If you’ve ever looked around your house and thought, “I simply cannot,” this one’s for you. Life is busy, cleaning is boring, and honestly — who has the time, the energy, or the emotional bandwidth to scrub grout on a Tuesday? Here are the laziest, quickest, most sanity‑saving cleaning hacks for people who want a clean home… without actually cleaning.
1. The Five‑Minute Fake Clean
There’s something magical about setting a five‑minute timer — it tricks your brain into believing you’re not really cleaning, you’re just doing a quick reset. In those five minutes, you can pick up the obvious clutter, straighten the cushions, wipe down the kitchen bench, and suddenly your home looks like you’ve made an effort when really, you’ve barely lifted a finger. It’s the perfect hack for surprise visitors, last‑minute video calls, or those days when you’re running purely on caffeine and hope. Five minutes is manageable. Five minutes is doable. Five minutes is the difference between “chaos” and “presentable.”
Urban Clean Pro Tip: Focus on surfaces and sightlines — benches, coffee tables, and floors. If those look clean, the whole room feels clean, even if the laundry basket is quietly plotting its revenge.
2. The Shower‑While‑You‑Shower Trick (All Hail Dishwashing Liquid)
This hack is the definition of efficiency. Keep a spray bottle in the shower filled with either vinegar and water (if you’re one of the many people who swear by it) or a nice‑smelling alternative: warm water mixed with a tiny squeeze of dishwashing liquid and a few drops of essential oil. Dishwashing liquid is the unsung hero of Australian homes — it cuts through soap scum, body oils, and shower grime like it was born for it, and it leaves your bathroom smelling fresh instead of like you’ve tossed a Greek salad around the tiles.
Before you step out, give the walls and glass a quick mist — never the shower floor unless you’re keen on recreating a slapstick comedy scene. A dishwashing‑liquid mix can make surfaces slippery, so definitely don’t spray or walk on the shower base. The steam from your shower helps loosen everything, so it wipes off easily later without you needing to scrub like you’re training for the Olympics. You don’t bend, you don’t scrub, you don’t even think — you just let the shower clean itself while you’re already in there.
Urban Clean Pro Tip: Squeegeeing your shower glass after every shower genuinely keeps it crystal clear — it’s the gold standard. But if you’re like most of us and your squeegee ends up sad, lonely, and untouched in the corner, don’t stress. A quick weekly wipe‑down with your dishwashing‑liquid spray mix will still keep the glass looking schmick without requiring saint‑level consistency.
3. The Pillowcase Ceiling Fan Hack
Cleaning ceiling fans is usually a dusty nightmare, but the pillowcase trick turns it into a oddly satisfying moment. Slip an old pillowcase over each blade, then pull it back slowly so all the dust collects inside instead of raining down on your furniture, your hair, or your sanity. It’s quick, it’s clean, and it saves you from having to vacuum the entire room afterward. Plus, there’s something deeply gratifying about seeing all that dust trapped neatly inside the pillowcase like you’ve outsmarted the mess.
Urban Clean Pro Tip: Do this before vacuuming or mopping. Even with the pillowcase trick, a few stray particles might escape, and cleaning floors last saves you from doubling your workload.
4. The Microwave Spa Treatment
If your microwave has seen things — exploded baked beans, forgotten leftovers, mysterious splatters — this hack is your new best friend. Fill a bowl with water and either fresh lemon slices or a generous splash of bottled lemon juice. And let’s be honest: most of us are using the bottled stuff. Nobody is going out to buy a fresh lemon purely to clean a microwave — if you do buy lemons, it’s usually going straight into the fridge to quietly shrivel behind the cheese. Bottled lemon juice works just as well because it’s the citric acid doing the heavy lifting, not the fruit’s good looks.
Heat the bowl for three minutes and let it sit for a couple more. The steam loosens every bit of stuck‑on grime, and suddenly the inside wipes clean with almost no effort. It’s like giving your microwave a spa day, except it’s you who gets the reward.
Urban Clean Pro Tip: Add a tiny squeeze of dishwashing liquid to the bowl for an extra grease‑cutting boost. The citric acid loosens the grime, the dish soap breaks it down, and together they’re basically the Kath and Kim of microwave cleaning.
5. The Basket Method (AKA: The Clutter Catcher)
If you’ve ever looked around and wondered how so many random objects ended up scattered across your home, the basket method is your salvation. Keep a basket in every main room and toss clutter into it whenever things start to look messy. Toys, socks, mail, hair ties, chargers — it all goes in the basket. And if you have a pet with a secret life, like a cat who steals socks and stashes them under the bed like tiny trophies, the basket becomes even more essential. You can sort it later, or never, depending on your energy levels and life choices. The point is that your home looks instantly tidier without you having to put every single item back where it belongs.
Urban Clean Pro Tip: Choose baskets with handles so you can do a quick “house sweep” before guests arrive. It’s the fastest way to fake a clean home in under two minutes — and it helps you recover any socks your cat has “liberated.”
6. The Quick Kitchen Reset (Vanilla Water Saves the Day)
This is the kitchen equivalent of looking wildly productive with almost no actual effort. When the benches are cluttered and the whole space feels like it’s judging you, do the three‑step reset that busy humans swear by.
1. First, clear the benches — don’t overthink it, just sweep everything that doesn’t belong into a basket and walk away like you’ve completed a heroic task.
2. Grab a bowl of warm water with a couple of drops of vanilla essence and wipe down your benches and table. It smells like you’ve been baking something wholesome instead of spiralling about your to‑do list, and it leaves everything looking fresh with almost no elbow grease.
3. Finish with a two‑minute dishes blitz: stack, rinse, or shove things in the dishwasher. You don’t even have to run it. In under five minutes, the kitchen looks calm, intentional, and suspiciously adult.
Urban Clean Pro Tip: Keep a microfibre cloth just for your kitchen walls and splashback. A quick swipe with warm soapy water lifts cooking residue, fingerprints, and that mysterious film that appears out of nowhere. It makes the whole kitchen look freshly scrubbed without bending, stretching, or pretending you enjoy cleaning. High impact, minimal effort — the lazy human dream.
7. The Dishwasher Does More Than Dishes
Your dishwasher is basically a cleaning assistant you’re not using to its full potential. Beyond plates and cups, you can wash plastic toys, dog bowls, fridge shelves, toothbrush holders, and more — and yes, washing dog bowls in the dishwasher is perfectly hygienic as long as they’re dishwasher‑safe and you run a hot cycle. The high heat and strong detergents actually sanitise them better than hand‑washing ever could. If it fits and it’s safe, let the machine do the work. It’s the ultimate lazy hack because you’re not just cleaning — you’re outsourcing the cleaning to an appliance that doesn’t complain, doesn’t get tired, and never asks for snacks.
Urban Clean Pro Tip: Place delicate items on the top rack and skip the heated dry cycle to avoid warping. A quick air‑dry works just as well.
8. The Lazy Oven Clean
Oven cleaning is universally hated, but this hack makes it almost tolerable. Mix baking soda and water into a thick paste, spread it all over the inside of the oven, and leave it overnight. By morning, the grime has loosened enough to wipe away with minimal effort. No harsh chemicals, no choking fumes, no scrubbing until arms fall off. It’s the closest thing to a self‑cleaning oven without paying for one.
Here’s the part most people never learn: A lot of the streaks and baked‑on grease aren’t actually inside the oven at all — they’re trapped between the glass panels of the oven door. Most modern ovens have small release buttons or clips on each side of the door hinge. Pressing them allows the glass panel to lift out so the hidden layers can be cleaned properly. It’s a total game‑changer once you know it exists.
A gentle degreasing dishwashing liquid works beautifully on the glass and avoids the harsh fumes that come with heavy‑duty oven sprays. Important: Every oven model is a little different, so it’s best to check the instructions or look up the model online before removing anything. If you’re really not sure, book a pro.
Urban Clean Pro Tip: Add a tiny squeeze of dishwashing liquid to the baking‑soda paste for extra grease‑cutting power. It’s the Aussie upgrade no one tells you about — and it smells a whole lot nicer than chemical oven cleaners.
9. The Anti‑Static Dusting Trick (Australian Edition)
Dusting is one of those chores that feels almost philosophical — you do it, feel accomplished for about twelve seconds, and then the dust floats right back like it owns the place. Since dryer sheets are basically unicorns in Australia, here’s the version that actually works in real homes: grab a microfibre cloth and give it the tiniest mist of diluted fabric softener. When you wipe your skirting boards with it, it leaves behind a subtle anti‑static layer that stops dust from settling for weeks. It’s weirdly effective, smells fresh, and makes you feel like you’ve unlocked a secret level of adulthood no one warned you about.
Urban Clean Pro Tip: Microfibre cloths are your best friend — they grab dust instantly, and with a tiny spritz of diluted softener, they become dust‑repelling powerhouses.
10. The “Clean While You Wait” Trick
Life is full of tiny pockets of time — waiting for pasta to boil, waiting for the kids to find their shoes, waiting for your motivation to return from its extended holiday. Use those moments to wipe a surface, fold a towel, or tidy one small area. These micro‑tasks take seconds but make a huge difference over the course of a week. It’s cleaning without feeling like you’re cleaning, which is the only kind of cleaning most of us are interested in.
Urban Clean Pro Tip: Keep a microfibre cloth in the kitchen and bathroom. If it’s within reach, you’re far more likely to use it during those in‑between moments.
11. The Dwelling Time Trick (The Secret Cleaning Superpower)
Here’s a cleaning truth that doesn’t get nearly enough attention: every product works better when you let it sit for a bit. Whether you’re using dishwashing liquid, vinegar, baking soda, or a store‑bought cleaner, giving it a few minutes to dwell makes all the difference. It softens grime, breaks down grease, and saves you from scrubbing like you’re trying to sandblast the surface.
Spray it on, walk away, do literally anything else — make a cuppa, scroll your phone, stare wistfully into the middle distance — then come back and wipe. Suddenly the job is ten times easier, and you look like a cleaning genius without actually doing much at all.
Urban Clean Pro Tip: The dirtier the surface, the longer the dwell. Let the product do the heavy lifting so you don’t have to.
12. The Ultimate Lazy Hack: Outsource It
At the end of the day, the laziest and smartest cleaning hack is outsourcing the big stuff. If cleaning is not your thing — and for many people, it absolutely is not — hand it over to professionals who can do it faster, better, and without resentment. Life is too short to spend it scrubbing toilets, especially when you’re juggling work, kids, and the general chaos of being a human.
Urban Clean Pro Tip: Book recurring cleans. Consistency keeps your home manageable and prevents mess from snowballing into a full‑blown weekend project.
13. If You’re Overwhelmed: “Good Enough” Really Is Good Enough
Not every day is a deep‑clean day — and honestly, not everyone has the time, energy, or budget for a cleaner. Life gets busy, messy, and unpredictable, and sometimes the most heroic thing you can do is pick one or two tiny tasks and call it a win. Wipe the benches. Do a two‑minute dishes blitz. Clear one surface. That’s it. The rest can wait until you have bandwidth.
A reasonable cleaning rhythm doesn’t mean doing everything at once; it means finding something that actually fits your life. Split tasks across the week. Do a Friday night reset if that feels good. Try a Sunday morning tidy. Or go with the classic “one room a day” approach. There’s no gold medal for suffering through a marathon clean — you’re allowed to clean in a way that supports you, not drains you.
Good enough is genuinely good enough. It’s cool. Truly.
For deeper dives (still low effort, don’t worry), explore our other Urban Clean articles:
The Friday Night Clean: The Life Hack You Didn’t Know You Needed – Urban Clean
Mind‑Blowing Professional Cleaning Hacks You Can Use at Home – Urban Clean
Insider Secrets Professional Cleaners Want to Tell You – Urban Clean
11 Cleaning Hacks That Make You Feel Like You’ve Unlocked a Cheat Code – Urban Clean
The Secret to Streak-Free Windows – Urban Clean
Top 5 Most Googled Cleaning Hacks of 2025 (With Pro Tips from Urban Clean) – Urban Clean
Fabulous Cleaning Hacks You Can Use at Home – Urban Clean
If You’re Tired of Chasing Cleaners — We’re Here
If you’re a business owner who’s had enough of the stress, the follow-ups, and the uncertainty, we’re here to help. Urban Clean delivers reliable, consistent, high-quality cleaning — without the frustration. Let us take it off your plate so you can get back to running your business. Let us handle the cleaning and take it off your to-do list — just click here!
And if you’re someone who’s ready to take ownership of your future, we’d love to talk. Whether you’re looking for a flexible income or ready to build a business that scales, our cleaning franchise model gives you the tools, training, and support to succeed. Click here to connect with us.
