What one hack, habit or product could you not live without?

[ladybee28]

Feeling the urge to upgrade my housekeeping and cleaning this year – what's made the biggest difference to your home?

A trick you learned, a product you couldn't do without, a routine or way of doing things that's sped everything up....?

Yes, I could just spend more time / work harder, but I'd much prefer it if you all just brought me your shortcuts and magic potions!

Bleach and baby wipes

Boiling water and a few drops of Fairy Liquid. Cleans everything.

Mine is questionable. I buy something new, perhaps a new frame, I then clean and dust the room before I decide where to place it.

I have a few, but the biggest laziest hack would be ...A robot vacuum from Lidl. It was a bit of a gamble.
But, it makes me tidy the floors and keep things off the floor.
I also pop the chairs on the table so it makes me clear the table!
We have a dog and a cat and I am obsessed with what the robot is able to pick up. I think to myself that i wouldn't have had chance to hoover that up.
I also have a cordless dyson that gets a lot use and is a lot less faffy than getting the cord out.

Cordless Dyson without a doubt! Life changing 😂

I will never be without a robot vac ever again. It's made my life sooo much easier. The best way to make housekeeping easier, in my opinion, is to get rid of all the unwanted, useless and unneeded (is that a word?) clutter and tat. All that "stuff" makes it near impossible to keep a tidy home, and I truly believe it's detrimental to our mental health. I also feel that it's imperative to ensure the kitchen is near and clean before bed every day. Waking up to a messy kitchen is a terrible way to start the day.

I have a scooba ( robot mop ) it's bloody noisy though 🙀

Flash sponge
Robotic sweeper/vac (like PP, from Lidl!)
Vax carpet washer

My go to cleaning job is the stairs- if they are properly vacuumed, the whole house feels cleaner
I also like to wipe all the paintwork with a white cloth and fairy and hot water- you wouldn't believe the grime that comes off the bannister and doors.

I like neutrodol powder on my carpets and then vacuum it up, makes everything smell clean. Windows open, scented candle on.

I love a clean house!

Rubber Mop for carpets - I have very thick hair and shed a lot, and a dog. This picks it up better than any vacuum (and I've tried loads). Also makes the carpets all nice and fluffy looking again.

Another vote for a Robohoover.

Wipe jars and bottles before putting them back in the cupboard or fridge.
Agree with pp's fairy liquid +very hot water suggestion and bleach suggestion. Don't get loads of different cleaning products if a few will do.
Clean as you go along .

Don't know if it works, but a damp cloth with a trace of conditioner on it is meant to keep dust off things like the tv.

Glass cloth for glass is brilliant.

If a job/task will take less than 10 minutes Do It Now. If you can get in the habit of that you'll never end up with massive jobs that take hours; the sort that depress you to think of and you put off so it just gets dirtier and bigger.

Also 100% agree with @Aquamarine1029 I clean my kitchen every night before bed, including the hob. Because I do it every night (and keep on top of any mess/spills during the day) it's never particularly dirty so takes me 20-25 minutes max before bed.

Bookmarking!

Washing up liquid is very harsh and will strip the colour out of many things. I washed the mud splashed render around my front window and it bleached the colour out!

Bathroom cleaner is a waste of time - use limescale spray to clean the sink, bath etc and the dirt goes away with the limescale

Get the best Miele cylinder you can afford.

Vinegar - cleans lots in the kitchen and bathroom.

Less stuff, less cleaning

The biggest impact for me came from getting organised. Good storage and brutal clear out. When your place is streamlined, it's a lot easier to keep clean.

After three utterly useless Dyson's - including the handheld one - I've swapped to Shark and I bloody love it. Makes such a difference to use something that works well!

Magic eraser, but be careful using it on walls as it can take the paint off.

Yes to vinegar. Can use it for multiple things. Taps, washing machine, sink, windows ....
Also I have a Miele hoover which is fabulous, I have cats and it picks up so much hair
I also agree about no clutter.

Robot hoover (life-changing)

Samsung 10kg WiFi washing machine (with a dry cleaning option for worn but not dirty clothes and waterproof program for jackets)

Two daily resets to house (super quick takes an average of 15 ms)

Declutter everything. We are a very very minimalist household now and it changed the way we live. DC (6 and 7 and one has ASD and is non-verbal) love a minimal playroom and use it so much more!

Permanent charity shop.bag on the go. Donate, recycle, pass it to friends... Get rid of it! I have been doing this for 5 years and haven't regretted getting rid of a single thing.

Get a morning and evening routine. It will become second nature

Self care (not the fluffy type of baths and pedicures) but the hardcore stuff : book pap smears, make a will, take vitamin d (or whatever you need)
Not pleasant stuff but it will give you peace of mind

Marie Kondo. I don't do the clothes folding, but the getting rid of everything that didn't 'spark joy' (or that had any other use!) has really helped minimise the clutter and make it easier to keep tidy.

My stick Dyson. It dies after 10 minutes which is perfect, because I know I don't have to clean the whole house from top to bottom. I can just do one room at a time and then have a perfectly valid excuse for slobbing out with my laptop again.

Cordless shark. Has actually changed my life.

I do a quick hoover every day - used to be about every two weeks and I HATED IT.

Now I whizz round and actually enjoy it.

I also like that its runs out of charge - so when it's done I'm done.

It makes such a difference

Also I have loads of decorative mirrors - makes the house so light. Clean those properly about once a month and it makes the whole house look so bright.

Also, hold a cleaning cloth with product of choice as you walk through the house a few times doing other stuff - wipe everything you touch as you go.

Clean door handles/bannisters /light switches etc without any effort at all.

And diluted cheap bleach in a old spray bottle. Cheap as chips and cleans everything. Ditto fairy liquid (by far the best) and hot water.

Make sure everything in your home has a home. I'm currently trying to manage everyday clutter.

Try to have a system, so that you can immediately find things. I have a stationery drawer in the kitchen, so can always find the pens, scissors, notepad, sellotape, a spare birthday card or wrapping paper. More importantly, when I've finished with an item, it goes back in the same place.

Similarly a dedicated sock and underwear drawer for each family member in each of our bedrooms.

I have a small lidded box in the living room where all the remotes and chargers live when not in use.

I keep too much makeup and too many toiletries, but am working on it. In the meantime, I just keep out the few things I am using on the dressing table (another lidded box) and the rest in the bottom drawer of my chest of drawers. That drawer is full, so I 'shop' from there for my shampoo, deodorant etc. Trying to run my stocks down though as I like to hoard nice things.

Yy what Dawlish said. And don't design storage, design retrieval.