How I Clean My House + What I Use!

Oct 9, 2020 | Cleaning Tips and Tricks, Organization, Video

It's time to stop buying 10,000 cleaning products to clean your house! Today, I'm going over my favorite cleaning products that I use to clean my house. Plus, I'm sharing how I get my kids to help out!

Jordan with her favorite cleaning products, from Fun Cheap or Free

Believe it or not, I haven't always been a pro at cleaning my house. I had about 274 cleaning products that I hoarded but never really knew the right way to use them. Luckily, I've wised up over the years and have gotten rid of most of those expensive and toxic cleaners. I've finally perfected how I clean my house and I want to share that with you! Once you figure out the right products to use and get started on a daily deep cleaning schedule, you'll be amazed at how much easier it is to keep your house clean.

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Today I'm going over how I clean my kitchen, dishes, bathroom, and floors. Most of these products are super easy to use, so much so that my kids do most of the cleaning for me! Now don't get too jealous, I still do PLENTY of cleaning. But living in a house with a million kids has its perks, especially when they want to help!

Okay, enough chit chat, now on to the video! Make sure that you subscribe to our YouTube channel for new videos every week. Click to watch the video ONLINE of how I clean my house or keep on scrollin' to watch below:

That wasn't too bad, now was it? You have been asking me for a while what products I use and how I clean my house, so let's get to it! (P.S. Find the links to all of the products that I mention in this post in my Amazon All Things Cleaning and Laundry shop.)

HOW I CLEAN MY HOUSE

I really don't use a ton of chemical products when it comes to cleaning my house, as you'll see below. Because of that, my kids are able to help, too! That's probably my BIGGEST tip for cleaning your house – get your family to help. I don't care how old they are, if they live there and contribute to the messes, then they can help clean! Make it part of their chores on their chore sticks. If they're anything like my kids, then they'll be begging to help you clean so you might as well let them. You can thank me later for this life-changing tip. 😉

PRODUCTS I USE TO CLEAN MY KITCHEN

Spray bottle, magic erasers, and microfiber cloths on a counter, from Fun Cheap or Free

My life got so much easier once I kicked most of the cleaning products out of the house! It allowed my kids to really step up and help. These three items will have you and your family cleaning your kitchen in a snap. (Without having to put too much effort into it, woot woot!)

MICROFIBER CLOTHS

These are my main secret to life, and how I clean the majority of my house. If you've never heard of a microfiber cloth, then you've been living under a rock. It's time to come out and discover how amazing they are! There are tons of different brands, some more expensive than others. My absolute favorite is the E-Cloth brand (use the code JORDAN for 10% off at checkout!). They disinfect and you only have to use water! I have no problem letting my kids clean the kitchen and bathrooms with these bad boys.

My favorite E-Cloth is the kitchen cloth. It has a little scrubber on one corner, so you don't have to worry about using two different things to clean if you're wiping down your counters and find something that needs a little more scrubbing power than the soft cloth can handle. The stainless steel cloth is great for cleaning appliances and can really make them shine. The window cloth is another great one because you don't have to worry about using any glass cleaners!

I also use generic microfiber cloths for cleaning anything outside of my kitchen and bathroom. They're super cheap and they work great! And you wanna be let in on a little trick? They're also good at removing your makeup at night! Just use a little bit of warm water and gently scrub your face. Even waterproof makeup will come off!

VINEGAR AND WATER IN A SPRAY BOTTLE

For those cases where water just isn't doing the trick to clean my house and I need a little bit of an extra boost, I mix up vinegar and water (1 part vinegar, 3 parts water) in a cheap spray bottle. I probably use it the most on my kitchen table where there are lots of dried-on food that needs help coming up, but I also use it on my stovetop for those times when I make a mess while cooking… Which is always.

MAGIC ERASER

I have a LOT of white in my house – white countertops, sinks, even kitchen barstools. My best tip for this? A magic eraser. I mean really, the name says it all! All you need is water and it'll erase so many different things! We're talking sharpie off your countertop, crayon off your walls, and even blue jean residue off your white vinyl barstools. I speak from experience on all of these! They really are magic.

PRODUCTS I USE TO CLEAN MY DISHES

Dish washing detergent and brushes on a counter, from Fun Cheap or Free

While we're on the subject of the kitchen, let's talk about something that we all have that's never going to go away… DISHES (dun dun dun).

Now I don't know about you, but we have dishes for dayyyyyyyys. If you've been following along for long then you probably know that we have 2 (yes, TWO) dishwashers in our kitchen. That's how serious our dish game is! I mean, it's got to be when you've got this many kids! While our dish game may be strong, we really don't have to use that many products to tackle them.

  • Dishwasher Pods – I've tried all kinds of dish soap, from powders to liquids, and the pods are by far my favorite! They give you the right amount without you having to guess how much should go in your dishwasher. I'm really not picky about the dishwasher pods that I use, I just buy whatever is on sale!
  • Rinse Aid – I have seen a HUGE difference in how clean my dishes look when I use a rinse aid like Finish Jet-Dry. We occasionally run out, and it's amazing how there will be more water spots on my dishes when we don't use a rinse aid.
  • Scrub Brushes – We use the basic dish scrub brushes to clean our dishes. My biggest trick for this is to use two different scrub brushes – one for the crud and one for the actual cleaning! I don't know about you, but it totally grosses me out to use the same brush to scrape all the food off the dish and then put some soap on it to wash it. No no no, just don't do it, people! Use two scrub brushes and you don't have to worry about the crud and the clean mixing. Problem solved!
  • Dish Soap – I really don't use much when it comes to hand-washing my dishes. I like to buy my dish soap in bulk since we go through it so quickly.

Pro Tip: Did you know that running your dishwasher (when it's full) can really save on your water bill? An energy-efficient dishwasher uses about six gallons per load, whereas water flows out of the faucet at about two gallons per minute when you handwash. You do the math!

PRODUCTS I USE TO CLEAN MY BATHROOMS

Bathroom cleaning supplies, from Fun Cheap or Free

Oh man, is this a pain point for you or what?! I'm gonna be honest here, I have my kids do the majority of the cleaning in the bathroom because I am so. over. it. Eight kids can do some damage to a bathroom.

Luckily, we don't use many products to get our bathrooms disinfected and sparkling clean!

  • Microfiber Cloths – We use them in the kitchen and we use them in the bathroom! The only thing that they DON'T get used on is the toilet. But they are fair game to clean the mirror, sink, and countertop.
  • Disposable Disinfecting Wipes – Let's be honest here, if anything touches my toilet, then I really don't ever want to see it again. That's where the handy dandy disinfecting wipes come in! It's so easy for my older kids to wipe down the seat, handle, outside of the toilet (basically the whole thing, because #boys), and then throw that bad boy away.
  • Comet Toilet Bowl Cleaner – I like to take it old school when I clean the toilet bowl. I remember using Comet as a kid when I was cleaning the bathrooms at home. It always worked great then and it works just as great now! Just sprinkle it in and use a toilet scrubber to get all the nasties out.
  • Antibacterial Spray – People always ask me how I keep my garbage cans smelling so fresh – this is my trick! I use a scented antibacterial spray to keep them smelling fresh and to clean out any gross stuff. It's also good to keep on hand if you have germs floating around. I'll spray it on door handles and surfaces that little germy hands touch.
  • Kaboom Tub CleanerKaboom tub cleaner is the best product that I've found to clean my bathtubs. It gets them so shiny and pretty!
  • Fabuloso Floor CleanerFabuloso is my favorite cleaner that gets my bathroom floors clean, fresh, and looking like new!
  • Homemade Shower Cleaner – I keep a spray bottle of vinegar and water in my shower and when I'm in it, I go to town cleaning it in my scrubber glove. I can clean it fast and it stays nice and clean since I try to give it a scrub down every time I'm in there.

Pro Tip: Make your own homemade cleaners to save money and use less harmful chemicals. Try out these 10 homemade cleaners and be amazed at how cheap they are to make and how well they work!

HOW I CLEAN MY FLOORS

Jordan with her floor cleaning supplies, from Fun Cheap or Free

I know having a ton of kids means my floors are going to get nasty, but that doesn't mean they have to stay that way! Most of these products are so easy and fun to use that my kids will literally fight over who gets to use them when it's time to do chores.

These are my favorite products for keeping my floors clean, and they do the BEST job with the least amount of work!

HOW I PICK UP MESSES ON MY HARD SURFACES

We have a ton of hard surfaces in my house and the electric sweeper is my go-to anytime I need to clean up crumbs and junk off the floor. It's basically a glorified broom since it doesn't have any suction, so it can't get everything. I do keep a broom and dustpan handy for when we break something or have a big pile that's just too big for the electric sweeper.

As far as vacuums go, my favorite is my Roomba! We usually turn ours on when we go to bed and let it do its thang and help me out with the floors. Just make sure that you save up for yours or ask for it as a gift because they're not cheap, but they're SO worth the investment!

We also have a cordless Dyson vacuum for cleaning up our hard floors, especially when there's dust or crumbs along the edges that the electric sweeper can't pick up. However, I probably love it more because it has different attachments that I can switch out and use to clean my couches, car, car seats, drawers, and cabinets with!

HOW I CLEAN MY HARD SURFACES

Now that you know how I clean up all the junk, let's get to how I actually clean my hard floors! I have a steam mop and it's seriously my best friend. This baby just uses vinegar and water and does a great job of sanitizing my picky marble floors. My kids absolutely love to clean with it, and I'm always happy to let them!

We do have a lot of hardwood floors in our house, so you have to be careful about how you clean them so you don't strip them. The microfiber cloth is my answer to that! I use the E-Cloth microfiber attachment (surprise surprise) and all you need is water to achieve those shiny floors.

HOW I CLEAN MY CARPET

Jordan vacuuming her rug, from Fun Cheap or Free

If you've got carpet, then you need to have something that can easily clean them! That's where a good vacuum comes in. We're a Dyson family, but the brand doesn't really matter as long as it does its job! Ours usually last us a long time. When I need a new one, I always watch for when they go on sale in the stores or when Amazon has them on super sale for Prime Day or Black Friday.

After having lots of spills on our carpet, we've learned that using those cheap, store-bought cans of carpet cleaner is actually really bad for your carpet over time! Instead, we've invested in a portable carpet cleaner and it has worked wonders for us! It's so gratifying to see all of the gross stuff that it can clean up out of your carpets and fabrics! We do get our carpets professionally cleaned about once a year to keep them top-notch. However, this little hand-held cleaner is great for those in-between times!

Whew, okay well there you have it! Now you know all about what products I use to clean my house. What are your must-have house cleaning items that you can't live without? Let me know in the comments!

Image with text that reads "what I use to clean my house" from Fun Cheap or Free

If you need more cleaning and productivity tips like this, then check out my Productivity Boot Camp program!

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Happy cleaning! XOXO

Jordan Page Signature from Fun Cheap or Free

10 Comments

  1. Susan

    What if your kids hate to clean or help? You can take away their belongings, ground them,use bribery, etc and nothing works.
    It takes me 25 min max to pick up, sweep, and mop daily EACH room . The kitchen, living room, and kids bedroom. The bathroom and hallways takes 10 min each, the dining room and my bedroom takes 15min, and their playroom solid 45 min minimum. I usually do 90 min daily to ONLY pick up, sweep, and mop. Just those 3 things to clean the floors. What I don’t do one day I do the next day. Than repeat. Just set timer and go.
    90 min floors and 30 min to clean whatever else that day.

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      How old are your kids? It’s probably time to sit them down and have a talk with how everybody needs to help out in the house and pull their own weight. That’s too much cleaning for just YOU to do in a day, you can only do so much, mama! The kids should be in charge of their room and the playroom. If they’re old enough to get it out and play with it, then they’re old enough to put it away! If they just have way too many toys and things, then maybe it’s time to purge and donate of all of the clutter that they get out but don’t necessarily actively play with. If them having to sweep and mop every day is overwhelming to them, then maybe you compromise. They’re still in charge of cleaning, but maybe they only have to sweep and mop on Tuesday and Thursday. You could also make chore sticks like THIS or come up with a clipboard system like THIS that they have to do before they can do xyz. It may be a task to get them to help at first, but once it’s the new normal and they know that they can’t get out of it, they should be more willing to help so that they can get it done and move on to the next thing. Hang in there, mama, you’ve got this!

      Reply
  2. Dana

    Quick question. How do you store your e-cloths between time so they can dry out?

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      You can hang them to dry wherever you have the room! You can hang it over your faucet and they’re readily available when you need them. But you can also hang them in the bathroom or laundry room to dry.

      Reply
  3. Stevie

    Do you find that using the water/vinegar solution affects any of your surfaces? Like takes the finish off or anything?

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      Not so far. But you should always check it in a small, inconspicuous spot to make sure that it’s not going to mess your surfaces up before cleaning everything!

      Reply
  4. Selina

    What do you use to just dust around the house..the decor, picture frames, etc?! That’s my least favorite job! Any tips?!

    Reply
    • Fun Cheap or Free

      The ecloths that I mentioned in the post are great for dusting! The duster wands also make dusting easy. The kids love to help dust, so they tackle it most of the time and I’ll do a thorough cleaning every once in a while.

      Reply
      • Marisa

        OMG! You don’t use a sponge!! I think they are disgusting, but my husband will not reason with me and came home with a box of sponges from Costco 😐. I haven’t been able to convince him, but maybe the 2 brushes and rinse aid could help. Thanks for the motivation!

        Reply
        • Fun Cheap or Free

          For sure! If you can handle touching a sponge, you could always use 2 of them like we do with our brushes – one for the gunk and one to get clean? Or use them for cleaning around the house, like the sinks and showers/tubs!

          Reply

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