Even the most meticulous among us are bound to miss a spot or two when cleaning—especially when we’re short on time or prepping for last-minute company.
While it’s not the end of the world if you neglect certain areas of your home in the cleaning process (hello, under the bed), some often-forgotten spots should be added to your regular cleaning routine. The experts at Martha Stewart looked to the Reddit community to uncover the most commonly overlooked cleaning tasks. Here are the top 5:
The outdoor trash can. Even though it’s kept outside your home or in the garage, the trash can that you bring down to the curb once a week should be added to your cleaning list. As the receptacle for your household’s collective garbage output, trash cans can quickly become dirty and smelly, thanks to leaking or ripped trash bags. So after your next garbage collection, give the trash can a deep clean by scrubbing it with a toilet brush or sprinkling it with scouring powder, then hosing it out after letting the cleaner sit for at least 30 minutes.
The ceilings. While your focus when cleaning your home is understandably on floors, furniture and countertops, you also need to consider the dirt and dust that’s accumulating above on your ceilings. You can use an extendable duster to reach high ceilings or your vacuum hose in tight corners. One Redditor even suggests a low-powered leaf blower to send cobwebs right out the door.
The microwave. It’s easy to just shut the door and ignore the grease and grime that’s accumulating in your microwave. But it’s also super easy to clean it. Covering food with a splatter guard when reheating it is one way to prevent the microwave from getting dirty in the first place. But when a deep cleaning is in order, try warming up a dish of white vinegar for a couple of minutes in the microwave, which will then make wiping it down a cinch.
The outside of your windows. You may be pretty good at regularly wiping down your windows from the inside, but if you don’t regularly tend to the outside, you won’t get that crystal clear effect you’re striving for. Choose an overcast day for tackling window cleaning inside and out, which will help prevent a streaky finish.
The baseboards. You may regularly vacuum and wash your floors, but if you’re skipping the baseboards, you won’t achieve that super-clean look you’re striving for. If bending down to clean baseboards is preventing you from cleaning them, follow the advice of one Redditor who suggested using a Swiffer duster with an extended handle.
