The Best Tools for Cleaning House {when the kids are home}

With so much going on in the summer the very last thing you want to be doing is heavy-duty house cleaning. The kids are home, there are a ton of fun things planned, you want to spend as much time as you can with family and friends.

Try some of these low-maintenance yet highly effective tools to get the most out of the time you spend cleaning.

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Light Housekeeping Duties

Sweeping and Dusting

My favorite products for keeping the house tidy are from Swiffer. For cleaning tile, linoleum, or wood floors, for dusting every surface including ceiling fan blades, for picking up sand and pet hair you’ll find that they have the best solutions. Daily chores like sweeping, dusting, and light mopping are easy with these lightweight tools.

Touchups

Stock up on Mr. Clean magic erasers for cleaning everything from the bathroom to the patio furniture. You can find extra-durable sponges for bigger jobs or sheets for wiping sinks and countertops.

Keep a stack of microfiber cloths around. These are the absolute workhorses of cleaning supplies. A blend of polyester and polyamide, they are tightly woven from tiny fibers designed to pick up more dirt, food residue, and germs than any other cloth. They use less water and require fewer chemicals to do more work. Take care of them and they are good for hundreds of washings reducing your need for paper towels.

TIP: Machine wash microfiber cloths separately from other materials. Use very little detergent and NO softener. Line dry if possible, otherwise dry on low or no heat. They dry very quickly.

Deep Cleaning

Vacuuming

Schedule the vacuuming when the gang is outside playing or during naptime. With a vacuum cleaner from Neato Robotics, you can tell Alexa (or Siri) when to vacuum the house.

Mopping

Ditch the bucket. When it’s time to deep clean the kitchen and bathroom floors try the Wonder Mop from Libman. Its microfiber grip strips are super-effective for picking up tough messes and the built-in wringer makes it easy to rinse and wring in the kitchen sink.

Sanitizing

A Shark Steamer is the perfect tool for sanitizing all of your flooring surfaces with no harsh chemicals. You might need to steam clean more often, but I find that alternating the steam cleaning with weekly mopping is adequate. Be sure to sweep or vacuum thoroughly before using a steam cleaner.

Green Cleaning Supplies

Using cleaning products with kids around opens up all manner of dangers, including the risk of poisoning, since little ones are often attracted to bright colors and intriguing smells.

There’s a much safer way to go about cleaning your home by using easy household ingredients, such as vinegar and baking soda. In fact, you probably already have these products in your pantry! These simple items can clean everything effectively and inexpensively and without exposure to toxins.

There are a variety of non-toxic products on the market that, while not as cheap as vinegar and baking soda, can do the heavy lifting of cleaning and sanitizing your home in a much safer manner.

If you have children who are ready to help with the household chores using non-toxic products for easy cleaning can be a great learning opportunity. Teach them now about, not only cleaning up after themselves (can I get an AMEN?!), but choosing safer, greener products that are better for them and better for the environment.

With these efficient cleaning supplies, you can less time cleaning and more time enjoying the long, warm days of summer with your family and friends.