13 Clever Ways to Clean the Uncleanable

Looking for easy ways to get rid of everyday messes? Here are some new ways to keep your belongings spotless.

By Alison Caporimo 

Also published in Reader's Digest Magazine September 2014

The inside of your purse

Push a lint roller along the bottom of an empty purse to pick up dirt, loose change, and more.

Sticky candles

Place a grimy candle inside a stocking and roll it around. The nonabrasive nylon will clean the wax surface without sticking to it.

Grungy window blinds

Dip a sock into a mixture of equal parts vinegar and water. Put it on your hand inside out and use it to clean both sides of window blinds at the same time.

Dingy TV screens

Swipe a coffee filter across dusty and staticky computer monitors and plasma TV screens to remove buildup.

A stinky kitchen

Toss orange and lemon peels into the garbage disposal and grind them up for a few minutes to give your kitchen an amazing fresh citrus smell with no work at all.

Kitchen sink clutter

Clamp a binder clip onto the short end of your sponge. Stand the clip upright on its side to keep the sponge clean, dry, and mold-free.

Pet hair horrors

Drag a window squeegee (you can find one at any home-goods store) across a carpet to remove pet hair. The rubberized blade will quickly lift fur from rug fibers.

Dusty clothes

Cut a hole in the center of a cloth napkin and place it over a hanger to keep dust from settling on nice dresses and leather jackets.

That ring around your toilet

Let an Alka-Seltzer tablet sit in the bowl for 20 minutes, and then flush. The citric acid will eliminate rings and stains.

Broken glasses in the dishwasher

Stretch a rubber band around a wineglass and over the spokes of the dishwasher rack to keep the glass from moving around and breaking during the wash cycle.

Hard-to-fill buckets

If you have a bucket or a large watering can that won’t fit under the faucet, place a dustpan with a hollow handle beneath the stream of water to redirect it into the larger vessel on the floor in front of the sink.

A soiled coffee grinder

If you use this tool to crush spices as well as coffee beans, process a handful of Cheerios in the appliance for 30 seconds. This will remove any smells from the machine before you brew your next cup.

Messy drawers

Try vertical stacking: Place folded shirts vertically into drawers to make it easy to see and reach what you need.