My go to cleaning essentials to streamline your house cleaning routine, so you can get back to the things you love.

Cleaning essentials 101

 A couple years ago, in an attempt to finally streamline my cleaning routine, I did a ton of research to find the right products to get the job done quickly and efficiently. I love a clean home, and believe it or not I prefer to do it myself, but over the years I have less and less time to allot to household chores. 

I can’t be the only 40+ person still trying to figure out the best way to get things done, right? Make a girl feel better and agree with me, k? So, assuming you’re in the same boat, I’m going to save you a ton of time and give you my holy grail of cleaning essentials.

a little background

I must let you know that I prefer to keep things as green as possible. I also like to keep my waste to a minimum. So I choose products that work best for me. You can easily substitute for similar items that work best for you. Ain’t no shame!

two ways to make cleaning easier

I attack cleaning in two ways. First, I make sure I have what I need where I need it. So, in the bathrooms, I keep a few cleaning essentials under the sinks. These are just designed for quick touchups, not any sort of deep cleaning. My favorite items to keep on hand are

• Clorox toilet wand and refills
• Norwex window cloths
• Paper towels
• All-purpose cleaner

These items allow me to keep on top of everyday cleaning. But for the weekly/monthly/or however long cleaning (let’s be honest it doesn’t always happen regularly), that is meant to be a deep cleaning, I have a cleaning caddy well stocked with cleaning essentials to get the job done super fast!

picking the right tools

As with anything, be it a home improvement project or everyday household chores, having the right “tools” makes all the difference. Without the tools to get the job done right, I would find myself wasting time. Time I didn’t have! These are my absolute must have cleaning essentials for my caddy. I lug my caddy from room to room and have all the tools I need readily available to deep clean any space.

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If you would like a nice, tidy little list for future reference, I created a handy-dandy one for you! You can get it below.

EVERYDAY CLEANING ESSENTIALS!

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The scrubbers

• Norwex EnviroCloths: Cleaning surfaces without chemicals
• Norwex Window Cloths: Cleaning glass, mirrors and stainless steel
• Soft Scrub Sponge: When things need a good scrubbing
• Scrub Brush and Mini Brushes: A hand held brush for cleaning the shower and the mini brushes are awesome for detail work in small crevices
• Magic Erasers: Getting scuffs off baseboards and trim

The Dusters

• Norwex Dusting Mitt: This is nice to have for quick dusting, but it’s a little big for my hand so I tend to use the EnviroCloths more
• Lambs Wool Duster: I prefer the lambs wool duster becuase the shape  works really well for dusting my wood work and baseboards and saves my back from hunching over to clean these things. Microfiber dusters are a good option as well
• Small Wisk Broom: This little broom is fabulous for brushing off furniture quickly with out lugging around the vacuum 

The Cleaners

• Heavy-Duty Degreaser: I use homemade, again use what you prefer
• Air Freshener: I use a homemade recipe for a fresh clean scent without chemicals
• Castile Soap: For cleaning things that need a little more than water and the cloths (ex. grout). I love the travel size for a variety of scents
• Amber Spray Bottles: I use these for my homemade cleaners. If you prefer to purchase your cleaners, then you can buy bulk and refill these bottles
• Squeegee: To clean off water from showers and to clean windows as needed.
• Trash Bags: To clean up messes and empty trash cans as you go

Additional tools

• Stick Vac (I have this one)
• Vacuum (I have a Miele upright, but it does not seem to be available anymore…here is a similar one)
• Norwex Mop/Power Mop

A little advice from yours truly

I know some people like to do one task for the entire home and then move on to another. I have never been that person. I like to clean an entire space before moving on. This is why the caddy is so very helpful.

I’m sure this isn’t news to some of you…but I know for sure there are some of you that need to hear this…

Clean each space starting at the top

and work down to the bottom

I know, I know…you’re impressed with my deep thoughts. But if my kids and husband don’t know where to start, then maybe it’s safe to assume more people need to know this time saving tip. 

My process for cleaning a room

Let’s just break this down for you all real quick. Here are the basic order of tasks and the cleaning essentials I use to get the job done quickly.

1. Dust everything, starting at the ceiling (think vents, and corners) and moving down to baseboards (including walls and art). Cleaning essential: Wool Duster
2. Wipe down all surfaces. Cleaning essentials: Norwex EnviroCloth and Norwex Window Cloth
3. Vacuum and mop last. Cleaning essentials: Stick vac, upright vacuum, mop or power mop
4. Spray air freshner as you leave for a lovely fresh scent. Since I clean mostly with water and EnviroCloths, I like to do this one last step for a lovely and clean scent. Cleaning essentials: Air freshener

Well there you have it. If you’re like me and prefer to clean your own home, but need some fine tuning of how you get that done, then I hope these cleaning essentials and plan of action are helpful to you.

Now go out and get her done! “Happy” (-ish) Spring cleaning!