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!

[Icecreamdiva]

Ecloths and Koh cleaning liquid.

[PrincessHoneysuckle]

Dyson V11

Elbow grease spray,amazing stuff.

Zoflora

[Barbararara]

Clear sides, no knickknacks.

[BuzzShitbagBobbly]

Lower your standards.

Makes life a lot more bearable.

[Lipperfromchipper]

I built my house to work for me, I made it extremely ergonomic and efficient!! I will never move again!! Some of my favourite aspects are
In the kitchen;
The quooker tap
Induction job
Walk in larder, situated beside the fridge- when I empty my shopping it all goes in those two places so I don’t have to run around the kitchen.
My laundry/utility is NOT beside the kitchen it’s beside the main bathroom on the bedroom side of the house. I don’t have to carry laundry anywhere except to outside to hang it which is about 5 steps as the laundry room has a door to outside. The laundry baskets from the bathroom and walk in wardrobe go through a hole in the cupboards into the laundry room so I can empty them from there. Washing machine and dryer are off the ground so I don’t have to bend to empty them. It’s little things like that!!
I spent a long time designing and perfecting all spaces in the house so I would have less to clean as much!!
I have very few windowsills as most windows are full length...less to clean as I just hoover. Every surface I chose was an easy clean option. E.g less bumps and grooves.
I also have followed Marie Kondo for the last 4 years so everything has a place!! I have no junk drawer!

[Heismyopendoor]

Training up my kids. Does that count as a hack or product? 😂 it’s much easier now they are older and can pitch in.

[userxx]

@Lipperfromchipper That sounds amazing!!!

[NotMeNoNo]

Shelves. Don't take your house at face value. I remember when we moved in we dumped stuff on the garage floor and it was totally full. DH got some timber and shelved it out and now it has twice as much stuff in and still room for bikes.

[Barbararara]

@Lipperfromchipper your house sounds amazing

[WhateverHappenedToBathPearls]

A cheesy but good tip I read in a book is:

you never lose your toothbrush, because it's kept near where you need it and it's easy to put it back in the right place. If there are things you keep losing or not putting away, it's probably because the place you currently keep them is wrong. Try changing it to somewhere else - the more often an item is used, the closer you need to store it to where it gets used.

[theneverendinglaundry]

Having less stuff definitely makes cleaning and tidying a lot easier.

I never leave anything laying around, a place for everything and everything in its place.

I stick to a routine most of the time - Mondays is hallways, living room and bedrooms. Wednesdays is kitchen, utility room and bathrooms. Fridays I follow the 'Friday Focus' from The Organised Mum. That way, each area of the house gets a thorough clean at least once every 8 weeks.

[BinkySodPlop]

White vinegar. I use it as fabric conditioner, descaler, general surface cleaner, deodoriser (sounds weird, but it really works) and also use it outside as the local cats have territory fights over my garden, which results in spraying and poo. I buy food-grade, so I can also use it to pickle onions!

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

JML rubber broom- it brings enough fur up to knit myself another cat

[BinkySodPlop]

I have a rubber broom (think it was advertised for hairdresser use) for my astro-turf! It's fantastic. Never needed it inside as i don't have pets, but it is great.... (I also use my Dyson on my fake grass, especially on flying ant day.)

[tobee]

I've just had success unblocking kitchen sink that didn't react to mr muscle by putting two tablespoons of biological washing powder down it, then flushing through kettle of boiling water, then a couple of plunges. It seems to be running free now! Touch wood!

[ElGuardiandenoche]

If the loo is blocked with toilet paper and other things then I bung a load of washing powder in and leave it a little while, flush and it’s clear.

[ParkheadParadise]

Having a door on the utility room, the rest of the house is open plan. I can throw all the crap in there close the door and forget about it.

I use vinegar and water on my windows and mirrors then dry with newspaper. My windows are always shining.
Elbow grease spray - kitchen
Pink stuff - glass door on the oven
Add Zoflora to my spray mop

[Toomanygerbils]

For cooking a Ninja Foodi, absolutely love it, has given me back the enjoyment of cooking

[PenguinsOnParade]

I've posted a few things on similar threads in the past but this is the one thing I always forget to mention.

We moved house last year and the way we wanted to put our bed there was only a single socket. With bedside lamps and phone chargers we needed more than one socket, but preferably not all on the same side of the bed.

We got this and it's been brilliant. Ours came from the local B&Q who don't seem to have it now but it's been worth every penny for us to have the bedroom layout we want.

beststuff.co.uk/masterplug-4-way-split-extension-lead.html

[Toomanygerbils]

The Farrs will be proud of you 😂

[Stilllivinginazoo]

Squeegee the stairs before hoovering gets up all the hair and makes better job without infuriating trying pick hair from rollers

Pink stuff and scrub daddy for the oven were game changers

[NeptuneNessa]

Progress over perfection is a new concept for me. For example, if I haven't got time to clean the whole bathroom, cleaning the sink is better than doing nothing at all. Before, I'd leave it, rather than doing just a bit.

This realisation came when I was vacuuming out the car, my son had made a huge mess, driving back from Devon. Going over it quickly and not having it perfect, was better than leaving it.

[florababy84]

Definitely the robot vacuum!

[MurrayTheMonk]

Viakal for limescale.
And always squeegeeing the shower screen after use.

[BruceAndNosh]

Training up my kids Best hack ever. Plus having a partner who sees and deals with mess not just creates it !