‘It’s shocking how much cleaner my house is’ says mum who swears by 20 ‘lazy girl’ cleaning hacks that require no effort

KEEPING your home spick and snap is a full time job, especailly if you’ve got kids.

But even if you don’t, finding the time to scrub and polish those hard to reach place can feel almost impossible.

That’s why one woman has shared 20 of her best lazy cleaning hacks to keep your home gleaming with basically no effort at all.

Posting on YouTube, Taryn Maria explained that her house is the most clean it’s ever been using the simple tricks.

“Back in the day I used to clean my home all the time and the funny, ironic thing about it is it was never clean,” she said.

“Since then I’ve had three kids and moved from an apartment to a larger home and my house is cleaner than ever but with very minimal effort,” she added.

So, here are the simple ways you can keep your pad spotless.

Keep a laundry basket in everyone’s bedroom

This habit is something Taryn picked up because she was fed up of picking up her kids’ clothes from the floor.

“It keeps the whole room clean and tidy and on laundry day I just go around collecting them,” she said.

You can make it a special job for each of your kids to do every day to ensure no one’s bedroom is a mess.

Designate laundry days

Instead of doing laundry whenever she can find the time, the mum-of-three now has designated laundry days.

For Taryn, these are Wednesdays and Saturdays – but of course you could do it whenever works best for your family.

This trick means the whole family knows when their dirty clothes will be washed and when they’ll get them back afterwards – a win-win.

“It keeps the laundry moving and on track, and I don’t have to think about it,” the mum said.

Use towels to clean your bathroom

Part of Taryn’s ‘lazy’ cleaning routine is double tasking, one way she does this is by using the towels from her bathroom to give the surfaces a quick wipe down before putting them in the washing machine.

She explained that she wipes down mirrors, sink and even skirting boards before.

“You might not want to do this with really fancy towels, but honestly, with three kids none of our towels are really fancy,” she said.

Wash the sink and your hands

One other quick habit Taryn swears by is to wash the sink at the same time she washes her hands.

She doesn’t use any fancy products for this, and it’s not a deep clean, but using her one hand and liquid hand soap she will give the sink a quick wipe.

She said: “My hands are already wet, the sink is dirty, I’m standing there, why not?”

Wash the shower when you’re in it

Taryn said she keeps a sponge in the shower so she can clean the showerhead, tiles and around the taps while she’s in there.

She sometimes does this when she’s conditioning her hair and waiting to rinse the product back out.

“It just seems like less work for some reason when you’re taking a shower and cleaning it than when you set aside a whole big amount of time to clean your shower,” the mum explained.

Use liquid soap instead of bar soap

This is a more recent trick, Taryn explained, but it’s made a huge difference to her bathroom.

According to the mum, less soap scum is left behind from the liquid soap, which is perfect if you hate scrubbing and cleaning – and who doesn’t?

Add toilet cleaner to the brush holder

To keep her bathroom fresh all day, Taryn said she keeps a tiny bit of toilet cleaner in the bottom of the toilet brush holder.

Sometimes she switches this out for essential oils too, she added.

Clean the microwave when it’s still steamy

Rather than set aside a specific time to clean her microwave, Taryn’s lazy girl hack is to give it a wipe as soon as you’ve finished using it.

At that point it will still be warm and steamy, so any stuck-on grime will be easier to remove than when it’s been left to cool down.

Buy a splatter guard for your microwave

As well as cleaning the inside of your microwave right after you’ve used it, the mum recommended getting your hands on a splatter guard.

All you do is put the plastic dome over your food so if it does bubble and splatter, the guard will get dirty, not your microwave.

You can then chuck the splatter protector in the dishwasher or clean it with the rest of your dishes.

Run a dishwasher cycle with vinegar

You probably already know dishwashers can get pretty smelly if they’re not cleaned.

Not only that, but they don’t clean your dishes properly when they’re overdue a good scrub.

But one easy way to get around this is to run a cycle with a cup of white vinegar on the top shelf, Taryn said.

“It’s very simple, you just put it in and run the dishwasher with your dishes in it,” she explained.

Use your dishwasher for more than just dishes

Saving time and effort is the name of the game for Taryn, so she makes the most of her trusty dishwasher.

Putting over filters, some lighting fixtures and even fridge shelves in the dishwasher has been a game changer for the mum.

Of course, make sure anything you load into your machine is dishwasher safe beforehand.

Wash dirty oven racks in the bath

Oven racks can get pretty dirty, and since they’re so large it’s hard to clean them properly in the sink sometimes.

That’s why Taryn takes hers upstairs and cleans them in the bath with hot water and dish soap.

She lets the racks soap in the liquid for a few hours, or even overnight, before rinsing away the grease and grime.

Clean your washing machine with vinegar

Similar to your dishwasher, you can clean your washing machine with some white vinegar.

You don’t need to go out of your way to do this, in fact, Taryn said she just adds a cup of white vinegar to her normal laundry load and the machine does all the hard work for her.

“It also acts as a fabric softener, so it’s like a win-win situation,” she said.

Keep your bins from smelling with newspaper

Bins get get pretty smelly, so one way to tackle this is by crumpling up a few bits of old newspaper and putting them at the bottom of the fresh bin liner.

Not only will this help with grim odours, but the paper layer will also absorb any liquids – you can’t go wrong.

Invest in a cordless vacuum cleaner

You don’t need to fork out the big bucks on the top brands, but a decent cordless vacuum cleaner is perfect for lazy cleaners.

“Then when you see things on the floor you don’t need to lug anything out,” Taryn said.

Never allow shoes in your home

“This one is super lazy,” Taryn said, before revealing she never allows people to wear shoes inside her home.

Stopping the dirt before it comes in will mean you can go longer in between cleans, and it’s a really easy habit to get going with the whole family.

You can even create a special shoe nook by the door to make this easier.

Multitask phone calls

If you’re someone who spends a lot of time on the phone, make the most of it by getting some cleaning done.

You can pop in some wireless headphones or keep your phone on loud speaker and fold laundry or other simple tasks as you chat.

Use cleaning as exercise

According to Taryn, vacuuming your home is a great way to burn calories.

So rather than going a walk around the block she suggesting killing two birds with one stone and using the times when you do need to do a deeper clean as an opportunity to exercise as well.

Limit downtime in the kitchen

Ever find yourself lingering in the kitchen waiting for food to cook or the kettle to boil?

The cleaning whizz’s lazy method means making the most of this time by giving the counters a quick wipe down or doing a few dishes.

You could even just root through your fridge to get rid of anything that’s gone out of date.

Keep cleaning supplies where you use them

If you’ve ever been in the bathroom and noticed something needs cleaning but couldn’t be bothered to go and get all the supplies to do it, this one is for you.

By keeping the products you use in the room you use them it means you can quickly do small jobs on the spot.

“Back in the day I didn’t do this and when I needed to clean I would be looking all over the house for my different cleaning products,” Taryn said.

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Claudia Jackson

February 2, 2024 1:26 pm