I hate cleaning! I've realised I'd rather clean in regular small doses than do a full house deep clean and these are my must-have products that help

Home decorator and content creator Leah Hodson is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on overhauling a home with clever DIY and decorating tricks. See the rest of her articles here.

With spring approaching and days growing longer, have you noticed the sun now reaching corners of your house that it hasn’t for a number of months? Showing the corners you haven’t cleaned in awhile? If so, it’s now the perfect time for some spring cleaning!

For me, the term ‘chore’ comes to mind when I have to do any kind of cleaning. Not like my house is chaotic, but I would rather be doing literally anything else (DIY comes to mind)! Over time, I’ve come to realise that I would rather clean in regular small doses than a full house deep clean.

Before the dust police come for me, in my defence, a little dust doesn’t harm anyone…however, if you’re like me and hate any sort of cleaning, these are the low-effort products I use regularly to make cleaning a quick and easy task!

1. The time-saving vacuum cleaner

Vacuuming the house used to be a bore because it was such a long process of a) doing the actual chore of vacuuming, but then b) getting my husband to clean out the rollers as my long hair would always get stuck in them.

The way I clean was revolutionised when I started using Shark Stratos Anti Hair Wrap Plus Pet Pro Cordless Vacuum, I truly cannot live without the Anti Hair Wrap technology. Now, the dust and my hair empties in one go and it makes vacuuming so much quicker!

More recently, I discovered the Halo XR. The 2 litre dust capacity, housed in a disposable dust bag has already been a huge selling point for me! It means no longer having to empty the vacuum after every clean around the house. Even better, disposing of the dust doesn’t trigger another round of mess as all the dirt (including the fine dust!) is stored in a neat disposable bag! Did I mention their floor brush is anti hairwrap too!?

2. An investment spot cleaner

The other Halo product I’ve been using a lot of lately is the Halo Hot Spot. Their spot cleaner heats up the water up to 60°C, which really helps to break down grease naturally.

In addition, when paired with a detergent, it cleans so easily - if there’s minimal scrubbing, that’s a win in my book! I also love using the steam function to disinfect surfaces - it gives me that extra peace of mind, especially when there’s a bug doing the rounds in our house.

Being able to refresh and sanitise the sofa properly makes it feel genuinely clean, not just surface level tidy. When I finish cleaning, the self cleaning function on the hose flushes out trapped dirt in the hose making clean up so easy - all I need to do at the end is to throw out the dirty water!

3. The right cleaning agents

I live in a hard water area, and limescale builds up quickly in the wet areas. I’ve used several limescale removers over the years that have damaged the finish of the material underneath, until I found Bower Collective’s Limescale Remover, which has been an absolute game changer for me! I use this weekly to keep on top of limescale build up, and it’s made a noticeable difference without damaging the hardware in the process. Made with naturally derived ingredients, it’s surprisingly powerful, cutting through residue while still feeling gentle enough for my chrome-plated brass hardware. Instead of worrying about whether I’m stripping the finish every time I clean, I can simply enjoy sparkling, streak-free surfaces!

For regular cleaning of other surfaces, I use Purdy and Figg’s Counter Clean spray. Also made from plant based ingredients, not only does it also work wonders on grease but it smells amazing too! I no longer need to light a candle after I’ve cleaned because the Counter Clean spray uses 100% essential oils, leaving a long lasting smell on all cleaned surfaces.

I’ll leave you with my lazy girl hack for cleaning my bathroom - use a Dishmatic Style Fillable Handle to scrub. I think it’s not as abrasive as using a brush and it removes the need to use gloves as my hands don’t come in contact with any cleaning agents. I started it before discovering plant based cleaning agents and it’s one of my little cleaning hacks I’m very proud of!

Whilst I don’t think I’ll ever say I love cleaning, these products make it a lot less of a chore - products that work hard so that I don’t have to! It’s not about trying to love cleaning, but staying on top of keeping my house clean!