After years of cleaning both my house and uni accommodation, finding cheats for cleaning have been my saviour. Here are 10 cleaning hacks to save time, but ones that will help you to save pennies too!
Soaking Cloths in Zoflora
I have mentioned this in my Zoflora hacks post, but it is a sneaky little cheat to clean your sponges and sink. This is one of the best cleaning hacks to save time. Every night I fill the sink up with half a cap of Zoflora and boiling water, throwing all my sponges in there. When I wake up, all the cloths are smelling fresh and ready for use and the sink is shiny and clean.

Cleaning The Microwave
This one is a tip that I have to thank my boyfriends mum for – she has literally saved me so much time. To clean your microwave, all you need to do is fill a bowl with water and washing up liquid – and heat it up in the centre of your microwave for 2 minutes at a time. About 6-8 minutes later, take the bowl out, grab a wipe and down the sides of the microwave – you will find that all the dirt comes straight off.
Save Money on Reed Diffusers
Although this is not a cleaning hack, it is one that will save you money in the long run. Having reed diffusers around the house can work out costly – therefore my hack is to pick up reed diffuser liquid from Dunelm – they are Β£6 each, and the glass holders from Poundland. Each liquid bottle fills up to 12 mini diffusers – which only cost Β£12. Your whole house can smell lovely on the cheap!
Related: Got A Bad Smell In Your House? 8 Ways I Unravelled 50 Years Of Smoking
Duck Toilet Disks
For only a couple of pounds, you can use Duck Toilet Gel to put in the rim of your toilet. These last for around 30 days. Why I love them so much is that the smell is quite strong – and it makes it seem as you just cleaned that day, making the bathroom smell nice and germ-free.

Make your own Detergent
Another wonderful hack to save money on all those pesky sprays! Simply add a little bit of Zoflora or Dettol if you have that to hand and dilute it with water, adding it to a spray bottle – and there you have it!
Brillo
These soap scourers are most commonly known for the simple scrubbing of pots and pans. However, these make for neat cleaning utensils – especially for stubborn surfaces. Beware though, the metal can stick to your fingers so do use rubber gloves when using these.
Getting Ink Stains out of Fabric
This is a cleaning hack I have relied on for what seems like years, and never fails. As a student, ink seems to get all over me as I contemplate my thoughts (supposedly). I spray some hairspray onto the stain (its actually the alcohol that does the trick), leave it for 30 seconds, then dab with a tissue or wipe – do not swipe, as this will make the stain worse. Keep repeating until the stain has gone and wash the residue away!
Cleaning Curtains
The easiest way to clean curtains is to whack them with a kitchen tea towel. The weight of the towel will act like a force to get all the dust off.
Use a Blunt Safety Pin to clean Intricate Items
When items are small, and cannot be reached with regular products, a safety pin can do the trick, if it is blunt enough will will not scratch up the surface of the item.
Cleaning Makeup Brushes
I find this such an effort – with over 30 brushes it just seems to take forever. Instead of buying a brush cleaning liquid – which I find a complete con, I use baby shampoo. There are no harsh chemicals which will damage the bristles, it is affordable and does a great job.
And there we have it! What are your favourite cleaning hacks to save time?

16 Comments
kiki | soyvirgo.com
June 9, 2019 at 6:59 amOh my gosh this is so helpful. #2 is such a life saver.
Ive never heard of zoflora before gonna have to check it out!!
Since i plan to move out soon im gonna need all the cleaning hacks i can get. Ty!! β€π
Sophia Patel
June 10, 2019 at 3:52 pmThanks so much! So glad I could help, good luck with the move! Its basically scented disinfectant – its sold in home ware stores in the UK, but you can probably buy it on Ebay or Amazon! No problem!!
Chanelle
June 9, 2019 at 7:22 amI use baby shampoo for my makeup brushes too, have done for years π
Sophia Patel
June 10, 2019 at 3:53 pmHonestly the best product for me – glad to know I’m not alone!
ellieslondon
June 9, 2019 at 9:57 amI like these tips – I do the microwave one sometimes and I add in a lemon! I love the ink stain tip so much and the reed defuser one π
Sophia Patel
June 10, 2019 at 3:54 pmAh lemons – the wonder product! Thanks so much, glad I could help!
amymayj
June 11, 2019 at 1:35 pmLove these! The microwave one especially has actually blown my mind and I will definitely be trying it out over the weekend π thanks for sharing! π
Amy |sassycatlady.com
Sophia Patel
June 11, 2019 at 1:40 pmAwh I am so glad! So happy I could help!
ThatAutisticFitChick
June 12, 2019 at 6:18 pmI used to do the microwave one but with half a lemon in the water rather than dish soap π
Sophia Patel
June 15, 2019 at 2:32 pmAwh what a great idea! Thanks for reading x
Jenny in Neverland
June 13, 2019 at 10:34 amGreat post! My aunt told me you can do the same thing with the microwave but with half a lemon instead!
Sophia Patel
June 15, 2019 at 2:33 pmAwh such a great idea! Thanks for reading x
Hannah
June 21, 2019 at 11:44 amThere are some fab cleaning hacks here! The microwave tip is a real ground-breaker for me – I wish I’d known this when cleaning out my uni houses! Thanks for sharing π
Sophia Patel
June 26, 2019 at 2:18 pmThanks so much! Really is a game changer, thanks for reading!x
mindbeautysimplicity
January 22, 2021 at 6:08 amyes to the baby shampoo for makeup brushes! i also use dawn dish soap sometimes. great post!
Sophia Patel
January 23, 2021 at 11:15 amwho thought they would work so well! Thanks lovely!