Pic: Africa Studio (via Shutterstock)

Sick of cleaning before you start?

I hear you loud and clear! Who likes cleaning? Not me, anyway. Save time, effort and money with these tips.

Also check out heaps more useful info showing what you need to do, plus to save you money and time, in simple steps to clean your house, plus print these handy cleaning checklists and cleaning roster to easily work out who does what, when.

Bathroom cleaning tips

Cut down your shower scrubbing by keeping a spray bottle of vinegar in the shower. Just ask people to spray it around a bit when they’ve finished showering, especially on grimy bits. It’ll keep the dirt in check like a store-bought shower spray so it’s easier to scrub anything off at the end of the week (or whenever you get to it…).

If you have to clean the shower on your own, do it while you’re in there (or you could do it with someone…you’ll save water).

Toilets: use leftover cola as a toilet cleaner (no joke, that’s why it’s GREAT for teeth. Haha.); leave it overnight then scrub it with vinegar, bicarb and/or eucalyptus to finish it off so it’s sparkling…well, clean, anyway.

Wash your shower curtain in a cup of vinegar plus a cup of bleach (but only if bleach is ok to use in your washing machine – check the instructions first, look it up online or even phone the manufacturer — better than destroying your machine), along with some white towels and a normal amount of washing powder or laundry liquid. Hang the shower curtain back up after washing and it’ll straighten out in a few days and be as good as new.

Put a bin in the bathroom – better than people leaving gross stuff like pads or condoms lying around or clogging up the toilet.

Pic: Christian Delbert (via Shutterstock)

Kitchen cleaning tips

Yep, again, try to wash up as you go, or at least chuck things in to soak as you finish with them. It’s so much easier to do than letting it all pile up until it’s stuck on, or even worse, a hotbed of maggots (and it happens so fast in Summer, especially with meat or dairy).

Try these handy hints to make cleaning a breeze!

Leave an open empty bottle of vanilla essence in the fridge, or wipe the fridge out with a few drops of vanilla to remove smells

Soak tricky pots overnight in salt and/or detergent and water.
Clean the microwave: boil a cup of water until steaming then wipe over (add lemon juice to the water if you like).
Spray the inside of your oven with vinegar then throw on bicarb and wait for the bubbling to stop. Wipe it off. This works on pretty much anything festy – pots, bathrooms, stinky sinks (just pour a kettle full of boiling water down afterwards), bongs (hey, that got your attention!).
Put a clean tea towel in the fridge crisper to stop slimy water (and change and wash it sometimes).

Don’t use metal on non-stick unless it is specified as ok – you’ll ruin the coating and make it hard to clean and cook with.

Buy scrubbing cloths and scourers that don’t scratch non-stick.

Other useful tips

Use cloves in wardrobes and drawers to deter moths and silverfish.

Maggot prevention?

To stop maggots in your garbage, stop flies getting in.

Use a bin with a tight-fitting lid and, if necessary, give it a spray with vinegar, and/or a hot water rinse, then sprinkle with eucalyptus oil if you can be bothered (it does make it smell much better) – the rumour is that mothballs deter the little buggers, so you could also try putting a few in the base of the bin.

Maggot cure!

If the maggots are in your bin already, rinse them out with a kettle full of boiling water (I know, not nice, but neither are maggots in your bin).

If they’re wriggling around somewhere you can’t do this, like on carpet or something, you can use a beer trap – just put a dish full of beer next to them and they’ll climb in and drown happy. (This tip also works for slugs and snails in the garden. Seems everything likes a beer on a hot day.)

Got cat litter?

Frankly, it’s pretty foul in the bathroom, and disgusting in the kitchen, as it doesn’t take long to smell baaad.

If you have a cat and it uses litter, make sure you clean it each day or your housemates will soon tire of it (at least remove the solids and any obvious wee patches) plus keep it outside-ish or in the laundry or somewhere away from food and personal grooming.