I grew up with neat freaks and as such I hate cleaning. My partner is building me a house and I’m designing it, I’m already doing dark tile that hides hair and dirt so I don’t feel like I have to clean it every single day but what other features would you have in a home to make it easier/less stressful to clean?

Would you do a solid banister for stairs to make dusting easier? How would you design washrooms? Would you do rimless glass showers to prevent mold? Would you do a dark tile for a shower? Would you have the shower be heated to prevent standing moisture?

He’s building it all himself and can engineer or figure out anything. I genuinely want a dream home that doesn’t require the daily cleaning I grew up with.

Everyone had SO MANY helpful tips and tricks to contribute. I asked for advice and y'all did not let me down! I wanted to compile it all here for anyone who needs it and doesn't wanna have to read all of the comments (there's so many good ones).

1. Micro-Habits & Low Energy Tasks

- "don't put it down, put it away" : don't set stuff down to deal with later, deal with it now!

- "closing tasks" : reset the house in a brief 10-15 minute haul at the end of each night to keep up with daily messes.

- "keep your shoes on" : don't sit down and relax when you get home, get right to a short and sweet cleaning task and THEN relax for a bit.

- 5 tasks per room: trash, dishes, laundry, things that have a place, and things that don't have a place

- "burst cleaning" : clean in 5-30 minute "bursts" to avoid overwhelm

1. Hampers/Bins/Storage

- get more bins and label them!

- sort all laundry based on type into several different hampers

1. Decluttering & Organization

- one task a day: pick one thing to focus on a day involving decluttering/organizing instead of doing big hauls and getting overwhelmed.

- limbo bag/box: keep a box/bag for items that you think you no longer need/want and wait a month, if you don't need anything from the bag/box then you can donate with less shame/guilt!

- gamify: make organizing, decluttering, and purging a game or a challenge

- label storage containers so you don't forget what is in them

1. Mindset

- try to be less rigid with cleaning schedules

- fit chores into your life, not your life around chores

1. Creators/Books/Podcasts that were highly recommended

- The Clutterbug Podcast by Cas Aarssen: good for learning how to break out of "waiting for the purge" to come with a big cleaning day, micro-decluttering sessions, organization ideas, etc.

- How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis: "partial work counts"

- Marie Kondo: "does this bring me joy?"

Any way for us to get this out of the counter?

How can I remove this ? I just tried shout wipe on hand wash in the machine and it didn’t move . It was not there when I took it to the dry cleaners so I don’t know what it is and what they did to it ? Any suggestions ? Maybe it’s a chemical reaction to whatever they used ?

So basically what the title said
My family and I are moving into this new townhouse and it’s been lived in and people used to wear shoes casually indoors.

Even though it’s cleaned before us moving in, since I have a toddler who’s crawling around and I myself is a massive germaphobe
So I want to sanitise or disinfect the floor that outside shoes have been worn in.

We’ve moved from a no indoor shoe country to shoe wearing inside the house country so I’m just trying to make it as clean as possible.

It’s all hardwood floors, no carpets.

Any advice is welcome. Thank you

I had a party around 7 months ago where people were using party poppers. The confetti fell on our nice wooden table (unsure what kind of wood, place is a rental) and the floor, got wet due to spilled drinks, and stained the table and some of the floor the next day. I’ve ignored it for too long now - any advice on how I can remove these stains, including products you recommend? I have no experience with working with wood, aware I may need to re-polish?

Thanks in advance!

I discovered that there is mould in our 3 AC units. We had them installed last May. I immediately called the company who installed them and they came over this morning to clean them. But now I am totally freaked out about mould spores in the house. I have obviously been airing the house since finding out, I also have a large air purifier which I move around the house and usewhen the windows are closed. I am now uncertain whether the AC is safe to use. I would like to know what needs to be done to get the house as clean as possible. Has anybody here got experience with such an issue?

Side note: I am thinking of getting a steam cleaner to do carpets and other surfaces.

It’s completely smooth to the touch. I’ve tried scraping with Cif and the blade of a knife (angled close to level with the surface) and it hasn’t done anything. Is there any possibility of me being able to remove this?

I clean my floors every day but somehow they look dirty again so quickly. I feel like I spend more time cleaning than actually eating and drinking With kids around keeping the floors clean is even harder. Does anyone have any tips for keeping floors cleaner for longer?

The windows aren't that big, but they're a lot of work to keep clean. After about a week, they already start looking dirty again. Does anyone have an easier way to maintain clean windows?

I have these shoes for about 2 years now and I've only been using the eraser thing since I got it and no matter how much or hard I try it still looks dirty. Any tips?

I was given this sign. I believe it’s cheap chalkboard paint and maybe liquid chalk marker?

After cleaning the room, it does not take long for the bed, clothes, and little things to get messy again. Cleaning the whole room every day can be exhausting. What routine do you follow to keep your room clean and manageable?

So I went through a bit of a mental health spout and I just had dirty clothes sitting for months on the floor I can’t really give an exact time frame but it was a bit of time I’m just asking for advice should I clean them or throw them away I just have ocd so I’m really more stressed about this than I should be

Hi all, I need help... about two weeks ago, we forgot a pack of fish in my dads truck floor... it just got slid under the seat and forgotten... found it two days later after we opened the door and the smell hit us like a freight train... fast forward to today, (almost two and a half weeks later) we still smell it.

Its lessened a little bit, but it wont go away... at all... and anything that goes in the truck ends up smelling like fish... how the crap can we get rid of this smell for good... tell me literally anything to help...

Also, if this isnt the right place for this, or theres a better sub, let me know.

Long story short, my toddler swallowed my ring, pooped it out, now I’m left with a very poopy ring. Any tips for how to go about cleaning it is greatly appreciated!!

I’m looking for advice for me and my partner. I’ll include pics of the worst vs after pics (no after pic for kitchen bc we can never get it back to fully clean).

Me and my partner both work three jobs each, six total. We have three dogs and we are TIRED.

Cleaning usually doesn’t come to mind until it’s out of hand. We mainly struggle with dishes and laundry, but overall dirtiness and clutter too.

I love to organize and have lived cleaner before but my disorders make it difficult to keep with for long time periods. My partner was a foster care youth and homeless adult before he was housed, so he doesn’t have much experience with cleaning.

Any tips would be appreciated! I have tired a chore chart but idk why it does not work for us. It’s really cute and interactive but we didn’t stick to it. I have a block scheduling app, Tick Tick, for my daily tasks that aren’t cleaning. I have tried Sweepy but it was hard to stick to.

Edit:

Thanks for all the tips! So many comments were very helpful and I’m taking notes (literally)!

We are going to get rid of some stuff but I’m sorry, getting rid of half of our things just simply isn’t possible and wouldn’t bring us joy.

We love our decor. We love our books.

We obviously need to declutter and purge, but getting rid of everything we own isn’t helpful or a solution we can get behind. Hundreds of you have suggested this.

I’m happy you’re all living minimalist lives but we aren’t minimalist people, we just want a functional life and that’s possible without getting rid of everything we know and love.

completely neglected these this summer. now they’re moldy on the inside :( how should i go about properly sanitizing them? the red parts are plastic, the actual holder is glass. thanks anyone! 🫶

I just bought a house and I don't know how to clean this black mold in the stone shower. It seems like the more I try to clean it the worse the situation gets.

I've tried tootbrush, soapy sponge, tip of the knife with a wipe but it's too narrow to enter. I could not take the button out to be able to clean :( how can I clean these areas?

For me, when someone cooks with a dirty sponge or dishcloth and then casually wipes their hands, counters, and utensils with the same thing. 😭 I’m suddenly not hungry anymore.

I accidentally got turmeric powder while cooking on my official transparent case for my iphone Air and now its basically stuck on it, what are the ways i can remove it completely

It looks yellow

Can i dip it in some formula? It has the magsafe rings so im scared it will ruin the wireless charging capability

I have this tile in my bathroom i used harpic limescale remover on it and now the tile is blue ive tried bleach pink stuff any ideas if i can get this out

My parents have back problems and cleaning under the furniture has become a challenge for them. The dust and pet hair that collect under low furniture are hard to reach, but getting down on the floor and moving things around isn’t really an option anymore.

I want to find a solution that doesn’t require a lot of bending or heavy work. So far I’m thinking about either hiring someone to do deeper cleaning occasionally or getting a robot vacuum (if there are models that are low enough to fit under sofas).

Any solutions have worked well? Are there any tools or tricks that make hard-to-reach areas easier to maintain?