Regular Household Items We Can Use To Clean The Home

1. Use magnets to secure down your garbage bag

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We've all been there: the trash bag decides to droop down one side of the can, and you only notice when you're going to take out the garbage and realize you have a few day's worth of food that's escaped the bag and fallen to the bottom! Avoid the mess by using simple fridge magnets to place against the sides of the bag on the outside of the bin: voila!

2. Clean your cutting boards with lemon

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Is there anything more annoying than trying to clean a cutting board? They get stained so easily, not to mention the smells that still seem to linger even weeks after you've had anything on the board. The best (and easiest) way to keep them clean, as well as smelling fresh, is to cut open a lemon and brush it across the top of your board to get rid of both stains and smells!

3. Clean your dishwasher with Kool-Aid!

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If you already have a stock of Lemonade Kool-Aid in your kitchen, then save yourself money and hassle by using it to clean your dishwasher instead of buying expensive dishwasher cleaners. Having a dishwasher is great but there's no denying trying to keep it clean regularly is an expense you could do without. Simply pour lemonade Kool-Aid into the detergent cup and run the dishwasher on empty!

4. Use a laundry bag to make dishwashing easier, too

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Rooting for tiny things that have dropped to the very bottom of the dishwasher feels like a treasure hunt without the pay off, but you can avoid getting your fingers dirty trying to find that bottle cap or Tupperware lid by using a simple laundry bag to put all these small items in together and pop that into your dishwasher instead. Ensure nothing falls through the cracks!

5. Tackle problematic pans with baking soda

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Is there anything baking soda can't do? And we all know the stress of trying to keep our pans clean and get rid of all that blackened crust that seems to want to form every single time we cook. But the good news is, if you have baking soda lying around, you don't have to worry. Simple sprinkle some onto the pans or dishes in question and leave for around five minutes before scrubbing and rinsing away!

6. Clean your sacred coffee maker with vinegar

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There can be no compromises when it comes to taking care of your coffeemaker, because there is no reality where you're willing to sacrifice that morning cup o' joe! But there are corners you can cut without having to spend a fortune on the best coffee machine cleaners. Simply use vinegar you already have, and water from your tap, to mix together and run through your kettle or coffee maker. Just make sure to run through a few water cycles afterwards so your coffee doesn't taste too, er.... vinegary.

7. Use rice for your coffee grinder

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Speaking of coffee: if you have a coffee grinder, you can actually take easy care of it by using the stock of rice you most probably already have! If you mill some rice in your grinder, it will make sure to absorb all those pesky odors, as well as help clear out any leftover coffee grounds or oil build up. And the good news is rice keeps for ages, and is inexpensive to buy, so you'll always have a cheap supply of coffee grinder cleaner!

8. Use citrus peel to clean your coffee mugs

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We know how important coffee is, so we're not letting these coffee cleaning tips end just yet! We know how easily stained your favorite coffee mugs get with those dark circles, and a regular dishwasher cycle never seems to get rid of them. You can use citrus peel to rub against the stains in question and help get rid of them (it helps to put some salt on the peel first, too).

9. Use your household coasters to catch drips!

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Most of us have a ton of coasters lying around - either ones we've impulsively bought or because people keep buying them impulsively for us as stocking fillers - so why not put them to good use elsewhere and use as drip catchers? If you use glass jars and bottles of sauces or whatever else, then pop a coaster underneath so they don't get all sticky on the bottom on the shelf!

10. Get a rubber band to keep your dishwasher stems in order

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We're not judging you for having ten wine glasses to load in all at once on one dishwasher cycle, but we are here to help you keep it in order. We know how annoying it can be when the stems are falling everywhere and potentially causes cracks or even glass smashes - which you definitely don't want in a dishwasher! - so instead use a simple rubber band and put it around the stems and dishwasher prongs to keep everything upright.

11. You can use your car wax on your stove

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If you love taking care of your vehicle and keeping it clean - and we salute you if you do - you might have a big pot of car wax that's ready to be used for other things, too. Did you know you can actually use it on your stovetop, that place that's notoriously bad to keep clean? Keep it looking as shiny as your car by applying a small layer of car wax and simply wiping away! It'll also help to prevent future spills from sticking as easily.

12. Use foil for easily scrubbing glassware

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Glassware and dishes are just as annoying to keep clean as pans when you've been baking or cooking casseroles, but if you have aluminium foil already lying around - like most households do - good news! You can make a nifty ball of foil screwed up and use with cleaning liquid. Even better, it puts those spare bits of foil to good use when they get torn off weirdly and you can't use them for anything else!

13. Grab some newspaper to make your food containers smell better!

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There's nothing worse than making something delicious to pop in a Tupperware for lunch but just knowing that it smells a whole lot worse than it has any right to even long after you've taken it from the tub. Smelly food containers are difficult to banish, but with newspaper, the job is easy! Simply stuff a ball of newspaper into the container - after you've finished reading it, of course - and let it stay there overnight. The paper should do a great job at absorbing all the smell!

14. Pop your wet sponges in a binder clip

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When you've used a sponge to do some good ol' cleaning or wash your dishes the good ol' fashioned way, you end up being stuck with a wet sponge that then has to lie on the side all night. This can lead to the sponge getting a bit icky or not being fully ventilated/drying properly on one side. If you have some binder clips, put the wet sponge in one stood upright!

15. Extend the life of your rubber gloves with cotton balls

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Rubber gloves are a sacred cleaning item, especially if you don't have a dishwasher and the last thing you want is to feel those bits of food floating in the sink water... Anyway, one way you can ensure your gloves last longer (from splitting at the fingers due to nails, for instance) you can pop cotton balls inside at the end of each finger!

16. Pick up glass pieces with bread!

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If you've just smashed your favorite glass, don't despair (well, at least not about the cleaning up part) because you can simply use a slice of bread to press down on the destruction site and pick everything up! The bread will even manage to get those pesky small shards.

17. Use a stick of chalk to keep your cutlery shining

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Having nice silverware is great to show off to your friends and family at dinner parties, but the problem is the silverware doesn't stay... well, silver, for very long. It can easily go dull and get tarnished - but that's where chalk comes in! Wrap some chalk up in cheesecloth and place with your silverware to absorb any moisture.

18. Use your electric toothbrush on grout

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Okay, maybe we should say a separate

electric toothbrush rather than the one you're going to be putting back in your mouth! Instead of throwing your old one out, keep it around to use on cleaning those problematic grout places between tiles to have them looking spick and span in no time!

19. Clean your lino with toothpaste

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While we're at it with the helpful dental tools, you can also use toothpaste to better clean your lino! If your linoleum tiles are looking a little scuffed and scratched - and we know no amount of mopping gets rid of it - try using white toothpaste to buff away any marks!

20. Prevent rust before it starts with nail polish

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How annoying are those rust rings that develop around the bathtub or shower when we put down a can of shaving foam? The good news is to stop those damp rust rings starting every time you bathe, just coat the bottom of the can with nail polish you already have lying around!

21. Use pant hangers for drying laundry

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If you're running out of room to dry things after doing a whole load of laundry (only half the battle) you might want to make use of those extra clothes hangers you have in the closet. The ones designed for pants with the little clips are perfect for hanging things like underwear, t-shirts or even bath mats!

22. Use your kitchen colander for tidying up kid's toys

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If you have kids toys everywhere, with Lego bricks strewn across your living room, don't be down on your hands and knees picking them up one by one! Instead, use that trusty kitchen tool, the colander, to literally scoop everything up, which will save you a lot of tidying time!

23. Remove suede stains with your emery board

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If your manicure and pedicure set already contains a spare emery board, you might want to use it to get rid of stains on suede! Particularly, suede shoes, because we know how quickly they get marked! All you need to do is rub the file against the stain until it's gone!

24. Clean your iron with a dryer sheet

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Irons are the worst when they get dirty and scuffed, not least because those marks then risk transferring to your clothes. Keeping your iron clean can be annoying, especially if you have to wait for it to cool down... and then inevitably forget. Using a dryer sheet, put your iron on low temp and move across the sheet to get rid of any residue.

25. Remove lint with chopsticks

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Sure, there are lint removing tools, but why spend extra money if you already have chopsticks lying around? It's extremely easy to pick lint out of your clothing dryer, too, using the sticks - which you should be making sure you do every time, to prevent a fire!

26. Get rid of lipstick stains with hairspray

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It may sound like a 'he's cheating' cliché but you can easily get lipstick on any of your clothes, including your own when you're pulling it on or off, or on your friend's or partner's if you're giving them a hug. To easily get rid of lipstick stains from fabric, spray hair spray on the mark and let it sit for around 10 minutes. You can then dab away with a damp cloth before washing the garment properly.

27. Clean your screens with a coffee filter

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Screens in our homes have to be the worst to clean, with all that dust and static buildup as well as those pesky finger marks (well they do make everything touch screen, don't they?). You can easily wipe down your TV screen with a coffee filter (no cleaning product needed) to get rid of the buildup!

28. Cut your cleaning bottles in half to recycle as scoops!

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Instead of throwing out your finished cleaning bottles, you can give them new life if you have something to scoop. This could be cat litter, soil for your gardening or even laundry detergent out of a big box. Make sure to clean the bottle thoroughly then cut diagonally across the center, keeping the handle side for easy scooping!

29. Clean your candles with pantyhose

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If you're a candle lover, you might have a huge stash of pillar candles lying around, as well as out around the home - and we know all that exposed wax can easily attract dust and dirt. If you want to give your candles a freshen up, simply put them inside pantyhose and roll them around!

30. Use a clothespin as a cable tidy

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We only need to say the word 'cables' and it instills fear into everyone who likes to keep a tidy home! But never fear: as long as you have a clothing pin somewhere, you can use one to keep your cables held, sorted and tidy! A binder clip will work just as well, but pins do have a softer grip for your cables.