Household Cleaning Supplies

I find that having every cleaning tool and supply I need at my fingertips results in not only a higher chance that I will actually get around to cleaning my home, but also a happier me when I am doing the cleaning. It is so good to have what you need right when you need it, that I am going to tell you what you would benefit from in your kit of cleaning supplies so that you can keep your home in great shape.

First, you will need the right tools, since all the spritzing in the world is not going to get caked on muck off your floor as well as a putty knife or a mop, for example. So, here are some tools that will help you clean:

• Putty knife or a small, sharp spatula hand tool to scrape things like gum off of surfaces
• Soft, fine-bristled toothbrush (an old one will do) to get into small spaces
• Rags or cleaning cloths you do not care about the state of for wiping things clean
• Sponges (both the nonabrasive scrub kind and the regular kind) also for wiping things clean and holding in liquids
• Gloves (rubber or latex or whatever, so long as they can protect your skin and nails from chemicals and wetness) for all that stuff you do not want to have touching your skin
• Steel wool with a very fine grade to scrub metal clean (they work really well on stainless steel kitchen appliances and surfaces)
• Squeegee for windows, mirrors, glass doors, etc. (or you can use newsprint, which many claim makes the glass shinier)
• Lint-free/microfiber cleaning cloths
• Bucket (big enough for your mop if you use one, or else just medium- to small-sized)
• Mop or Swiffer for cleaning floors
• Broom and dustpan for floors, but you can use the broom with a clean rag over the bristles to remove dust and cobwebs from ceilings
• Scrubbing brush for floors, sinks, the bathtub, etc.
• Vacuum cleaner with attachments for cleaning carpeted areas, glass breakages, stairs, small areas, and other places
• Paint brush for removing dust from your laptop keyboard and other crevices
• Toilet brush for (hopefully) only the toilet
• Screwdrivers (Phillips and flathead) so you can remove fixtures and clean under and around them
• Lint roller or tape for those annoying bits that do not come off with a mere vacuum
• Spare garbage and vacuum bags
• Step ladder so you can get to ceiling fan blades, vents, and other, hard-to-reach places
• Optionally, you may need a wet/dry vacuum for upholstery and carpets if you do these yourself

Among the cleaners that you may need, be sure that you include:

• Window cleaner, like Windex or white vinegar
• Floor cleaner for every kind of floor you have (wood, bamboo stone, carpet, tile, etc.)
• Oven cleaner
• Tile cleaner
• All-purpose cleaner
• Bleach
• Baking soda (this is a mild abrasive and mixing it with vinegar and lime works well on whitening tiles, for example, though it can also soak up odors from carpet and be easily vacuumed off)
• Wood polish
• Any specialty cleaner for unusual or delicate surfaces in your home (i.e. the stone sink in your kitchen)
• Can of compressed air (for electronic equipment that cannot come into contact with water and that has stubborn dust or dirt in its crevices—use on unplugged appliances since you do not want to be electrocuted while you are poking around your computer, etc.)