29 Genius Spring Cleaning Hacks You Need to Know

The sun is out, the weather is warming up, and spring is right around the corner…

…and with spring, comes spring cleaning.

I LOVE to have a clean house, but I don’t necessarily like to do the work of cleaning it.

Anyone else?

Since spring cleaning is such a big task, to make this year’s spring cleaning a bit more bearable, I have gone ahead and compiled a list of my favorite spring cleaning hacks all together to help make spring cleaning our (and your) house just a little bit easier.

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If you’re curious:

These cleaning hacks will help you, too, if you’re wondering how to tackle spring cleaning this year. (Without getting overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done.)

Doing a NORMAL weekly cleaning of your house requires time, but doing a thorough deep clean of your house like spring cleaning requires a whole lot more time and work, and if you’ve been around this blog for a while you already know that I like to keep things as simple and uncomplicated as possible.

(And if you’re new here – HI and WELCOME! I’m Amy and I like to keep life simple.)

I don’t like when things are over complicated (especially when they don’t need to be) – which is exactly what many people believe spring cleaning needs to be.

Over. Complicated.

I’m a strong believer that any kind of deep clean, whether it be a big fall clean (yes – that’s a thing), spring cleaning, or any sort of thorough cleaning of your house, can – and should – be simple.

If you want a free checklist that you can print off to help keep you on track while you spring clean your house, you can grab yours below.

It IS possible to effectively spring clean your entire house without spending all day cleaning, and I’m going to share with you exactly how you can do that with these spring cleaning tips and tricks.

But first, you’re probably wondering –

When to start spring cleaning?

The most obvious answer to this question is: Spring.

But if the urge to spring clean your house hits you before the calendar officially claims it’s springtime, don’t think you have to hold off.

You can start your spring cleaning whenever the urge hits you – it could even be the middle of winter.

Really – I got the urge to start our spring cleaning when it was still in the minus temperatures outside… so I started. Although most people like to wait until the weather has warmed up since some of the things that are going to need special attention are on the outside of the house. 

(But really, don’t worry about what other people say – whenever you want to start your spring cleaning, you go ahead and start.)

If you’re ready to get started with your spring cleaning (and are ready to learn how to tackle spring cleaning as fast and painlessly as possible), let’s get right to it!

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Spring cleaning hacks and tips

1. Remove any stains with two ingredients

If you have stains on clothes, carpets, or cloth furniture that won’t come off – no matter what you try – there are two ingredients you can use to remove almost any stain.

What are they?

Dawn dish soap (except it can’t be any dawn soap, it has to be this specific one) and hydrogen peroxide.

Mix together 1 part dawn dish soap and 2 parts hydrogen peroxide and spread the solution over the stain. Let it sit for anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours (depending on the color of the clothing/furniture and the age of the stain), then dab off (or throw the clothes in the wash).

Generally, this stain remover works best on lighter colored fabrics, but you can use it on darker colors – you will just want to shorten the amount of time it sits on the fabric.

Some people prefer to switch the hydrogen peroxide out for white vinegar when using this homemade stain remover on darker clothing and furniture (hydrogen peroxide can sometimes lighten fabric, so if you are only applying it to one area on a dark piece of clothing it might lighten that area).

Grab the ingredients for this homemade stain remover here.

2. Shine stainless steel appliances with baby oil

I picked this trick up years ago and have been using it ever since – if you want your stainless steel appliances to look nice and shiny (…without small people fingerprints all over them), rub baby oil into them.

I use these rags (they don’t leave streaks) to rub the baby oil into the appliances – and this is the specific brand of baby oil I use.

3. Condition leather furniture without expensive leather conditioner

My husband and I have been using this trick for years. We couldn’t swallow the thought of paying so much money for a small bottle of leather conditioner (have you seen how pricey they can be?), so we decided to try using what we had at home to condition our leather furniture (and car interior).

We used this oil, which we had at home already, and used microfiber rags to rub the oil into the furniture. That oil can be a bit greasy, so we went over the furniture again with a dry rag and buffed the leather up. The oil we use is a perfect alternative to the expensive leather conditioners you can buy, and it works just as good – and it smells amazing.

This is the oil we use to condition our leather.

4. Clean the inside of the microwave without scrubbing

The inside of the microwave can be a scary place if it’s left too long without getting wiped out.

If it gets left for a couple days it usually ends up being a lot bigger of a job than simply wiping it out with a rag.

That’s when one of these special microwave cleaners comes in handy.

All you have to do to clean the inside of your microwave is stick your angry mama inside the microwave, turn it on for about three minutes, then everything that was stuck on should easily wipe out with a cloth.

Grab your angry mama microwave cleaner here.

5. Get rid of odors

You can get rid of odors in your house with the help of two things – depending on where the odors are.

If the odors are in a larger area of your house, I recommend using baking soda to soak up the smells. (Really – baking soda absorbs smells, so it’s not just masking the smells as these things do.)

Put a bowl of baking soda where the bad smell is and let it sit there for a couple days, switching it out for fresh stuff if the smell is really bad.

If the bad odors are in a smaller space – like shoes – you can use this to get rid of the smell. I use it on my husband’s work boots all the time and it literally whisps up the bad smell.

I stick this tea bag into his shoes in the evening and by the next morning his shoes are smell-free. It works SUPER well!

6. Learn how to get organized

If home cleaning and organization isn’t your cup of tea – grab this course to help get yourself organized. It has helped TONS of families get their homes back into order even when they don’t have much time to spend cleaning and organizing every day. If that’s you – grab the course here for 10% off with the code DELIBERATE10 .

7. Use a magic eraser to get rid of stubborn scuff marks

When my husband and I were moving out of our rental house we realized we had really scuffed up the walls, doors, and baseboards in some areas.

So – instead of losing sleep (and our damage deposit) over it, I went out and purchased these magic erasers and started scrubbing. I was surprised by how well they worked and how quickly they removed the marks that we couldn’t get off otherwise.

But, if you have a big area to clean it can get pretty expensive if you’re always using the Mr. Clean magic erasers, so instead of spending a lot of money on those, you can grab a bulk container of knock-off magic erasers here that will do the exact same job.

8. Remove pet hair from the carpet with a squeegee

If you have pets in your house this should be one of the top hacks out of this entire list of spring cleaning hacks.

To remove pet hair from the carpets in your house, grab a shower squeegee (like this one) and run it over your carpets – it will bunch all the hairs up into a ball so you can easily remove them.

Or, you can get a vacuum cleaner like this one that is specifically made for getting rid of pet hair.

9. Clean cutting boards with salt and lemon

I always get grossed out by the thought of how much food our cutting boards harbor – no matter how good they get scrubbed. A trick I picked up a while back is to clean cutting boards with lemon and salt (make sure you use coarse salt so it really scrubs).

Sprinkle the cutting board with coarse salt and then cut a lemon in half and rub the cut edge of the lemon all over the cutting board, squeezing so some of the juices get let out of the lemon.

Related: Simple Room by Room Spring Cleaning Checklist

10. Dust your house with dryer sheets

Dryer sheets can be used for a lot more than just softening your clothes (like keeping mice away, freshening up a smelly room, and getting rid of soap scum). One of my favorite uses for dryer sheets is dusting our house.

I do have my favorite dusting rags that I usually use, but I like to use dryer sheets to dust every once in a while, too. Dryer sheets collect dust and leave behind a residue that actually repels dust, which means dust won’t settle back onto the surface you just cleaned with a dryer sheet for a couple days.

Which means, you won’t have to dust your house as often. You can buy dryer sheets in bulk, here.

11. Clean lampshades with a lint roller

Did you know you can clean your lamp shades with a lint roller? Have you ever tried to dust your lamp shades, only to realize you’re putting more dust onto the lamp than you’re taking off?

(No? Just me?)

Take a lint roller to your lampshades, like this, and it will pick up any dirt, dust, hair, or other particles that are otherwise impossible to get off.

12. Use a lazy susan in the fridge

If you find your fridge is always unorganized, a trick I’ve picked up is to use a lazy susan inside your fridge.

This way you can keep everything in your fridge easily accessible and you don’t have to worry about knocking things over while you reach to the back of the shelf to grab something. (Now you can just turn the lazy susan and get whatever you need.)

These are the lazy Susan’s that easily work in any fridge.

13. Use Norwex cloths for streak-free cleaning

I’m all about being frugal…

…but sometimes I splurge.

Something I unashamedly splurge on are these Norwex cleaning rags. Why do I spend so much money on these rags?

Norwex cleaning rags last a VERY long time – and they are antibacterial without the use of any cleaners. That means even when you clean with just water (or even a dry cloth), you’re cleaning just as well as when you use cleaners that are created specifically to get rid of bacteria.

These rags get rid of any kind of grime, dirt, and grease with JUST water, so I don’t have to worry about using cleaners around our house.

The good news is that you don’t need a bunch of these rags (because they are pretty pricey). All you really need is one microfiber rag like this one and one window cleaning rag like this one.

(Or you can get them as a set for less, here.)

14. Use toothpaste to remove carpet stains

If you have stubborn stains on your carpet that won’t come out, grab an old toothbrush and some toothpaste and start scrubbing. Rinse the area with water, and if the stain is still there scrub it another time or two. (If the stain is old you will have to scrub a fair bit.)

If you don’t have any old toothbrushes around that you can use, you can also just use a brush like this one.

15. Clean out dryer vents with a brush

Even if you clean your dryer filter after every load (which you should be doing), you should also be cleaning your dryer vents out at least a couple times a year.

Lint can fall off or escape behind the filter and collect down below in the dryer vent, and if it’s left for too long it can become a fire hazard.

To reach all the way into the dryer vent you’ll need one of these brushes, but it is well worth it. (I was really surprised by how much lint was getting past our dryer vent.)

16. Use a vacuum/mop combo to cut down on cleaning time

If you don’t have enough hours in the day to vacuum and mop all the floors in your house, using a vacuum/mop combo like this one will significantly cut down on the amount of time it takes to clean all the floors in your house.

17. Wash plastic shower curtains in the washing machine

If you’ve been spending hours of your life scrubbing away at the slime that collects at the bottom of your plastic shower curtains, you’ll be happy to learn this tip.

(I always thought you could only put cloth shower curtains in the washing machine… it turns out I was mistaken.)

Your plastic shower curtains can be washed in the washing machine just like cloth shower curtains. The only catch is that you’ll want to wash the shower curtain with a couple bath towels to keep it untangled and to help it get washed evenly.

18. Clean cloth furniture with baking soda

Baking soda removes odors and absorbs moisture, so it’s the perfect cleaner for cloth furniture – and it’s easy to use.

All you have to do to get your cloth furniture smelling fresh again is sprinkle some baking soda evenly over all surfaces of the furniture (this is what I use) and let it sit. The longer it sits the better of a job it will do.

Once it has been sitting for a couple hours, take your vacuum cleaner and, using this kind of attachment, vacuum away all the baking soda. Make sure you get it out of all the cracks and crevices.

19. Clean shower heads with vinegar

If the shower heads in your home have hard water stains on them, put white vinegar in a plastic baggie and tie it around the shower head.

Let it sit for about half an hour, remove the bag of vinegar, and wipe the shower head. The hard water stains should come right off and your shower heads will shine like they’re brand new.

(Vinegar is AMAZING for cleaning.)

20. Dust the ceiling fan with a pillowcase

Looking for an easy way to dust the hard-to-get-at ceiling fan in your house? Grab a step stool (I find this one works best) and an old pillowcase. Put the pillowcase over the fan blade, all the way to the base of the fan, then pull back so the dust from the top of the blade falls right into the pillowcase.

21. Clean blinds with tongs and cleaning rags

You could get blind cleaners especially for cleaning blinds, or you could create your own with a pair of tongs, two cleaning cloths, and a couple elastics.

Take your tongs (these kitchen ones work well) and wrap a cleaning cloth around each side of the tong, then wrap an elastic around the cloth so it doesn’t fall off. Then, clamp the tongs gently onto the blinds and run from one side to the other to collect dust.

22. Degrease the range hood filter with this specific soap

Range hood filters collect a LOT of grease and dust over time, so taking it out and washing it every once in a while is a good idea.

But, they can often be so greasy that it’s difficult to get totally clean with normal soap. That’s why you need to use this specific dish soap to easily get the grease off of your range hood filter.

Let the filter sit in a sink full of soapy water (with this dish soap) for a couple minutes then take a soft brush or rag to it and wipe it down. If you used the right soap all the grease should wipe right off.

23. Clean garbage disposal with lemons, ice, and salt

If you have a garbage disposal in your sink you can easily clean it by sprinkling some salt in it, throwing in a few pieces of cut lemon and a couple ice cubes in and then turning the garbage disposal on.

These three ingredients together will help clean any grime that has collected in the garbage disposal and will give it a nice, fresh scent.

24. Freshen up your mattress with baking soda

Use baking soda to freshen up, deodorize, and wick moisture out of your mattress. Just like you can use baking soda to clean your cloth furniture, it can also be used to clean your mattress.

It’s a good idea to clean your mattress with baking soda at least twice a year. Doing this will help prolong the life of your mattress since you won’t have to worry about moisture collecting and turning into mold.

Again, the longer you can let the baking soda sit on the mattress, the better. Once it has been sitting with baking soda on it for a couple hours, take your vacuum cleaner (you’ll need this vacuum attachment) and vacuum up all the baking soda.

You can get baking soda for a good price here.

25. Clean sponges in the microwave

If your sponges are getting a funky smell to them you can quickly clean and disinfect them by zapping them in the microwave.

Soak the sponge in water first, then put it in the microwave on high for one to two minutes – and it’s as easy as that.

26. Clean pesky window tracks with a Q-tip and toothbrush

Have you ever noticed how dirty window tracks can get, especially in the summer? And how difficult they can be to clean with a cleaning rag? (You never really can get ALL the way to the edges or corners.)

Use an old cleaning toothbrush to scrub a majority of the dirt out of the window tracks, then use a Q-tip to get the dirt that’s hiding deep in the corners out.

27. Easily clean your washing machine

If you haven’t cleaned your washing machine, you should do it – pronto.

I never used to clean our washing machines, until recently, when I learned that they should be cleaned.

The good news is that it isn’t as difficult as you might think. You can learn how to clean your washing machine here.

28. Dust baseboards with a broom

It wasn’t until after I had spent two hours crawling around our house on my hands and knees dusting our baseboards that I realized I could have made the job a LOT easier on myself.

Rather than crawling around on your hands and knees to dust your baseboards, and if you don’t want to get a baseboard buddy, you can easily dust your baseboards with a broom and a rag.

Stick the rag (or pillowcase) over the head of the broom and use an elastic to secure it in place, then walk (WALK – not crawl!) around the rooms of your house sweeping all the dust off your baseboards.

Keep in mind that if you have scuff marks or dirt that is stuck onto your baseboards, this won’t get it off – this is just an easy way to remove dust. If you do need something to get scuff marks or dirt off of the baseboards, you’ll want to use one of these.

29. Clean a glass stove top with baking soda and vinegar (and this scraper)

Use a spray bottle to spray white vinegar over the surface of your glass stove top, then sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda on top of the vinegar.

Let this solution sit on the stove top for about 15 – 20 minutes, then grab a stove top scraper like this one and gently scrape the surface of the stove. The grime should easily lift off.

Spring cleaning doesn’t have to be overwhelming or difficult, just follow your spring cleaning checklist, use these spring cleaning hacks, and get to work.

I’d love to know – what are some of your favorite spring cleaning ideas? Do you have any spring cleaning tips to share?

Ready to rock spring cleaning? Grab your free printable spring cleaning checklist below!

Related:
21 Best House Cleaning Hacks You’ve Never Heard Of
How to Clean When You’re Overwhelmed by the Mess
How to Clean Every Room in Your House