Less & More: The WFH Mom Edit

Call me Danny Tanner because I love to clean….

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Firstly, who else is obsessed with #cleantok? Whether I’m watching someone reorganize a fridge, clean a rug that they probably buried themselves to get it dirty, or learning new ways to scrub the shower tiles I feel such satisfaction watching people clean up. As a lifelong neat freak and lover of “a place for everything and everything in its place,” I started really researching the things I saw on the ‘tok and utilizing the many, many helpful tips I picked up while doing PR for a residential cleaning company for years. It transformed how I look at doing my daily chores.

Secondly, cleaning doesn’t have to suck. I promise. It can just be something you get done and benefit from. With resolutions right around the corner for those of us that indulge in the gorgeous change the new year can bring, I thought I’d share some of the tools and tips that have been most helpful as I scrub-a-dub this house.

Some Tips

As mentioned, I spent years facilitating hundreds of media placements for a residential cleaning company each year placing stories on topics from cleaning mattresses to scrubbing sliding door tracks (oh, did you ask me to brag? You can see some of my placements for Two Maids on The Spruce, Martha Stewart, and Real Simple to name a few). After spending so much time researching, vetting, and reading about cleaning, I implemented quite a few of these into my routine and felt a HUGE difference. Some of the top tips that have helped me keep it clean even with a dog and two boys running around a (lovable) 1970s dust magnet home?

• Clean from Top to Bottom, Literally: In each room start with the ceiling. Do your fans and high shelves first then work your way down. This helps make sure you don’t have to re-sweep or double up on any work.

• Do What Works for YOU: Some people live by a daily cleaning checklist and some people have specific laundry days. If that works for you, do it! If it doesn’t, find what does instead of trying over and over to do what other people recommend (including me!). I found that it was easier for me to do one load of laundry every day and set aside 15 minutes each morning to take out garbage, wipe down counters, etc over having specific days for specific chores. Which leads me to…

• Set a Timer: I do a deep clean of my house every couple of months and do a weekly “big” clean of mopping, scrubbing showers, etc. But every day I set a time for 15 minutes, usually in the morning, to clean up and get things fresh. I also do a load of laundry every day because, dude, I hate doing laundry. This helps me parcel it out and I spend about 10 minutes putting it away every day – usually while listening to an audiobook – instead of waiting until there is 12 loads of laundry to do and spending hours folding.

• Dry Dust: This is mostly for the toilet (cute!) but dry dusting is a huge takeaway from my client work and it works! Before spraying duster or bathroom cleaner, pick up debris and errant hairs with a microfiber cloth (or substitute that you prefer).

• Don’t Overuse Products Just Because TikTok Tells You To: You don’t need as much soap as you might think you do and overusing product can actually leave residue on fabrics or make hard surfaces appear smudgy (plus, you wind up wasting money and zooming through products). Use the recommended amount or your best judgement even when someone on Tiktok tells you to pour half a bottle of Pine Sol and a whole bucket of hot water on your floors to let them soak. Your laminate is screaming. Don’t do it.

• You Don’t Have to Like It: Maybe there’s a longer post on this coming at some point but we don’t have to love every chore and have fun when we do every task. Sometimes we just need to power through! My load-of-laundry-a-day routine helps me break down a task I dread into a tiny, manageable bite. I also always remind myself of the end goal: a sparkling home that my wonderful family will immediately scuff up.

The Tools

Cleaning doesn’t have to be a total drag if you have the right tools and no one wants to waste money on something that isn’t even worth it. After trying quite a few things, some of my go-tos include:

Microfiber cloths have become a staple for dusting, wiping up messes, and doing that dry dusting I mentioned. I have a few sets and find they help me cut down on paper towel usage. Need to reach those ceiling/wall corners or fan blades? I love this microfiber duster.

So for whatever reason I always avoided buying cleaning brushes but earlier this year I bought this set and it really is helpful for smaller crevices or cleaning out vents or small spaces in the bathroom. Don’t want a set? Remember to save toothbrushes to turn them into cleaning brushes of doom.

If you ask my husband, he will say I lost my mind the day I got the Little Green Portable Cleaner because I spent weeks cleaning every fabric surface of our home. It is so satisfying to see the dirt come off! And kind of alarming! That was about a year ago and I still use this thing All. The. Time. I clean our couches every couple months, spot clean rugs and carpets, and it has saved me from tossing our upholstered kitchen chairs to the curb when my 8 and 10 year old mindlessly wipe their hands on them after eating or crafting.

Like a Swiffer Wet Jet that you won’t spend as much money on refills for, I love my spray mop. A quick sweep and spray mop are part of my daily 15 minute clean because I can’t stand walking on dirty floors. No hate to Swiffer but I had one before and felt like the refill cleaner and the pads were SO expensive. The microfiber pad on this mop are machine washable and I just use a tiny bit of my regular floor cleaner and water.

To the window, to the wall…cleaner? Ok, I’m done with that. I saw one of my favorite content creators clean her walls and I was like was I supposed to be doing that? I haven’t been doing that ever and swiped one wall with a Magic Eraser. I was immediately horrified – and learned that Magic Erasers can pull up wall paint. That’s a fun fact! I grabbed this wall cleaning tool and, while a bit of an investment, I use it a lot and it has made a big difference. Goodbye fingerprints and smudges and dusty walls! I dry dust with the mophead, spray Zep foaming wall cleaner, mop with the scrubber pad, and go. The mopheads are machine washable, too, so no single use nonsense here.

The Tough Cleaners

I firmly believe that you should use the scents and products you like best as long as they are safe for your home. So sometimes I see people on social media cleaning with things that I don’t love but that’s OK! We all have our own tastes and preferences but a few of my personal faves are…

Sprayway is the elite glass cleaner and I’m old enough that I’m calling glass cleaner “elite.” No streaks and my kids like to spray smiley faces onto their mirror before cleaning. All I hear is that they are helping clean. 🙂

We have a jetted bathtub and while a whirlpool bath can be magical for my muscles after a half marathon training run, it needs to be cleaned and can feel super high maintenance. Influenced by TikTok I tried this Oh Yuk cleaner and it is a GAME CHANGER. The company also makes awesome dishwasher and washing machine cleaners too.

This Wirecutter article talks about Scrub Daddy’s cult following (and does an interesting comparison to Scotchbrite) because…the Scrub Family cult is REAL. It’s giving “do a deep dive” and if you follow anyone cleaning on social media, Scrub Daddy is probably involved somehow. Honestly, their marketing is genius. While I don’t subscribe to every product they put out, I do love the Scrub Mommy for sinks, counters, and hard surfaces.

The Scrub Daddy girls on socials steered me directly to Cif Cream Cleanser (iykyk). Why are scrubby little bubbles so satisfying? I love the smell and bubbliness (that’s scientific terminology) of this cleaner and it leaves my kitchen sink streak free.

I love Mrs. Meyer’s everything and their counter spray especially helps lift stains, clean up, and leaves a super fresh smell. I have found it is most cost effective to purchase items as part of my Grove Collaborative membership. An added bonus is that Grove is such a great place to find cleaning products and more that are a little greener and held to a bit higher of a standard.

The Finishing Touch

I love to add a little scent booster because I am so afraid of nose blindness. I blame Operation Niki but I am scared of my home smelling so good to me and grody to visitors. It is so satisfying to light that candle or refill that air diffuser after cleaning everything. If you aren’t a fan of candles, one of my fave flameless options are Azuna odor eliminators that use the power of tea tree oil to keep things fresh. I keep them in our bathrooms and underneath our shoe organizer. I also love to mix and match scents or take a whiff of Disney magic with Magic Candle Company oils to diffuse in my sweet disco ball diffuser that lives on my entryway table. It helps my guests to know they are here for sparkly, clean vibes….hopefully. Maybe. Sometimes.

However you keep house, just remember that there’s no use in comparing your home to someone else’s (you don’t even live there!) so know that you are doing your best and your home is your home cause you’re there, not because it’s shiny and smudge-free. I’m always looking for new ways to tackle messes or the next great smelling products so…anyone else have a lil Danny Tanner in their blood? What are your favorite products and tools? Any tips that help you get the job done?

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