Cleaning Hacks for Students With Busy Schedules

By Ian Acosta on June 30, 2017

Who enjoys cleaning, really? Not me that is for sure. I especially do not enjoy it when I come home from a busy day of class and work, which I am sure for many of you is every day. Cleaning is the LAST thing I want to do. Catch me popping a frozen pizza in the oven, kicking back, and watching some Netflix. I’ll leave the dirty dishes for tomorrow.

In reality, your roommates would probably get mad at you for not cleaning up after yourself, and who can blame them? Here are some hacks for those of us who seem just too busy to be bothered with cleaning.

Crumbs

Situation: There are crumbs everywhere after you just ate. You do not want to take the time to pick up EVERY single one and do not want to get the vacuum out. What to do? Grab a lint roller and you will see the crumbs come right off. This is a perfect, quick fix to keep the floor clean at all times.

Smells

Let’s face it. Not everyone’s apartment smells crystal clean ALL the time. Rather than wasting countless hours Febreezing every square foot of your place, consider putting a dryer sheet over the AC. Almost instantaneously, you will notice your place transform into a beautifully smelling, humble abode. No need to waste money on air freshener anymore!

Damp clothes

You have just done laundry. You fit three weeks worth of clothes into a tiny, cramped washing machine and then stuffed that damp clump into your building’s dryer. You ran a cycle and, of course, they are still damp. What the heck??? You need your clothes done NOW. Yet, they are still a little damp, and furthermore, wrinkly. What do you do?

Drape your damp clothing over a floor fan or ceiling fan. Turn it on low and your clothes should be dry in no time. Be sure not to fold them and keep it on a low speed!

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Dirty carpet

Coming home after a night out in campus town is always a different experience. For some, they come home and pass out and go to bed instantly. For others, it is a time to eat their favorite inebriated foodstuffs. And, unfortunately, for others, some things are just too much to keep down and a “mess” is made.

If one of your “messes” got on your favorite carpet, here’s a quick hack to clean it. Make a baking soda and water mixture. Using a spoon, spread it over your mess until it is completely covered. After letting it dry for an hour or two, vacuum up the residue! You could also use a blow dryer to make the water evaporate quicker.

Messy microwave

The microwave, AKA the cook of many of our meals as college students, tends to see its fair share of food residue. After a certain point though, it finally gets to be enough. It is time to clean last week’s spaghetti sauce off the inner walls. What is the easiest way to get those tough, hard, stains off? Place a bowl with water and vinegar in your microwave. Next, run it for about 10 minutes on the highest setting or until the water evaporates. Finally, take a paper towel and wipe away the stains in one fell swoop!

Cleaning cloths

Do not spend money on major name brands that you will no doubt have to restock and replenish after a certain number of cleanings. Instead, use an age old trick and attach a towel or washcloth to your cleaning device of choice. It not only saves you a trip to the store but also some money too!

Dusting

Don’t have a duster? Of course you don’t because this is the 21st century. What is the next best thing to get off that thin layer of dust that is forming on your shades and furniture? Slide an old sock over your hand/arm and start dusting away. Do something different for technology screens, however. Use a coffee filter to clean TVs, computer monitors, tablets, and other screens. This allows you to safely clean the surface without having to worry about potentially scratching the surfaces with a towel. How about your laptop? A quick hack for cleaning your keyboard is to use a toothbrush. The bristles will get in all of those hard to reach areas.

Grimy shower head

Your shower looking a little grimy these days? No worries. Much like the microwave cleaning hack, this one involves vinegar as well. Take a plastic bag filled with vinegar and wrap it around the shower head. This will eliminate those nasty stains in no time.

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