14 Cleaning Hacks If You Really Can't Be Bothered With The Mop

When you wake up in the morning, there's nothing worse than stepping into an orange-coloured shower, stained by fake tan. 

Or sitting down to watch a Netflix episode with someone you fancy only to have to scrub off the thick layer of dust over the screen you haven't been bothered to wipe clean. 

But, according to new research from Mintel, it's time we clean up our act, as Brits are spending 32 minutes less on cleaning the home each week in comparison to 2014, which totals a shocking 28 hours of saved time a year.

Of course, there are several other ways we'd prefer to use that 28 hours – sleeping, eating, thinking about sleeping and eating.

But when you live on the knife's edge at the thought of your parents making a spontaneous visit or a date coming back to yours after a night out only to find you've got a crusty bowl of tuna pasta by the side of your bed, perhaps we should be more productive with those hours.

We've come up with a list of 14 hacks for those of you who need to clean, but wish to do so with minimal effort.

Walk around your house in fluffy socks instead of dusting

Pop some music on and multitask by sliding around the house in fluffy socks to dust the floor. Dancing and cleaning – what could be better?

Use a lint roller to dust

You know that feeling when you buy a new lint roller and end up wanting to lint roll anything in sight - your winter coat, the pillows, your face? Well, expel your need to roll and use it to pick up dust around the house. 

Spray furniture polish on everything to make it shiny

A spritz of Mr Sheen and your room will instantly feel cleaner. If you're in a rush, just spray it on every surface in sight and wipe over with a cloth. 

Line your baking tray with tin foil before cooking anything

Save yourself hours in the kitchen scrubbing baking trays by covering them in tin foil. 

While you're at it, screw up some tin foil balls and play a game of catch with your housemate while you wait for your dinner to cook. Cleaning never sounded so fun, right?

Use a razor to remove paint from fabrics

If you're still sporting a white splodge of paint on your favourite jeans after that disastrous weekend trying to makeover the dining room chairs, because you thought you were really good at D.I.Y, get a razor and swipe over them to remove the stain.

Clean up your makeup brushes with baby shampoo and hang them up to dry to avoid mould

After all, they're a breeding ground for bacteria *stares in terror at makeup brushes*.

Clean up your coffee grinder with dry rice

The smell of coffee can get a bit sickly after a while so do something about it and grind some dry rice to remove the smell. Easy.

Clean your hair brush with shampoo

Rub through the bristles of a brush to keep your hair styled and snag-free.

Avoid using cups, bowls, mugs etc

Help the environment and use plastic containers/cereal boxes etc as bowls. There must be a reason why cereal comes in a see-through plastic bag, right? 

Just pour the milk straight in the packet and save yourself on a few minutes of cleaning. Unfortunately, you'll probably still have to use a spoon. Or maybe not? You rascal.

Blend soap and water to clean a blender

The thought of starting the day with a fruit smoothie sounds glorious.

The thought of scrubbing the blender clean and rinsing out chia seeds – not so glorious.

Save time and pop the soap and water inside the blender and press the 'on' switch. 

Shove everything in the dishwasher

Dishwashers aren't just for dishes and cutlery you know. Use it to clean contact lense cases, keys, tweezers, razors, hair ties, sponges, toothbrush holders and flip flops (without leather).

Use salt and lemons to clean your chopping board

Be gone red onion stains!

Pick up broken glass with a slice of bread

Forget picking shards of glass up with your hands and pop some bread on the floor. Press the slices gently on the floor to pick up the pieces you can't spot with the naked eye.

Use coffee filters to clean television and laptop screens

If you still haven't got round to using your posh new coffee machine, use some of the filter papers and clean up your television and laptop screens. You'll actually be able to see what you're watching, imagine that! 

Happy cleaning.