stovetop to the random stain on your hallway wall to the scum- and hard water-encrusted mess that's your bathtub or shower — in mere minutes each. 

    Reviewer using it to clear up hard water stains in tub
    A customer review before and after photo showing the results of using The Pink Stuff on their stovetop

    Get it from Amazon for $5.97.

    Promising review: "Found this product on TikTok. I don’t think I’ve ever seen value like I do this product! Literally use it on EVERYTHING!! Kids and teens have dirt, grime, and grease on their walls? ...This will make it look like a new paint job. Baseboards need some love? A pea-size amount of this makes them look brand new. Need a shoe cleaner? PERFECT for sneakers. I could name a million more uses, but I can ASSURE you this is worth every penny. What’s more? You need such LITTLE of this product, it will last a VERY long time. Thank you, TikTok!!!" —Rachel in CLT

    16. Grind up a garbage disposal cleaning packet — its foam will reach into the depths of the disposal for you to clean out every. single. last. inch. of smelly grime.

    17. Fill a dishwashing wand with vinegar and dish soap, then bust through (and prevent) soap-scum and hard-water buildup by scrubbing down the walls + door *while* you shower.

    A dishwand filled with blue soap on the floor of the blogger's shower

    18. Or mist your shower walls, curtain/door, tub, fixtures and floor once a week after you turn off the water and you'll (almost) never need to deep clean your shower at all.

    19. Wipe away built-up layers of soap scum and hard water stains on your glass doors with the help of a soft cleanser — the reviewer who took the photos below said they didn't even have to scrub.

    Before: A glass shower door with lots of white hard water buildup covering it; After: the same door, now completely clean, clear, and transparent

    20. Tackle even the worst, most egregious rust stains with a spray-on cleaning gel that'll dissolve it right before your eyes. It literally takes only a few seconds to work before you can wipe and rinse it off!

    21. Catch all the hair you and the people you live with shed in the shower using a silicone drain cover, so you can stop spending so much $$ on chemical de-cloggers and never have to call the plumber for help — the true lazy dream.

    22. Secure a plastic bag filled with vinegar + baking soda around your showerhead to descale hard water stains and break up mold or mildew while you go sit on the couch.

    23. Clean your toilet like usual, then stamp some gel into the bowl to actually keep it that way for weeks and months at a time, and save yourself from having to scrub again in the near future.

    24. Run a line of no-odor mold and mildew remover gel along your gross grout and caulking to banish even seemingly embedded black spots from your bathroom without having to do more than simply rinse it away after a few hours.

    25. Banish stubborn buildup with a Rubbermaid power scrubbing brush. Yes, it's basically a giant toothbrush with a bigger head and stiff bristles designed to tackle all the grossest nooks and crannies around your home. The bristles scrub 60 times EACH SECOND, for a very thorough, very speedy clean. 

    Gif of BuzzFeed Shopping reviewer cleaning grout with the brush
    Reviewer's picture of half of their tile floor with dirty grout, and the other half totally clean
    Natalie Brown / BuzzFeed, www.amazon.com

    I've had one of these since 2017 and pull it out pretty much anytime I have a tough scrubbing task! My grout, corners of my shower, edges around my faucets, and all kinds of other small spots get impecabbly clean in no time, using just this brush and a little diluted soap. And it's handy to pull out anytime I have a particularly stubborn, stuck-on mess, like on my stove! Read my full Rubbermaid Power Scrubber review for more.

    Get it from Amazon for $17.38.

    Promising review: "I'm going to be honest, y'all — I suck at housekeeping. I am one of the laziest people I know when it comes to keeping a clean house. So this little battery operated scrubber is SO. HELPFUL. I used it to clean my bathroom counter and this tool got off several years of caked on dust and hair. I was even able to clean under the rim of my sink, and what came out thanks to this brush was near barf-worthy. If you are like me and you're ultra lazy, this tool is for you." —Ashley

    26. Or for larger areas, quickly shine up all kinds of impossibly dirty surfaces with drill scrub brushes. The embedded grit in your tubs, showers, grout, and oven doesn't stand a chance!

    a bathtub before: dull and covered in stains from age and use and after: the same bathtub, now clean, shiny, and looking almost new

    27. To keep your floors cleaner than you ever thought possible without having to lift a finger (especially if you have pets or kids!) splurge a little on a robo vac. IDK about you, but there's zero way I'm ever going to vacuum or sweep every day without one of these little buddies doing it for me.

    28. Pick up pet hair *before* your beloved pup or kitty can shed it all over your furniture by petting them for ten minutes with this grooming glove. They win, you win.

    The grooming glove with silicone nodules, full of hair held in front of a French bulldog

    29. Swipe your lampshades and pillows with a lint roller to pick up all the built-up dust like, in an instant.

    30. And wipe down all your other surfaces with a microfiber duster, which attracts and holds onto dust like a magnet the FIRST time, instead of brushing it into the air just to settle again later.

    31. Tackle even more dust with a single wipe of the Baseboard Buddy, if you're bothered by the buildup on your baseboards, ceiling fans, and crown molding. It extends up to 4 feet, so you can simply walk around holding it to get results, no bending over, crawling on your hands and knees, or climbing on a step stool. 

    a reviewer showing a dirty baseboard buddy pad
    a before and after of a reviewer's once dusty baseboards

    The kit includes one Baseboard Buddy and three reusable microfiber pads which you can use either wet or dry. 

    Get it from Amazon for $24.99

    Promising review: "Buy it NOW. It was easy to put together and I sprayed it with Mean Green and went to the baseboards. No more kneeling and no broken back. This thing is amazing. It is durable and the pad is super absorbent. I am so happy. I can't wait to do the rest of the house!" —artgirl

    32. Rubber-band microfiber cleaning cloths to your kitchen tongs to pick up literally all the dust from your blinds.

    blogger's hand wiping down blinds with tool; close-up of all the dust the tool picked up

    33. Or opt for a slotted microfiber blinds duster that does the same thing, but for two blinds at a time.

    34. Encounter a really gross, big, pain-in-the-butt cleaning job? Whip out some heavy-duty cleaning wipes — with 'em, it only takes a few swipes to remove grease, oil, tar, ink, paint, permanent marker, food stains, and so much more.

    You, when your partner asks you to do something after you've tried just one of the things on this list: