When adulting, there are certain things you find yourself doing. One of those things is making lists. This is especially true if you are running a busy household and tend to forget details between appointments, school functions, and other errands.
If you are a practical person like me, a cleaning supplies list is not just ideal; rather, it’s essential for maintaining a clean and healthy home and keeping life a bit more organized. This is true whether you are doing regular house cleaning or thinking about the occasional spring cleaning process every year to purge your home of germs and the occasional stray board game with missing pieces.
Having a checklist of your house cleaning supplies helps make the cleaning process more seamless and sets you up for attaining an impeccably immaculate home without having to make extra trips to the store because you forgot this cleaner or that one.
While every household is different, a few house cleaning supplies should make it onto every house cleaning checklist. With that in mind, here is my checklist for essential cleaning supplies for both regular and deep cleaning.
My Top Cleaning Supplies List
This is a list of the cleaning supplies I always keep in my house. Of course, some cleaning tasks will not call for all of them, but having them around the house is always good.
So, for that reason, I have categorized this list into what you will need for specific areas of the home. This way, you can stay more organized and, hopefully, on task.
Cleaning Supplies List for Your Floors
- Cleaning apron
- Vacuum cleaner
- Cleaning cloths
- Cleaning solution
- Bucket
Why did I list a cleaning apron first on my extensive cleaning supplies list? Well, a cleaning apron is necessary for cleaning every inch of your home. This is especially true so you don’t ruin your favorite t-shirt as you scrub the day away.
The cleaning solution you use in this category will depend on the kind of floors you have in your house. If you have hardwood floors sealed with polyurethane, simply adding a tablespoon or two of dish soap to every 5 gallons of warm cleaning water should work wonders. This solution works on other types of floors, including tile and linoleum.
You will need to use your vacuum cleaner before you start cleaning. This is necessary to remove dust, pet fur, crumbs, dirt, and even lint from your floors and carpets.
- Pro Tip: Avoid soaking the grout lines with dirty cleaning water if your floor is tiled. This leads to distasteful discoloration in the long run. Trust me; it will be something that draws your eye every time you walk by, so only use clean water.
Cleaning Supplies List for Your Bathroom
- All-purpose cleaner
- Grout brush
- Grout and tile cleaner
- Toilet brush
- Toilet bowl cleaner
You will need a dedicated cleaning kit and an all-purpose cleaner for your bathroom. A dedicated toilet brush is essential for containing germs that could easily spread from the bathroom to the rest of the house.
The all-purpose cleaner is designed for hard surfaces such as bathroom sinks and bathtubs. However, this wonderful cleaning agent shouldn’t be limited to being just a bathroom cleaner. True to its name, an all-purpose cleaner can be used on almost all surfaces, including:
- Tabletops
- Countertops
- Car interiors
- Appliances
- Windows
A good multi-surface cleaner should definitely make its way onto your list of bathroom cleaning supplies, especially if you are like me and don’t want to clutter up your space with a ton of cleaning products. When you try to store too many products, things get pushed to the back of closets, cabinets, and drawers, making them harder to find when needed.
A multi-surface cleaner condenses a bunch of products into one that can be stored easily and neatly without all the hassle and headache of digging around for the right bottle.
You should also consider getting a toilet bowl cleaner to scrub those toilet bowls thoroughly. This keeps them looking spic and span. And guess what? It is easy to teach the kids how to use this cleaner too! It is a scrub-and-go option even the busiest teenager can’t find an excuse out of.
Since most bathrooms are tiled, you might also want to add a grout cleaner, tile cleaner, and grout brush to your cleaning supplies list to cover all your bases.
Cleaning Supplies List for Your Bedroom and Living Areas
- Lint roller
- Glass cleaner
- Vacuum
- Extendable duster
If you have pets, you can relate to how much fur these lovable creatures leave around the house. One of the best cleaning tools to use here is a lint roller. This works well on delicate surfaces like your seat cushions and pillows. And all it takes is a few quick swipes of the lint roller a day to keep the fur at a minimum.
The vacuum is perfect for carpet cleaning, and the extendable duster works well for those hard-to-reach spaces, such as the ceiling fan and even the dust that has begun to settle on your curtains and window sills.
Cleaning Supplies List for Your Kitchen
- All-purpose cleaner
- Scrubbing sponges
- Scrub brush
- Stainless steel cleaner (for those with stainless steel kitchen utensils and appliances)
- Oven cleaner
- White vinegar
- Microfiber cloths
- Baking soda
- Lemons
- Old toothbrush
A lot goes into cleaning a kitchen properly, depending on the kind of kitchen you have at home. For messy countertops and hard surfaces, you can use an all-purpose cleaner like Simple Green.
Combining a reliable cleaner with good-quality scrubbing sponges should help you get clean surfaces. You could also use paper towels for small cleaning jobs like spilled milk or pancake batter.
However, when it comes to heavy-duty cleaning, there are some surfaces where a scrubbing sponge is not good enough.
Caked-on soap scum, food, grease, and other kitchen grime will probably require a heavy-duty scrub brush and some extra elbow grease. Choose one with stiff and solid bristles, which can effectively remove all the muck from these surfaces.
Getting a set of scrub brushes with ergonomic handles that are easy to use will make your kitchen cleaning easier and more effective.
There are, however, some spaces where a scrub brush is just too big to get to. These spaces are not unique to the kitchen and can also be found in the bathroom and the living room.
In this case, you should consider using an old toothbrush you would otherwise throw away. These old toothbrushes are quite effective and work wonders as tiny scrub brushes. You can use them for smaller and more detailed cleaning tasks like:
- Cleaning grout
- Cleaning sink edges
- Cleaning vents
Combining the old toothbrush with an all-purpose cleaner is the perfect cleaning duo for often inaccessible spaces.
When cleaning your kitchen sink, if it’s stainless steel, consider rubbing in baking soda using the scrubbing sponge. After that, use a spray bottle to spray the surface with white vinegar. Wait for the foam to dissipate, then thoroughly rinse the sink with cool water and give it time to air dry. This cleaning solution is good when you have little ones around and want to limit your use of chemicals while cleaning.
If you have a garbage disposal, cut a lemon into two halves and put them down the disposal, then run it. This will leave your sink smelling fresh and clean.
Pay close attention to the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions when dealing with specialized appliances like ovens. If the instructions call for specific stainless steel cleaners or oven cleaners, be sure to use the exact ones, or at the very least, call the manufacturer to find out if there are acceptable alternatives.
- Pro Tip: The lemon slices can also be used to clean the surfaces of your cutting boards to keep them from smelling and accumulating slime. Just rub half a lemon on any food stains before rinsing the cutting boards.
Other Important Home Cleaning Products
We have covered most major home areas that often need simple and deep cleaning. Of course, this cleaning supplies list isn’t complete, as we all have different homes with different features.
As such, there are some cleaning products that I might need, but you don’t, and vice versa. With that in mind, here are some extra home cleaning products to consider having on your cleaning supplies list.
Disinfectant
This is particularly important for all germ-prone areas in the house, including your kitchen and bathroom. These areas require something a bit more heavy-duty than an all-purpose cleaner. A reliable disinfectant will target germs and bacteria, kill them, and help keep your home environment healthy.
Using disinfectants is quite easy. Just spray a bit onto the surface of the area you want to clean and wipe it down using a paper towel, rag, or sponge. Be careful when using disinfectants in the kitchen, especially around food. They can be toxic.
Duster
You will want to keep dusters handy, especially when it comes to keeping your home clean, by carrying out a quick dusting here and there. This helps to keep dust accumulation on surfaces like window sills, blinds, and tabletops to a minimum.
Glass Cleaner
Glass cleaners are an absolute necessity around the home. You can use them to clean your window panes and mirrors. They are often very easy to use and come in handy spray bottles.
Glass cleaner is a great way to remove all those tiny fingerprints and handprints from these surfaces, especially when you have a glass-top coffee table or tv stand you regret buying with little kids around. In addition to glass cleaner sprays, there are also glass cleaner wipes that are good for those quick cleanups and wipe-downs before company comes over.
Squeegee
Squeegees are handy when cleaning bathtubs or showers. You can use the squeegee’s rubber blade to keep these surfaces sparkling clean.
Detergent
Use mild detergent to wipe down your cushions or clean and deodorize the carpets. Be sure not to leave too much water on your rug or carpet; otherwise, it will remain damp and may begin to smell if it isn’t dried properly.
While this cleaning supplies list is good enough to help you maintain a clean and healthy home, it’s quite possible that you simply might not have the time to do a deep clean as is required from time to time. In this case, hiring a professional cleaning service is often advisable. I do it every six months or so. It makes daily cleaning easier and leaves my house much cleaner in between.